City PlanningMedicineNew BostonUrban Renewal Photograph of a street intersection with residential housing and hospital buildings in the background and a sign stating, "Welcome to Mission Hill" in the foreground.

Gown vs. Town: Opposition to Harvard’s Development in Mission Hill

In the mid-1960’s, Harvard University purchased twenty acres of land in the diverse and predominantly working-class Mission Hill section of Roxbury in the hopes of expanding its presence in the Longwood Medical Area. Having witnessed the disastrous effects of redevelopment in the West End and successful community intervention in other Boston neighborhoods, Mission Hill residents, with the help of young activists from Harvard itself, were able to secure affordable housing for over a thousand people.

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