WSJ looks at how Boston-Edison fights foreclosures

From white flight to the ’67 riots, Boston-Edison has weathered some
of Detroit’s worst storms. And, unfortunately, they have another one to
contend with – foreclosures. Neighbors in the district, however, aren’t
sitting on their hands, they’re doing all they can to preserve Henry Ford’s old neighborhood.Excerpt:In a few places, such as Boston-Edison, residents are
taking matters into their own hands rather than waiting for political
solutions. In Cleveland, a neighborhood group in the Slavic Village
area organizes lawn mowing at vacant homes and encourages youths to
paint cheerful designs on boarded-up windows. The city of Los Angeles
is training neighborhood leaders to report signs of deterioration in
vacant homes so action can be taken before blight spreads. Just Cause,
a nonprofit group in Oakland, Calif., pressures utility companies not
to shut off the water of tenants whose landlords are in foreclosure.
Boston-Edison has an edge over many other threatened
areas because it has had an active neighborhood association since the
1920s. Neighbors know one another and can organize themselves for
action.Read the entire article here.