New Jersey Landscape Change Research

A group of researchers at Rutgers is collaborating to study and address one of
New Jersey's most pressing issues: the rapid development of the state's
landscapes. Building on existing research, like the landscape change research
project at Rutgers' Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis, the
research program team is participating in a larger national trend that was the
focus of a recent NSF workshop.

While in many cases landscape change is a natural process, human land use
change is now the single most important factor influencing New Jersey's
environment. These changes are largely the result of the urbanization and its
attendant residential, commercial, transportation and to a lesser extent
industrial development. While some level of new development is needed to keep
up with New Jersey's expanding population, the ramifications of urban growth
and sprawl on New Jersey's agriculture, natural resources and overall
environment are many fold. As the leading academic institution dedicated to
bettering our understanding of our state's environment, it is appropriate that
Cook College and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) take on
a leadership role in providing the New Jersey government and citizens
up-to-date information on changing land use patterns, the implications of urban
growth on the state's resources and develop innovative planning tools to
minimize the adverse impacts of urban growth.