The fifth annual Curbed Cup, our award for the best Hub neighborhood of the year, is kicking off with 16 enclaves vying for the prestigious fake trophy. We'll have two match-ups per day this week, and all the results and the full tourney bracket will be reviewed on Friday. Voting for each pairing ends after 24 hours. Let the eliminations continue!

Next up: No. 5 seed South Watertown vs. No. 12 West Medford.





South Watertown is not a neighborhood, per se, but the southern slice of the town is where all the Watertown action is—namely, lots of new development. That's why South Watertown made the Curbed Cup Sweet 16. Projects include the under-construction 58 Irving Street, which is due to have around 300 apartments; a future Marriott hotel off Elm Street; and the tech-y Linx office complex at 480 Arsenal Street, which broke ground in September. 'Tis enough to make people rethink the whole area.

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West Medford in (where else?) Medford has been undergoing profound changes the last few years, as newer residents in desperate search of cheaper housing move in and older residents feel increasingly priced out. Such changeover for the traditionally African-American community is sure to intensify once the Green Line finally (maybe) pushes into Medford and connects with a commuter-rail route already servicing West Medford. Heck, there were once plans to run the Green Line all the way into the neighborhood, but, like so many T extensions, it fell by the wayside.

· Change On the Mystic [Globe]

· It's Anyone's Guess When the Green Line Will Be Finished [Curbed Boston]

· The Blue to Lynn and Other T Extensions That Never Happened [Curbed Boston]

· Mapping All the New Development in Busy Watertown [Curbed Boston]

· Groundbreaking Set for Big Part of Watertown's Building Boom [Curbed Boston]

· Our Curbed Cup 2015 archive [Curbed Boston]