Throughout New Jersey, the pressing issue of homelessness has drawn attention to the serious lack of affordable housing for over a decade. Barriers to affordable housing range from zoning practices, especially in wealthy communities, that exclude moderate and middle-income families to deteriorating infrastructure in urban areas. State officials of New Jersey have recognized this growing issue of inaccessible housing. In October, a new law was passed that gave the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs authority to set a quota for affordable housing units that municipalities must plan to meet within the next 10 years. While many upper-class town officials and residents have pushed back against this new legislation, Newark has recognized the need to build homes to support struggling families and individuals. With a count of currently 2,089 total homeless individuals, 9% being unsheltered (New Jersey Digest), the city’s administration has been dedicated to providing solutions to homelessness and lack of affordable housing.
One of Newark’s initiatives in recent years has involved repurposing shipping containers into shelters for residents in need. The residences contain dorm-style rooms and utility structures with shower and multipurpose rooms. The rooms are furnished with storage space for belongings, bunk beds, and heaters ⏤ utilities that meet the standards for permanent housing. Newark has constructed multiple communities of container residences and other affordable shelter options, providing shelter to anyone homeless, needing assistance, and wary of typical homeless shelters.
Following the success of the first Hope Village project, which kicked off in Spring 2021, similar communities of the same model were constructed. The second iteration of Hope Village was opened in January 2024, with NJIT’s own Hillier School of Architecture and Design (HCAD) supporting the project. Architecture professors, Erin Pellegrino and Charlie Firestone, along with HCAD students, collaborated to create the welcome booth at the community entrance to encourage a sense of community and care amongst residents.
The development of these container communities continues, each project improving on the last, with Resilient Hope being the third iteration. The students of HCAD will continue to assist in combating homelessness with their contributions to the Resilient Hope project and the construction of Places of Dwelling (PODs), prototypical units that provide shelter to homeless people. On Nov. 6, Mayor Ras J. Baraka and the Office of Homeless Services held a community meeting on “Resilient Hope,” calling for community involvement. The city administration plans to begin construction in early 2025. Now that the city is working on implementing the new project and new initiatives, the architecture students have continued community work, instituting zoning changes in the community to allow for the development of more affordable housing, improving on existing projects, and setting a good example for students by helping better the community.
As these projects take root, Newark has been getting closer to reaching the affordable housing quota set by state officials, providing housing options to those who have been neglected for too long. As of November 2024, Newark’s data indicates that unsheltered homelessness has decreased by almost 2000 people, or 43%, in the last two years. The city administration expects this downward trend to continue as more Hope Village projects are developed to assist the unsheltered population.
