Rutgers-Rowan Study Shows NJ is Losing Green Space
A new study suggests suburban sprawl continues to be a major problem in New Jersey, but it's not so much about people anymore.
KYW's David Madden reports only one fifth of the Garden State is still a garden and preservation efforts to date are scattered.
The study, performed by professors at Rugters and Rowan Universities, shows that New Jersey's population grew by a little more than 1 percent between 2002 and 2007 but development increased 7 percent per year over the same period.
Most of it for suburban housing, according to Rowan professor John Hasse:
"We see that size of lot getting larger and larger. So there is more land being consumed for each new house."
But there are some promising trends in towns like Glassboro, where redevelopment projects are creating new places for people to live on already paved over land.
To view the report including interactive maps to measure sprawl in various communities go to http://gis.rowan.edu/projects/luc.
