Use these questions to think more about how you would describe your community...
  - Where do people in your community gather or socialize?
  - How and where does your community access services (healthcare, transportation, educational services, etc.)?

Examples of activities and services: Shopping areas, schools and universities, libraries, parks, lakes, rivers, places of worship, healthcare services, public transport, local nonprofit organizations, etc.

Your response: Fanwood is roughly a square mile in size, and surrounded on three sides by Scotch Plains Township. The two municipalities share a school district and, in many ways, we see ourselves as one large community.

Use these questions to think more about how you would describe your community...
  - What are the cultural bonds in your community?
  - If your community has a shared history, what is it?

Examples of cultural or historical interests: Religious groups, ethnic groups, languages, age groups, immigration status, historic or arts districts, etc.

Your response: Lots of the people in our community grew up here, and chose to buy homes and raise their own families here; other people moved to our community because of the schools. Locally, we typically refer to the community as SP-F, for Scotch Plains-Fanwood. While still predominantly white, like much of New Jersey we’ve seen growth in the population of people of color in our community. 21 We have a rich diversity of populations here, and we take pride in that diversity. We have two historically Black neighborhoods, as well as a historically strong Italian community here. In recent years, we’ve seen growth in our Latin, East Asian, and particularly South Asian populations.

Use these questions to think more about how you would describe your community...
  - Where are residents employed?
  - If there are environmental concerns in your community, what are they?

Examples of economic or environmental interests: Tourism industry, agricultural workers, mining town, manufacturing center, polluted natural resource, unemployment problem, etc.

Your response: Our community is, in some ways, a lot like Westfield, the municipality immediately east of us. We are similar in socio-economic ways, and many of the people from SP-F shop, attend religious services, and socialize with friends in Westfield. Both communities are known for their schools. To our west is the City of Plainfield. While our racial and socioeconomic makeup is different from Plainfield, increasingly businesses and friendships draw people across the border in both directions.

Use these questions to think more about how you would describe your community...
  - What should politicians and/or map drawers know about your community?
  - What are the needs of your community?
  - Is there anything else you want to tell us about your community?

Examples of needs or concerns: Keep community in the same district or separate into multiple districts, shared policy concerns, need for a social service, relationship to other nearby communities, issues with current district lines

Your response: It’s important that we keep Scotch Plains and Fanwood together in the same District, since we really do see ourselves as one community.