I’ve been super impressed by the level of discourse in our comments recently. I wanted to make sure to highlight this comment from Chad Socha, who responds to concerns that Camden’s development is focused downtown and suggests looking to Newark for best practices:

The article you connected in terms of “politically-connected businesses” states the issue with one simple line (quote of John O’Donnell; president Michaels Organization)-

“He said the company is “excited to be part of the extraordinary rebirth under way not only on Camden’s Waterfront, but in all its neighborhoods.”

But as simply noted where all the money is being invested in up to this point and in the case of the program for small businesses where they have be located- leaves the question of:

Is the rebirth really happening in “all its neighborhoods” and what is being done to progress a rebirth outside of the waterfront and similar surrounding areas?

It seems a lot of similar issues/sentiment with the transformation of Camden, we can step back and look at a city of similar nature that is slightly further along in their transformation process- that of Newark, NJ.

A recent piece talks about some of the same issues/sentiments, i.e. who is really benefitting from a lot of the so-called progress that is going on within the city.

The one item I take from their situation- and I don’t know if a similar incentive-type program is in place with the Camden waterfront development:

“Mr. Baraka announced a set of initiatives this summer meant to encourage larger companies in the city to hire residents and buy from local businesses, extend development beyond downtown to the rest of the city’s five wards and persuade people who work in the city to move here. The centerpiece of the effort is a job program, Newark 2020, which aims to have 2,020 unemployed residents working full time and earning a living wage within the next three years.”

As Camden is earlier in the transformation process, starting initiatives such as this at an earlier point could lead to many gains/benefits and not having to deal with it quite in the same sense as Newark is with already having become developed and pushing people out- they can set the tone and trend early.