The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy seeks to improve our increasingly urbanized and interconnected world by exploring planning approaches and public policy solutions that are healthier, greener, fairer, and generate greater prosperity than do current practices. It pursues equitable and efficient solutions to public problems at multiple levels from the global to the local and emphasizes the professional perspectives of urban planning, public policy, and public health. Within each of these domains, the school advances its aspiration to be a global leader in teaching, research, and service by engaging society's challenges with  focused programs that align current strengths with emerging needs. Its mission includes:

• solving public problems through constructive engagement of governmental, private, and nonprofit actors;
• addressing the challenge of urbanization in its various global manifestations;
• serving New Jersey's need for a rigorous and engaging public policy forum; and
• preparing students for rewarding professional careers in public service.

Edward J. Bloustein--Rutgers president, constitutional scholar, active citizen, philosopher, and teacher--lived a life of civic engagement that the school's ethic seeks to perpetuate. Research, teaching, and outreach at the Bloustein School aim for intellectual originality and practical rigor in an atmosphere of spirited and open debate. Bloustein activities are rooted in diversity of experience and thought. They create settings where individuals and communities can flourish. The Bloustein ethic strives to improve the quality of public discourse by producing ideas and measures that have impact.

The Bloustein ethic engages those who do their jobs not just honorably, but with a passion for their work that alters their surroundings. The Bloustein School seeks to foster new research and thinking that achieve both scholarly recognition and public acceptance.