Sustainable Jersey wins National Strong Communities competition
Sustainable Jersey—a program of The College’s Municipal Land Use Center—has been recognized as the top social change innovation in the country.
Amidst fierce competition, Sustainable Jersey™—a program of The College of New Jersey’s Municipal Land Use Center (MLUC)—won the national Ashoka/Community Matters Changemakers competition, “Strong Communities: Engaging Citizens, Strengthening Place, Inspiring Change.” The competition identifies the most innovative projects and ideas that engage citizens to steer change and build strong communities across the United States and Canada.
Sustainable Jersey is a certification program for state municipalities that want to go green, save money, and take steps to sustain their quality of life over the long term. New Jersey is the first state in the nation to have a comprehensive sustainability program for communities that links certification with strong state and private financial incentives, and a fully resourced program of technical support and training, said Brian Reilly, executive director of MLUC.
By beating out the 259 other Changemakers competition entrants, Sustainable Jersey claimed a $5,000 prize and gained recognition as the top social change innovation in the country.
Across New Jersey, 312 towns and cities (representing 55% of the state’s population across all 21 counties) have registered to become Sustainable Jersey certified. Additionally, over 6,700 people in New Jersey have participated in Sustainable Jersey training and outreach events in 2010. The program has distributed over half a million dollars to New Jersey communities to support an estimated 1,500 actions taken “on the ground” to make communities more livable, environmentally friendly and prosperous.
By supporting community efforts to reduce waste, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and improve environmental equity, “Sustainable Jersey has empowered municipalities and citizens to work together for a more sustainable future,” said Reilly.
Sustainable Jersey is one of the programs administered in part by MLUC at TCNJ, which was created in 2003 by U.S. Representative Rush Holt and charged with meeting the region’s land use challenges by identifying opportunities for improved development and redevelopment, open space acquisition, and farmland preservation through the provision of education and training, essential tools, technical assistance, and referrals.
The Changemakers award isn’t the only national attention Sustainable Jersey and MLUC have received recently. In August, Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Ron Sims visited campus to hear several officials from “Sustainable Jersey Certified” municipalities explain how the center and its program are helping them go green and achieve sustainability.
“By deploying tools communities are using throughout the state to reduce waste, save money, improve their neighborhoods and strengthen their communities, Sustainable Jersey is impacting ‘People, Prosperity and the Planet’ ” said Reilly.
For more on both programs, visit www.tcnj.edu/~mluc/
Posted on October 14, 2010