Block club vs. Raccoons

Block clubs are hyperlocal. They take on issues that matter to residents. They work to fill in the gap between the failures of private property owners and government, doing what either might but neither does. This DNAInfo account of the residents of 8300 South Saginaw Avenue in Chicago shows how perfectly they understand what block clubs can do. In order to deal with their shared problems of raccoons that have occupied a vacant house, they are forming a block club.

Mentioned in hypnogogicfun

David Potash's hypnogogicfun offers a brief summary of Chicago's Block Clubs. He notes that "We gain a strong sense of on-the-ground dynamics and activities, but missing are the clubs’ roles in the larger context of Chicago politics, economics, and change."

Excerpt from Chicago's Block Clubs

A short excerpt from Chicago's Block Clubs is available in the UWM Report.