In the Fall of 2014, Professor Jean Marie Hartman, Ph.D, and Instructor David Smith co-taught a Rutgers Landscape Architecture Environmental Planning Studio about Jersey City. As a result of that course, Professor Hartman proposed to prepare a full Environmental Resource Inventory (ERI) for the city, and the Environmental Commission agreed. The project fits into the purpose and portfolio of CUES, therefore Professor Hartman and CUES are collaborating to prepare the document.
According to the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC): "ERIs/NRIs bring together information on natural resource characteristics and environmental features. Once compiled, ERIs/NRIs, become the basis for land use planning that protects resources. The ERI/NRI enables environmental commissions and open space committees to play a significant role in municipal master planning, land use ordinance development, and site plan review."