Sanitizing the "Organic"

About a year ago, the author spoke to a newly joined foreign coworker of his on the conditions of his current residence.  "It is a very organic place," the coworker remarked with a polite smile, continuing on to mention how cheap the local neighborhoods are for renting out living quarters.  As far as the classic spectrum of safety vs cost is concerned, this coworker is probably taking one extreme end, and in the process internalizing certain risks of personal well-being.  The author, at the time, questioned the wisdom of such decision.

A year later, the author found himself walking and dining in one of these truly organic neighborhoods that the coworker was describing.  It is not the author's first time doing so, nor is it likely to be his last, but without realizing it, the author is beginning to overlook many of the not so redeeming qualities of these neighborhoods through repeated visits.  Their lack of infrastructure, disorderly nature, and general feel of disorientation within.  Instead, such negative aspects are becoming more and more of a minor nuisance to the general energy and sense of entrepreneurship of the place.

If anything, the word "organic," a term that was merely a euphemism for the lack of development that overwhelms describe a Third-World neighborhood, is starting to take on more multi-layered meanings as time goes on.  Perhaps it is because such neighborhoods are devoid of the general rules that divide up what is one person's from another's that people, information, and favors can quickly transmit from one corner of the seemingly confusing mess to another, allowing ideas to be rapidly realized in concrete terms through collective effort of many people to gather the necessary resources.

Interestingly, such chaotic energy of the "organic" neighborhoods are not lost to entrepreneurs who are a bit more, well, high-class.  Many seem to attempt preserving the energy and the history of the place while toning down the "organic" aspect of the place.  It is, in a way, noble attempts to inject cash into old neighborhoods and give them a modern edge, without creating visually glaring contrasts between the obviously impoverished areas and newly planned establishments.  The results are often half-baked "heritage neighborhoods" that are tastelessly faux traditional and too sanitary to be real.

On this point of tradition and modernity existing side by side, the European model is exemplary and worth of imitation.  No one, however, is willing to call a dilapidated European neighborhood "organic," no matter how dirty and unorganized they seem to be.  Sure, maybe the grandiose architecture would help to explain the majestic air they present to the audience, but a bigger factor may be the fact that compared to Asian neighborhoods frequented by the relatively poor, European neighborhoods of similar development levels are much less active on the street level.

This point is proven to be especially poignant as the author zigzags through the neighborhood searching for his lunch.  A collision of smells and a kaleidoscope of colors greet the hungry visitors.  Hundreds of choices, presented by people of different nationalities and cultures, make choosing so much more difficult than a European neighborhood, where one is lucky to find more than three choices of sandwiches.  As the visitors eat their ways through the maze of stalls, the delicious explosions of tastes in their mouths are enough to make them forget about the surroundings.

At the end, the idea of needing to sanitizing the "organic" becomes a questionable one in itself.  As mentioned above, the spirit of the place is so intertwined with its physical reality that it is difficult to clean up the visual mess without losing much of the places' authentic energy.  As more money from outside flows into these neighborhoods over time, the stall owners and the residents will together realize that more resources can be devoted for gentrification.  They will then beautify their home, in an organic way much less disruptive and invasive than anything a city planner can ever think of.

It should not be forgotten that the most important connotation of being organic is that a place is metaphorically equivalent to a living, breathing organism, capable of self-adjustments to optimize chances for survival.  Outside forces, thus, should not underestimate the ability of these neighborhoods to outlive their modern counterparts built to impress the outsiders.  The concept of beauty, convenience, and development that are not associated with "organic" do exist in organic neighborhoods, just in different meanings and ways.  It would be wise to let them be as they are.