Harvard’s Allston campus planning team has been talking with the residents of Allston about how it wants to drastically makeover this gritty, industrial part of town and turn it into a science hub. But apparently, they haven’t been talking with them enough, according to the Globe today.

Harvard is putting on hold its plans to build an art gallery in Allston due to opposition from residents. They say they don’t like the proposed location of the gallery and they weren’t consulted enough. Sounds to me like they need time to process all the proposed changes to their neighborhood, including the construction of the new science complex (which could start as early as this summer).

Harvard has big plans but it will need to move carefully. If residents are so cautious about a seemingly benign art gallery (something the public could conceivably benefit from), who knows how they’ll react to new science buildings (something they won’t benefit from as directly)? Consultation and communication are key!

I’m sure Harvard, not known for having the best relations with the city of Cambridge, is learning a lot about the need to keep the community in the loop.