Planning Idea: The Tao of Planning in Camden, NJ

I am excited to say that I work in Camden, NJ. I bike commute down either Haddon Ave. or Federal St. every day and despite the tremendous circumstances the people there have to deal with, all the unoccupied buildings and crumbling infrastructure, the main streets still feel more lively and inviting to me than the surrounding suburbs ever have. Camden is the main reason I returned to New Jersey to study urban planning at Rutgers. Camden has all it needs to become a safe, supportive community.

So as I bike, I often find myself day dreaming about simple solutions that might benefit the city, Atlantic City, or some other wonderful South Jersey community. So this begins what will be a series of the random, imperfect planning ideas I hope to test and develop through my education.


The Tao of Planning

This first idea is more a way of viewing urban issues generally than it is a specific fix for any one in particular. In college I had a concentration in Philosophy and Religion, which exposed me to Taoism and its principal text, the Tao Te Ching. The main tenants of Taoism include the Tao and Wu Wei.

Tao is the universe, the beginning of the universe, and the flow of the universe all at once.

Wu Wei translates literally to "without intentional action." It is about going with the flow of the universe, which allows free agents to commit "action without action." This is not to say that you stand around and do nothing. Only that you do not fight against the Tao.

So how can we apply these abstract ideas to planning? Chapter 78 of the Tao Te Ching describes it perfectly:

Nothing in the world under the sky is softer and weaker than water.

As for attacking something hard and strong, nothing is better than water.

It is because nothing can change it.

The weak beats the strong.

The soft beats the hard.

Everyone in the world under the sky knows them.

No one does them.

That's why the sage says, "Those who accept the filth of the country are called the master of the state.

"Those who accept the bad omen of the country are called the king of the world under the sky."

Right words sound contradictory.

Essentially, when confronted with a bad omen, accept it. When confronted with filth, accept it. Whatever is ailing your community, or "state," is occurring because a system of causes is flowing along that, in combination, leads to the ailment. Accepting this does not mean doing nothing, however. Instead, act like water. Move with the flow and eventually you can erode mountainous problems. For attacking something hard and strong, nothing is better than water.

Still abstract? Let's look at an example.

Example:

I was recently reading about assemblyman Angel  Fuentes, who represents Camden in the New Jersey state assembly. I was struck by his record on graffiti removal, which Latinwhoswho.net describes as a "crusade" and "which included the establishment of an anti-graffiti task force, the implementation of an anti-graffiti curriculum in local schools, and a related hotline."

Compare this to Brazil's Law 706/07, which legalized street art (including graffiti) across the country beginning in 2009, so long as the artist received consent from the property owner. Simple as that. Now, I don't want to repeat the extensive work that's already been done on the subject, but take a moment to look into the explosive grafite movement that began in Brazil.

In case you haven't seen it in a while, Camden still has plenty of graffiti. Plenty, despite all the oversight and hotlines. And because graffiti has been so heavily targeted, no street artist dares to risk taking the time to paint detailed, intricate work. Instead, we get an abundance of hastily made tags that make battered neighborhoods look worse. Because of the region we live in, there should be beautiful street art all over. The Greater Philadelphia area has some of the best street art in the world. Period. Here's a simple anecdote to prove it: a friend of mine took an opportunity through the Rowan University Geography Department a couple of years ago to travel to Brazil for the summer. While there they had the opportunity to meet a world-famous street artist from Rio at his studio. The coffee table books at his studio were about Philadelphia street art. When my friend said she was from Philly, the artist began bombarding her with questions about the city's murals.

In a different world, Camden could be the world's largest canvas for a brilliant street art movement. The City could hold world invitationals, allowing artists to express themselves on abandoned and city-owned buildings, or even entirely abandoned blocks. There could be graffiti competitions that draw festival-sized crowds. It could even affect property values, as people begin to demand homes adorned with gorgeous murals and mosaics.

This is the Tao of Planning. It is public policy aikido. Flow with and then redirect the problem until it works to your benefit.