Dudley Neighbors, Inc.

Dudley Neighbors, Incorporated (DNI) is a pioneering urban Community Land Trust (CLT) established by the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI) to put into action the resident-driven master plan for revitalizing Boston’s Dudley neighborhood. In the late 1980s, after years of organizing, Dudley residents secured an unprecedented level of community control over a large swath of the neighborhood’s 1,300 abandoned parcels. The City of Boston formally adopted the community’s plan and, in a groundbreaking move, granted DNI the power of eminent domain over much of the privately owned vacant land within the 62-acre “Dudley Triangle.” Incorporated in 1988 as a Massachusetts 121A Corporation, DNI was able to combine City-owned parcels with land acquired through eminent domain and lease them to private and nonprofit developers for projects aligned with the community’s vision. Over the following decades, more than 30 acres of once-blighted land have been transformed into 225 permanently affordable homes, a 10,000-square-foot community greenhouse, an urban farm, a playground, gardens, and other neighborhood amenities. Operating as a CLT, DNI retains ownership of the land and leases it long-term to homeowners, cooperative housing corporations, and other entities, ensuring permanent affordability, resident control over development, and a model of equitable, place-based revitalization without displacement that has inspired similar efforts nationwide.