Details of Projects and Links received so far are listed below.
‘Being Built Together’
(University of Roehampton & partners)
This was a two year project running from June 2011 to June 2013 investigating the demographics and ecclesiology of new black majority churches (nBMCs) in the London Borough of Southwark. There was a particular focus on the significance of premises and planning in this study. We were partnered by a range of organisations, including a number of churches and church networks, as well as Southwark Council and the Metropolitan Police. We gave a close estimate of 240+ nBMCs in the Borough, which is nearly twice all the other churches put together, and probably the largest concentration of African Christianity outside of Africa. Further details, including the downloadable report, can be found here.
Colonial and Post-Colonial Governance of Islam: Continuities and Ruptures
Network member, Dr Marcel Maussen alerted us to this open access link to this complete book he has co-edited, published by Amsterdam University Press in 2011.
Constructing Mosques: The governance of Islam in France and the Netherlands
Network member, Dr Marcel Maussen alerted us to this open access link to his complete thesis, available from the University of Amsterdam.
Empowering Design Practices: historic places of worship as catalysts for connecting communities
A new AHRC research project running for 5 years as a collaboration between the Open University, Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage, Historic Religious Buildings Alliance and The Glass-House Community Led Design. A call for expressions of interest is available here and a website link will be ready soon. The project leaders are looking for potential historic places of worship with whom they can work together.
Faith in Affordable Housing
The Faith in Affordable Housing project aims at helping churches with the process of releasing land and buildings for affordable housing. See the Housing Justice website for further details here.
‘Making Space for Worship’ – Article in Planning Resource
Philip Smith of Land Use Consultants and Susan Parham of CAG Consultants identify some key factors for determining qualitative and quantitative need for places of worship. The article is the February 2010 edition of Planning Resource.
Making Suburban Faith: Design, Material Culture and Popular Creativity in Suburban Faith Communities
A new AHRC project led by Dr Claire Dwyer of UCL and Professor David Gilbert of Royal Holloway. For further details, click here.
This project explores the ways in which suburban faith communities create space focusing on architectures, material cultures, rituals, music and performance. The project is based in Ealing in West London and focuses on eight different faith community case studies selected to represent different faith and migration traditions. These cases studies also represent different aesthetic and material cultures in their faith traditions and practices and in their buildings and community spaces. The project involves four main research strands: survey and ethnographic work ; ethnographic work with community members to explore home-based faith cultures and practices; ethnographic work on religious music and performance; three artistic projects which involve members from across the different faith communities.
‘Northampton Faith Communities Profile and Places of Worship Audit & Needs Assessment’
(CAG Consultants with LUC and Diverse Ethics)
Commissioned by Northampton Borough Council and Northampton Inter Faith Forum, this study was published in June 2013 (and was shortlisted for an RTPI award). The whole report can be downloaded here, and the conclusions resonate with the earlier and similar study in London (‘Responding to the needs…’ below).
‘Peace on Earth’ – Article in Environmental Health News
This piece in EHN (featured on our blog) addresses issues around ‘noise pollution’ for places of worship, as well as planning issues more broadly. It does identify a number of good practice cases in the Dec ’14 – Jan ’15 issue.
‘Responding to the needs of faith communities: places of worship’
(CAG Consultants with Land Use Consultants and Diverse Ethics)
This significant research, commissioned by the Greater London Authority, examined the needs of faith communities across London in relation to places of worship. Published in May 2008, the full report is available for download here.
Recommendations from the report were addressed at our first network event, including the need for better guidance on assessing the spatial needs of faith groups, and clearer planning policies for places of worship.
Tate Modern – Sunday Service
Tate Modern’s Regeneration and Community section commissioned Chloe Dewe Mathews to photograph some of the many black majority churches in the borough of Southwark. Often based in former industrial premises (like Tate Modern), the juxtaposition of the industrial exterior and emotionally engaged vibrant communities within are the focus of Mathews work.
See details of the Sunday Service exhibition that took place earlier in 2014, and Chloe’s blog entries ‘Meet London’s African churches‘ and ‘Photographing London’s Sunday service rituals‘, as well as the video of Chloe’s photographic journey on this project.
Faith and Place network 