PennPraxis is working with the Borough of Glassboro, New Jersey on a Growth Management Plan, to direct the borough in working strategically with Rowan University and other landowners. The plan will create mutually-beneficial strategies that will allow for focused growth, economic development, and asset management in the future. Glassboro is located in Gloucester County, New Jersey, with a population of 18,579 as of 2010.
Rowan is the 7th fastest growth research institution in the United States as of 2018. Over the last decade, it was acquired two medical schools, which are located in Camden and Stratford, partnered with the community colleges of Gloucester and Burlington Counties, and its Glassboro campus population has increased by 135% since 2014, with an undergraduate population that is equal to that of the Borough overall. The increase in student enrollment is due to many factors, including affordability, growing prestige and academic competitiveness, and the ability of community college students to transfer to Rowan after their sophomore year.
Growth of the university has also contributed to perceived growing pains like increased traffic, and community cohesion issues. Amid this, Glassboro is hoping to identify what it wants to be in the future, as it pertains to Rowan, surrounding muncipalities, and overall regional development. PennPraxis will guide them through this process, through community engagement, land use analyses, population projections and creating policy recommendations to help the borough mitigate these changes, emerging as a community of choice in the region, and for Rowan students and families.
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