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Mattapan Lead Section:

Mattapan bus loop

Mattapan is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. Like a lot of other neighboring cities in Boston, Mattapan is an extremely diverse community. This city suffers from poverty, crime, and the proper education. Historically a section of neighboring Dorchester, Mattapan became a part of Boston when Dorchester was annexed in 1870. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 36,480. Out of 3 other surrounding neighborhoods, Mattapan saw a population decrease but has the highest proportion of Black/African American residents in the city, but the number of blacks actually dropped over the last decade. Like other neighborhoods of the late 19th and early 20th century, Mattapan developed, residentially and commercially, as the railroads and streetcars made downtown Boston increasingly accessible. Predominantly residential, Mattapan is a mix of public housing, small apartment buildings, single-family houses, and two- and three-family houses (known locally as "Three-Deckers" or "Triple-Deckers"). The new Mattapan Branch of the Boston Public library opened in 2009, at a cost of more than $4 million."Like many of the neighborhoods of Boston, Mattapan developed along with the era of streetcars and railroads and got its name from the original Native American name for the Dorchester area meaning, “a good place to be”.

Demographics

In Mattapan the population was 36,299 in 2013. Of this percent, 8.5% was Caucasian, 81% is African American, 1% Asian, 2% mixed race, and 6.5% is devoted to other races. According to the Boston Redevelopment Authority, 67.3% of households are family based rather than single men and women or couples. It was also mentioned that Mattapan is among the highest percentage of people who speak French in their homes. Based on percentages in Mattapan the cost of living is 8% lower than Boston, the total crime rate is 27% higher compared to Boston, the amount of High School graduates are 11% lower than Boston, employment is 9% lower than Boston, and housing is 23% lower than Boston. Also for your convenience and support, the Department of Housing and Urban Development have many options available for people or families with all different needs. Finding a job is very difficult nowadays but If you are unemployed and struggling to pay rent or looking for low income housing there are apartments that you can rent. Looking at it from a different perspective, if your looking for a place to own that option is available as well. There are single family homes, family apartments, disabled and senior citizen apartments, and apartments for children and their families all within your budget span. Here is a place for all to live, they welcome diversity and the population of mixed cultures continues to increase.

Urban Policies

In 1960, redlining was a huge issue in Mattapan. Redlining was an act of discrimination. It denied people the access to get loans or mortgages on houses if you lived in a certain area. Racial segregation is a constant problem in society today and although it has become less of a problem it still exists. "The population in Manhattan during the 1960's rose from 500 to over 19,000 in one decade. This was followed by an influx of thousands of Haitians in the 1970s. By 1999, The Boston Globe reported that there were between 70,000 and 120,000 Haitians living in Mattapan, making it one of the largest Haitian communities in Massachusetts." Nowadays Manhattan is still a very popular place to live. Mostly people of color migrate here because of racial segregation, for example, stated in the article, over 90% of the population is made up of colored people, 84% being Black, 7% Latino, 3% White, and 1% Asian. Per capita income in Mattapan for a typical neighborhood is just $14,800.

According to this article, Black and Latino residents in the Mattapan area experience higher levels of chronic disease, mortality, and poorer health than the White residents living in Mattapan. This is an issue of unequal opportunity within Mattapan. Whites in any city or town get the proper health care that is needed whereas Blacks are discriminated against just because they are a different color. With information to build off what I just said, the Boston Health Public Commission (BPHC) stated that, "These persistent health disparities are driven by the interaction of several factors including racism, living conditions, physical environment, socioeconomic status, food security, lifestyle, available health services, and existing health policies. The data provided offers a broad picture of the health experience of our city, identifies individuals and communities at greatest risk for certain conditions, and stimulates discussion among individuals within our communities. Understanding the city's diversity is essential to developing policies and strategies that address health equity in Boston."

Mattapan platforms and yard

Urban Renewal has played a great deal in the city of Mattapan. Then Boston Mayor Thomas Menino helped put these projects into place in 2006. After increased business and capital investment in commercial areas along with peoples properties, Mattapan became more popular and more of an increasing area that people moved to.

Community Resources

Along with the library, Mattapan has many other activities that you can take part in. If you have children you can choose to take them to the playground, the pop-up museum, which involves both the parents and child, while you work with education leaders in the community your child can learn about literacy and learn new activities with you by their side. Most importantly, there is a Mattapan Community Health Center in the center of the city which is very important and useful to know about. Also, "Child Quality Care Initiative (CQCI) aims to work with multicultural home care providers in the Dudley Square neighborhood to improve quality of care and school readiness." This can be very beneficial to parents who just moved here and want their kids to get a head start on their education. It is also an advantage for children to get to know one another before entering school so they can make friends prior and feel more comfortable in the classrooms.

Within any city, what is usually significant to know is your surroundings, the people within your neighborhood, and making a positive difference in your city. Mattapan offers it all. They have endless options to allow you to give back to your community. For example, the Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition, Fairmount Greenway Coalition, Neponset River Greenway Coalition, Mattapan United, and the Youth and Family Enrichment Services is all being offered to anyone who wants to be part of it. To learn more about each of these very successful projects just click the links provided and it will direct you to what they entail. Mattapan Community Health Center Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition Fairmount Greenway Coalition Neponset River Greenway Coalition Mattapan United Youth and Family Enrichment Services And of course if you are feeling hungry and looking for places to eat there are plenty of restaurants that received four stars and have plenty of reviews available for you to read. Some of the best restaurants that are well known in Mattapan are, Chinatown Express, Simco's, Ali's Roti Restaurant, Flames Restaurant, and River Street Grill.Conveniently enough, there is so much to offer in Mattapan in just 1 mile from the center of it. There are 20 grocery stores, 20 restaurants and liquor stores, 20 shopping areas, 1 coffee and cafe shop, 20 schools, 20 parks, 4 libraries, 1 night life entertainment, 20 public transportation, and 3 fitness centers. There is ample amount of things to do in Mattapan with plenty of transportation to bring you back and forth.

PCC 3238 at Mattapan

Education

Education is one of the most important things people look at when moving to a new town/city. Mattapan has countless school systems for parents and children to research and visit to find one that best fits the needs of their child. Depending on what grade your child is in here are the options, "there are 7 K-12 schools in Mattapan, MA, including 5 public schools and 2 private schools. There are 8 Mattapan elementary schools, 3 Mattapan middle schools and 21 Mattapan preschool schools." All within the Boston District Community. There is also a Boys and Girls Club called the Mattapan Teen Center which is a safe and fun environment for kids to go and take on responsibilities that will later help them evolve into responsible adults. It is a time for kids to have fun, interact with one another, and face the realities of the real world. Statistically, Mattapan school systems resulted in 40% of males receiving their High School Diploma and 33.9% of females receiving theirs.

The schools in Mattapan have received some really good reviews from parents who's kids went to these schools. One school, which is Dr. Catherine Ellison-Rosa Parks Early Education School, is for third graders only, and got 5 out of 5 stars and her review was, "I love this School! My son has been here for 2 years and I love this small and cozy school. Its sad that is only to 3rd grade. I love the School personnel, and specially Luis because he help me and my son in our native spanish language. Love you all and Thank's 4 everything!!!" It is important to see that the staff at this school are working tirelessly with students who speak a different language and with further research I'm sure there are plenty more schools like this. Parents or caregivers have the option of sending their children to either public or private schools and within these schools there are many accommodations to work with both the families and children who may have a disability or who needs to learn to speak English fluently.

Transportation

The Mattapan-Ashmont trolley line of the MBTA serves Mattapan as well as several bus routes. This line is the only one in Boston that has streetcars which makes it extremely unique because it is a part of our worlds history that still works today; it is explained that riding on the Mattapan Line gives people "a strong sense of what transit was once like in Boston." This specific line is said to be "the most scenic transit route in Boston today." To give you an idea of what riding in a streetcar is like, the Mattapan High Speed Line website explains it best with these next few sentences, "Since the line was converted from steam train to streetcar operation in 1928, the Mattapan Line trolleys have shuttled riders from Ashmont Station in the delightful Lower Mills neighborhood of Dorchester along the Neponset River through Milton to Mattapan. The line instantly takes a country feel to it after it leaves the urban setting of Peabody Square. From then on, the line runs alongside the Neponset River, where one can see greenery and water all around. Milton, particularly the area around the Central Avenue station, feels very classic, with plenty of small independent shops and restaurants some of which still retain 1950s signage. At the Butler, Milton or Central Avenue stations, one can hitch onto the Neponset Trail and take a "walk through the country," or even a bike or kayak ride, about half an hour away from Boston!" All in all, the Mattapan Line provides a scenic, easily accessible country retreat from thrills of Boston all for the cost of a typical T fare.

The Fairmount Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail also serves Mattapan at Morton Street, providing service to downtown Boston and the suburbs. The Fairmount Corridor Commuter Rail Line currently runs from South Station south through the Boston neighborhoods of Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan and terminates in Readville section of Hyde Park. It consists of approximately 9.2 miles of track, four stations (Uphams Corner, Morton Street, Fairmount, and Readville) and forty-one bridges. It is the only Commuter Rail Branch that exclusively serves the City of Boston and MBTA’s Urban Core.

Parks and Outdoor Spaces

In Mattapan there is a statue called the Rise/Gateway to Boston. It stands in Mattapan Square at Blue Hill Ave and Cummins Highway. The two 19-foot tall statues "suggests an archway that welcomes motorists and pedestrians into Mattapan Square. Former Mattapan residents each created one of the two sculptures. "One statue is known to depict the diversity of Mattapan, which has been home to many different ethnic populations." These two statues represent the Native Americans, more along the lines of the Mattahunt tribe who came here 400 years ago. The other statue is of a black Civil War solider and the purpose of this is to portray the immigrants who lived here in the earlier years, those being Jews, Germans, and of Irish descent. There is also another statue across from this one and is described as, "Eutemy's more abstract piece evokes a positive future, illustrated through the symbol of a rising sun. The mask-like faces below belong to no clearly defined racial or ethnic group. Explaining the significance of their work, Cunningham and Eutemy borrowed the words of Dr. Martin Luther King: “Live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” These statues are of significant importance because Mattapan is so diverse and has been this way for such a long time that it needs to be honored and what better way then to make a sculpture to represent this. It has a purpose as to why it stands in Mattapan Square and that is to remind all everyday that we are all equal and need to be united as one.

Other than looking at famous pieces regarding Mattapan's history there are many other things for you to do, for instance, you have the option of going to Mattapan Square Farmer's Market to enjoy fresh fruit and you have the choice of paying with cash, EBT cards, coupons, or if your a senior citizen you can pay with the senior citizen coupons. It allows people the chance to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, etc, and the chance to pay for it all in the most accommodating way possible. The Boston Nature Center in Mattapan is a beautiful scenery for people and families to enjoy. You have the option of going down trails or boardwalks or make your way through meadows and wetlands. "It is home to over 150 species of birds, 40 species of butterflies, and more than 350 species of plants." The trails that are accessible for people to experience and try out is the, Snail Trail, Fox Trail, Rabbit Trail, Sensory Trail, and the Nature Nook. All of these trails have different scenaries for you to take in and appreciate and if you want to be hands on, the Nature Nook allows you to dig, build, climb, or make music and art. The Nature Center attracts many tourists and has endless amounts of things for people of all ages to do.

Further reading

• Cantave, Alix (2010) "Incorporation or Symbiosis: Haitians and African Americans in Mattapan," Trotter Review: Vol. 19: Iss. 1, Article 7. Available at: http://scholarworks.umb.edu/trotter_review/vol19/iss1/7