Mount Pleasant is bordered by the Avondale West, Vainona, Emerald Hill, Belgravia, and Marlborough suburbs.

By the end of the Second World War, Mount Pleasant had become an extremely desirable place to live and was forever changed by the opening of the University of Rhodesia in 1953.

[3] Mount Pleasant is located in the northern part of Harare, and is bordered by the Vainona, Pomona, Emerald Hill, Belgravia, and Marlborough suburbs.

[4] Along with their homes, the university added much to the vibrancy of the neighbourhood, with bookstores, cafes, restaurants and other amenities creating a bohemian, academic atmosphere, distinguishing it from the quieter suburban enclaves of wealthy families to its North East and the gritty CBD.

[5] The neighborhood is well preserved and maintained, however some of the historic homes have been torn down, renovated into businesses, or transferred to institutional use.

Since the 1980s Mount Pleasant had developed into a neighborhood fairly integrated among economic classes and races, albeit with the price of housing rising the further north one travels.

Beginning in the mid-twentieth century, Mount Pleasant could boast of numerous prominent residents, many of whom were affiliated with the University of Zimbabwe.

[citation needed] Mount Pleasant's location as the academic and intellectual centre of Harare as well as its large population of well-to-do residents have made it an important cultural and bohemian hub of the city, noted for its independent bookstores, including the Book Club and House of Books Co-op bookstore, on Redhill Road.

Nearby Bond Street offers numerous restaurants, bakeries and cafes, along with small grocery stores, hair stylists, and dry cleaners, which add much to the vibrancy of the area.

The neighborhood borders Mount Pleasant proper, and is bounded by the A11 motorway to the west, Ashbrittle to the southwest, and Vainona and Borrowdale to the southeast.

[citation needed] Mount Pleasant Heights was initially entirely residential, with no commercial zoning, and single family and rambler houses on very large parcels.

Most of the neighborhood's housing stock was built in the 1990s, however since 2005 the area has become increasingly popular with non-resident Zimbabweans as an alternative to the pricey Northeast, resulting in higher prices, uneven development and growing sprawl, with many of the original families emigrating or moving out of the area, as hyperinflation favored international buyers, while diminishing locals' savings.