Affordable housing is often viewed as a numbers game: How many homes can be built and how quickly? But Fair Share Housing Center in New Jersey believes the equally important question is where those homes are built.

For more than 50 years, the organization has worked to ensure every New Jersey community provides its fair share of affordable homes. Today, that mission has expanded beyond housing production to helping municipalities plan communities that are safer from flooding, closer to jobs and transit, and better positioned to withstand the effects of climate change.

“Housing prices have risen dramatically, and homeowners have benefited from that appreciation,” said Jag Davies, communications director at FSHC. “Historically, Black and Latino families haven’t had the same opportunities to build wealth through homeownership. In New Jersey, about 80% of white households own their homes, compared with roughly 46% of Black and Latino households.”

Founded in 1975 by the attorneys and community advocates behind New Jersey’s landmark Mount Laurel case, FSHC has spent decades implementing what has become known as the Mount Laurel Doctrine, the strongest statewide framework in the U.S. that requires every municipality to create their fair share of affordable homes.

Historically, low-wealth communities and affordable housing developments have too often been concentrated in less desirable locations across cities and states, including neighborhoods more vulnerable to flooding and other environmental and climate hazards. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy exposed the consequences of those decisions across the Caribbean and the Eastern seaboard of the United States, particularly New York and New Jersey.

Following the 2012 storm, FSHC documented significant inequities in disaster recovery, finding that many renters with lower incomes and residents of color received far less assistance than wealthier homeowners in New Jersey.

In partnership with the Latino Action Network and the New Jersey National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, FSHC filed a complaint against the state of New Jersey and won the largest federal Fair Housing Act settlement in U.S. history. This unprecedented legal victory reallocated more than $500 million in federal funds and helped more than 7,000 families find stable affordable homes on higher ground following Hurricane Sandy.

That experience reshaped the organization’s work. Rather than focusing primarily on recovery after disasters, FSHC began advocating for policies to prevent future harm by ensuring affordable housing is planned in safer, more climate resilient locations.

“We believe housing is an intersectional issue,” said Katherine Payne, managing director of operations and senior planner at FSHC. “Where you live affects your health, your children’s education, your access to opportunity and your resilience when disasters happen.”

Turning planning into opportunity

Support through Kresge’s Climate Resilient and Equitable Water Systems (CREWS) initiative allowed FSHC to significantly expand its planning capacity following passage of New Jersey’s landmark 2024 law strengthening the Mount Laurel framework. The organization hired and retained additional planners who worked alongside attorneys to review all 423 municipal housing plans adopted under the new law, with far more of the state’s towns creating affordable housing than ever before.

The additional capacity allowed FSHC to participate throughout every stage of planning in collaboration with cities rather than weighing in only after major decisions by lawmakers had been made.

“Because of CREWS, we were able to have planners work directly with municipalities throughout the process,” Payne said. “We can ask important questions about where housing is being located, whether sites are resilient to flooding, whether redevelopment opportunities are being considered and whether plans are truly equitable.”

The work extends well beyond regulatory compliance. It helps communities think strategically about how housing, transportation, environmental resilience and economic development equitably work together.

In addition to often living in communities more vulnerable to climate risks, low-wealth families with high housing burdens have fewer financial resources to prepare for and recover after disasters. Renters also often live in older or substandard housing and are less likely to have savings available to repair damage following floods or severe storms. By considering flood risk, infrastructure, transportation and access to community resources during the planning process, FSHC is helping municipalities reduce future vulnerabilities instead of simply responding after disasters occur, said Kresge Program Officer Yeou-Rong Jih.

One of the most significant shifts in New Jersey’s newest affordable housing framework is an emphasis on redevelopment. Rather than expanding into undeveloped land, municipalities are transforming aging office parks, vacant shopping centers, empty parking lots and other underutilized properties into mixed-use neighborhoods.

These projects take advantage of existing roads, water and sewer systems, utilities and other infrastructure, reducing development costs while limiting additional pavement, restoring green space, improving gray and green stormwater management and reducing flood risks. Many redevelopment sites are also located near transit stations, employment centers, schools and community amenities, giving residents greater access to opportunity while reducing transportation costs.

FSHC supported planning efforts in communities like Princeton and West Windsor that illustrate this approach. In West Windsor, redevelopment around its train station is expected to create more than 1,000 new homes, including affordable apartments and townhomes within walking distance of transit and employment opportunities. Meanwhile, in neighboring Princeton, the town is transforming outdated commercial properties into cohesive, mixed-use neighborhoods with affordable housing, green infrastructure, retail, transit access and public space. In addition to FSHC’s own efforts, the organization has also engaged members of the community to be advocates as well.

“Our main goal is to make sure New Jersey doesn’t repeat the mistakes of the past when it comes to building in the most flood-prone areas,” said Davies. “The CREWS initiative enabled us to expand our planning capacity so we could review community plans and engage in the planning process in a much more meaningful way.”

The organization has also participated in state rulemaking related to inland and coastal flooding, advocating for policies that recognize the financial challenges homeowners with low incomes face when adapting homes to changing climate conditions.

Through the decades long advocacy of non-profits such as FSHC and dedicated residents across the state, New Jersey’s affordable housing framework is now widely regarded as one of the strongest in the nation, and other states increasingly are looking to its model as they confront housing shortages and climate-related disasters.

FSHC has shared lessons with organizations and policymakers in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Connecticut, California, Colorado, Massachusetts and Puerto Rico. The organization also works with partners across those states and territories to exchange best practices related to recurring flooding, climate, disaster recovery, housing affordability and equitable redevelopment. Rather than treating housing and climate resilience as separate challenges, FSHC is helping demonstrate how coordinated planning, policy, and implementation can strengthen both.

Building communities that work for everyone

For FSHC, affordable housing has never been solely about constructing buildings. It is about creating communities where families have access to opportunity and where future generations are less vulnerable to economic hardship and environmental risk.

The organization’s interdisciplinary approach – combining planning, litigation, policy, advocacy and community engagement – allows it to address complex challenges from multiple perspectives while helping communities prepare for a more climate resilient future.

“It’s crucial for policymakers to understand that where affordable housing is built shapes far more than neighborhoods,” Payne said. “It shapes opportunity, health, economic mobility and resilience for generations to come.”