Mission Hill is in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury. The area selected to study for this project extends southeast along Tremont Street from Brigham Circle at the intersection of Huntington Avenue and Tremont Street and ends just past the Tobin Community Center at Faxon Street. I chose to study this site because as of a year ago this Boston neighborhood was unknown to me. I began to visit the Maurice J. Tobin Elementary School weekly as part of a mentoring program, and due to the unpredictability of the subway, I would often arrive early to the site and spend my time exploring the nearby streets. I chose to study Mission Hill because of its distinct differences from surrounding areas, its variety of land uses and its ability to change.

My first reaction to this site was the clear transition into Mission Hill from the surrounding area. Mission Hill can be reached from downtown Boston on Green Line E trains that run down the middle of Huntington Avenue, or the "Avenue of the Arts." This route passes by Symphony Hall, Northeastern University, The Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts College of Art, and the Harvard School of Public Health. The Harvard School of Public Health is an immense building that provides a contrast to the 7-11 convenience store on the other side of the subway tracks and marks the start of the ascent up the hill at the intersection of Huntington Avenue and Tremont Street.

At this intersection the patterns of land use change from large-scale educational and institutional buildings to smaller scale row houses, cafés, restaurants, and convenience stores. The stores themselves range from popular chains such as Dunkin Donuts and Subway to stores carrying ethnic foods from India. One the right side of the street a major construction project is being undertaken after several months of demolition and blasting of the rocky hillside. Nearing completion, the brick building hugging the street at One Brigham Circle is to be a mixed-use neighborhood center with retail and office space, a village square and a park.

Since this section of Mission Hill is composed mostly of three story row houses, the apartment complex at 1575 Tremont Street between Worthington and St. Alphonsus Streets is a contrast to the overall character of the site. Constructed from brick and concrete, this building rises 13 stories above the ground and overwhelms the surrounding buildings. Counteracting this apartment complex is the landmark and namesake of the site, the Mission Church. This is a basilica style church constructed from locally quarried puddingstone.

Next to the church is the only green open space in this part of Mission Hill. As the land falls away to the northeast, Mission Hill Playground is terraced into three levels. The street level consists of a few benches grouped closer to the street and a couple solitary benches against the low granite wall overlooking the city of Boston. This level is often vacant and littered with trash. A playground and a few concrete tables, with a checkerboard pattern set in the top of them, occupy the mid-level of the park and are used by the Tobin Elementary School for recess. The lower level consists of playing fields for baseball and soccer and is directly adjacent to the school. Continuing down Tremont Street is the Parker Hill Branch of the Boston Public Library and the Tobin Community Center that also accommodates a middle school.

At the present time it is noticeable that the area is undergoing many changes. The community has initiated some of these changes and they are proud of it. A few of the local shops boast signs declaring their participation in the improvement of the area as part of the Mission Hill Main Streets Improvement Program. Through this program commercial property owners can receive grant money to restore the facades of their buildings.
It will be interesting to explore the apparent conflict between residents of the Mission Hill community and the educational and medical institutions that are trying to expand into the area. Part of this conflict will also be the influx of college students seeking housing in an area that has primarily had family oriented community focus. Most importantly, a study of this area show how all the parts of Mission Hill, from the Brigham Circle business district to the Mission Hill Playground, create a cohesive neighborhood and what changes are at hand for the future.