Gentrification is like a glacier: it's a huge, unstoppable force that will really mess up your neighborhood by covered it in shiny, translucent stuff. (Ice, in the case of the glacier, and glassy high-rise condo buildings in the case of gentrification.) That is to say, once it starts rolling in there really isn't that much you can do to stop it.
So, we guess, a group called WITCH has as good a shot as anyone when they put a "hex" and "protective spell" on Chicago's Logan Square next month. The ceremony is more about performance art and raising awareness than it is about the idea of actually doing magic—"During the action people will be invited to speak out about their experience with housing insecurity and the impact of high rents and speculative development on their lives," the Facebook event description reads. "WITCH wants to bring attention to this dynamic, hex those who profit from it, and protect those who suffer from it." And hey, you never know?
· 'Witches' Want To Exorcise Logan Square's Gentrification Demons [Chicagoist]
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