ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The Boston case study demonstrates how Boston became one of the first cities in the country to tie economic development within the Longwood Medical and Academic Area (LMA) to the level of investments made by LMA institutions and to community-based outcomes for Boston's most disadvantaged and vulnerable residents. The book describes and analyzes the cases of the first step in neighborhood residents efforts to fight gentrification and of neighborhood change deepening their roots. It demonstrates that local government and the private sector must be pressured to o the right thing. In all the case studies, environmental policies and sustainable development are contributing to gentrification and possible displacement. It would be naive to think that the larger external forces shaping the current development patterns and income inequality within cities can be solved simply through community-organizing efforts at the local and national grassroots levels.
