"Jamaica Plain neighbors team up to develop empty lot" by Matt Rocheleau | Globe Correspondent, March 24, 2013
Residents often devote much time and energy to try to block construction proposals. They might write and call elected officials, air gripes at community meetings, stage protests, or even sue.
But one group of longtime neighbors in Boston’s Jamaica Plain section is taking an extraordinarily personal approach to steering development on their street: pooling together more than $1.5 million of their own money and loans to buy a vacant lot and build housing they helped design.
Their actions represent a rare and bold gambit as booming development is transforming neighborhoods block by block, but also stirring unease for residents who say their concerns often get lost amid the rush to build....
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