Church Members Propose Urban Village for Congregation

Parishioners of a historic church in Detroit want to develop eight vacant blocks with missing-middle housing to build a church-centered community.

Incremental Housing, CNU, News, Top StoryRobert SteutevilleJanuary 27, 2023faith communities, Religion, religion, churches, Michigan, public space, community, Community, Incremental Housing

Seeing the Glass as Half Full: Exploring the Reuse Opportunity for Houses of Worship on Main Street

Up to one-third of all houses of worship in the United States will have closed over the next few years. What will we do with the spaces they leave behind?

Faith, Top StoryRick ReinhardMay 20, 2022churches, Religion, religion, main street, downtown, revitalization, public institutions, Faith Featured, faith communities

The Pedalling Pastor

This bicycling pastor’s new book offers valuable advice for any Strong Towns advocate—religious or otherwise.

Bikeability, Stange, Top StoryJay StangeMarch 9, 2022biking, bikes, bikeability, bicycling, Faith Featured, faith communities, human scale, walkability, transportation, active transportation, car-lite

A New Vision for Economic Ecosystems: Interview with Dave Kresta (Part 2)

What are some of the practical ways that faith communities can contribute to healthy economic ecosystems?

Community, Economic Development, Faith, Pattison, Top StoryJohn PattisonFebruary 9, 2022Faith Featured, faith communities, economic development, Economic Development, community, Community

We Are Not Just Economic Creatures: Dave Kresta’s Vision of Economic Development

How do we build vibrant local economies that are good for the people who actually live in a neighborhood?

Community, Economic Development, Faith, Pattison, Top StoryJohn PattisonFebruary 2, 2022Faith Featured, faith communities, economic development, Economic Development, community, Community

Placemaking with Places of Worship

Both urban and suburban places of worship have opportunities to stir the recovery of social gathering places in our communities. Here’s how.

Faith, Community, Public Space, Top StorySara Joy ProppeJanuary 13, 2022faith communities, Faith Featured, churches, Sara Joy Proppe, public space, placemaking, creative placemaking

Faith Communities and Walkability

Strong Towns advocates and faith communities both want to create neighborhoods with vibrant economies that benefit everyone. A good place to begin working together is around walkability.

Faith, Walkability, Top StoryJohn PattisonJanuary 12, 2022faith communities, Faith Featured, walkability, churches

Cultivating Community Beyond Church Walls in Indianapolis

This congregation launched a non-profit organization to help its neighbors—not as an act of benevolence for them, but in solidarity with them.

Tim Soerens: Reconnecting Churches with Their Neighborhoods

In 2022’s inaugural Strong Towns Podcast episode, Chuck interviews Tim Soerens, author and co-founder of the Parish Collective.

Community, Faith, Neighborhoods, ST Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsJanuary 3, 2022faith communities, Faith Featured, churches, Podcast, podcast, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, community building

The Relationship between Urban Design and Charity

It’s hard to meaningfully engage with the poor when everything about our cities is designed to steer us away from them.

Faith, Top Story, OwensTiffany Owens ReedDecember 14, 2021poverty, faith communities, Faith Featured

The Promise of "House of Worship Districts"

In some places, houses of worship have formed interfaith coalitions, and do valuable work on social justice issues—but what if they also addressed issues of economics and place?

Community, Faith, Top StoryRick Reinhard & Dr. Chris ElisaraDecember 2, 2021Faith Featured, faith communities, Religion, religion, churches, community, Community

Strong Towns + Faith Communities: Announcing a New Series

What if religious congregations are the “sleeping giant” of the Strong Towns movement?

Faith, Pattison, Announcement, Top StoryJohn PattisonNovember 30, 2021faith communities, churches, Slow Church, Religion, announcement

The Bottom-Up Revolution is... Paying Attention to Your City

Tiffany Owens is helping people open their eyes, put down their phones, and truly see their cities.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Success Story, Neighborhoods, Top Story, Faith, OwensStrong TownsAugust 26, 2021The Bottom-Up Revolution, faith communities, Faith Featured, taking action

John Pattison: From Slow Food to Slow Church

How churches are pushing back against the “cult of speed” and working with neighbors to weave a fabric of care in their communities.

Faith, Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsDecember 14, 2020Slow Food, Slow Church, Podcast, faith communities

Walk Humbly: How Faith Communities Can Help Build Stronger Towns

Faith communities have a unique and indispensable role in building stronger, more prosperous, and more resilient places. It’s easy to get started.

Top Story, Pattison, Faith, Proppe, Walkability, Top Story 2John PattisonOctober 9, 2020faith communities, walkability

"Does God care how wide a road is?"

There are many entry points to the Strong Towns conversation. For our content manager, it was asking big questions about how our cities’ development patterns can either bring people together or keep them apart.

Pattison, Top Story, FaithJohn PattisonMay 19, 2020Eric Jacobsen, churches, faith communities, Religion, development pattern, Parish Collective

The Dignity of Local Community: A Conversation with Chris Arnade

Chris Arnade’s Dignity is a striking look into the faces of “back row” America—the poor, the homeless, the addicted, the forgotten. And it’s a challenge to us as a society to design policies that respond to their needs and values.

Top Story, Podcast, Marohn, FaithStrong TownsAugust 5, 2019Chris Arnade, poverty, addiction, localism, faith communities, community, community building

Faith Communities Can Help Build Vibrant Neighborhoods

Communities of faith stand in an important position to support vibrant, walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods; and in recent years, some have stepped up to the challenge at a variety of different scales.