Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
Can urban spaces exist without any political undertones attached to them? We have seen numerous examples of temporary communities formed whether it be for demonstrations, lifestyle choices, homelessness, and several more. It has become apparent through history that occupying spaces with bodies is one of the most powerful approaches to expedite change. My initial thought while going through examples in history that reflected the city as an economic, political, and physical battlefield was an occupation protest and self-declared autonomous zone in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle (CHAZ). This zone was home to hundreds of citizens protesting police brutality following the murder of George Floyd and lasted for almost a month before being cleared out by police. This temporary community was used to incite change in the city of Seattle by showing what the community could look like without the "unnecessary need of an over-policed state.” The organizers of CHAZ met with the Washington state and Seattle Government Officials as well as the Police Chief to realistically set demands in order for them to disband and how the city of Seattle could be improved.
Throughout this process, CHAZ gained national news in both a positive and negative light. What began as a protest to help facilitate a positive change in the community quickly turned into a space for people to feel powerful with the wrong intentions, thriving on vandalization, resistance, arson, and even death; this essentially undid the entire foundation and trust that the CHAZ community had built.
These temporary communities will continue to rise in fall for a variety of reasons, but they will always have the shadow of politics following close behind.
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