Welcome to Glassboro
-What was it?
-What happened to it?
-How did it get there?
Glassboro - History
-
Founded by Soloman Stagner, 1779
- Glassboro was a Glass factory
- In 1920 it became a borough
- replaced "Glassboro Township"
- 1923 New Jersey Normal School
- 1967 Glassboro Summit
- Glassboro was small and rural
Glassboro - History
- Route 55 was completed in 1989
- Connects Glassboro to county, Philly
- Henry Rowan - 1992
- Donation of $100m for engineering
- Renamed to Rowan in 1997
- Rowan Blvd - 1997
- Town council looks to University
Glassboro - Present
- Rowan has nationally ranked engineering
- Rowan has acquired 2 medical schools
- Glassboro has had plenty of development
New Suburbanism
- New Urbanism in a suburban setting
- A new way of planning suburbs
- Glassboro is a good model
- Walkability
- Mixed housing
- Mixed use and diversity
- Sustainability
- Town center
- Smart Transportation
- These principles are applicable to suburbs and cities
- Walkability
- Glassboro's redevelopment makes it easy to walk
- You should be able to get between any two places within 10-15 min
- Rowan is also committed to maintaining a pedestrian campus
New Suburbanism
- Mixed-Use
- Whitney Center has retail on the bottom, apartments on the top
- Reduces urban sprawl by building up and optimizing the space used
- Living above a coffee shop, the pull is easier and uses less resources (no driving)
New Urbanism
- Sustainability
- Green projects in conjunction with Rowan
- Paperless council meetings, saving $11k/yr
- Solar panels on buildings
- Solar array at Bowe School
Glassboro's Success
- Is Glassboro successful?
- Marilyn Snyder, a real estate agent said, "I've never had as many buyers asking me about Glassboro as I've had in the last two years."
- New businesses form, bringing more commercial value
(Groundbreaking for Green Zebra)
Glassboro's Success
Okay. Glassboro is successful, but why?
- Holistic development
- Constant youth demographic
Holistic Development
- Green Zebra
- Created and run by a local couple
- Community events in town park
- Family-oriented
- Ice skating
- Kids and adults
- High School STEM and Music Academies
- Juniors & Seniors take classes at Rowan
- These appeal to everyone in the town
- Glassboro is trying to appeal to everyone
Holistic Development
- Camden Waterfront - 1990s
- Battleship, NJ
- Camden Aquarium
- "There have already been a record number of murders in 2012, most related to the flourishing drug trade."
- A tourist-first approach hasn't done much to improve the lives of everyday citizens
- Thus, redevelopment must focus primarily on the residents and how to improve their lives
Youth Demographic
- Future of a town or city
- Often use technology in new ways
- Online shopping
- New development must keep this in mind
- Rowan University annually gets new young students
- On-campus students go to Pizza Hut at 3am
- Boro Bucks are meant for local business
- As Rowan grows, so does the opportunity
Youth Demographic
-
Voorhees Town Center
- Rather sparse, even considering
-
"Catelli...opened in September 2012 at Voorhees Town Center. Talamo said despite the bad winter, it was up double digits in growth from last year."
- Retail is "not as strong as it could be."
- Voorhees has had trouble attracting youth
- Housing is there, retail is there, but this could impact Voorhees' future success
New Urbanism
- Holistic Development and Youth Demographic
- Both important
- Both necessary
- Glassboro
- A model for a successful collegetown
- Embracing New Urbanism
- Building a better community for all
Welcome to Glassboro
By Nick Felker
