The American Planning Association – New Jersey Chapter (APA-NJ) recently unveiled their list of “Great Places in New Jersey.” Three downtown areas and three public spaces were added to the list of 2016 designees – one of which was none other than Roosevelt Plaza Park.

In naming Roosevelt Plaza Park a Great Place, the committee described the public space as follows:

Roosevelt Plaza Park is the symbol of a new downtown City of Camden. It’s central location, in the heart of the City of Camden, at a crossroads for thousands of residents, students, employees and visitors, is a critical connection point. It links the City’s growing, and thriving, downtown education and medical district. It is located between two of the most heavily trafficked streets in the downtown, Market St. and Federal St., and is adjacent to the City Hall PATCO station, along the high speed train line between Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia, and the Walter Rand Transportation Center, the central hub for bus transportation in Camden. At the doorstep of the beautiful Camden City Hall, the most well-known building in the city, Roosevelt Plaza Park functions as the premiere civic space in Camden.

The park has provided much needed space for community events such as fall festivals, community movie nights, and holiday tree lighting ceremonies. In September, the park will play host to the first ever Camden Jam: The Camden Arts and Music Festival, an event that is part of the growing movement to bring arts and culture back to the city. Roosevelt Plaza Park is unique because it is a mixing ground for residents, workers, and students in the City of Camden. The park’s tables and benches offer a shaded place for a conversation or a meal, and the wide open grass spaces allow children to play sports or fly kites, an opportunity not commonly available in high density downtowns. Even more, two recent “pop‐up” parks in Roosevelt Plaza Park have brought new life to the park, and made the place truly deserving of the title “Great Place in New Jersey.”

Since 2012, Great Places in NJ, the flagship program of APA-NJ, has celebrated downtowns, streets, neighborhoods, and public spaces of exemplary character, quality, and planning. Serving as a space that promotes civic engagement and cultural diversity, Roosevelt Plaza Park is among the great New Jersey places that represent innovation and provide a vision of tomorrow for their respective communities.

For more information on the APA-NJ’s Great Places in New Jersey, visit: http://njplanning.org/