Governing religious space: Exploring the religion and urban planning nexus

Gale, Richard ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5027-8102 2025. Governing religious space: Exploring the religion and urban planning nexus. Kong, Lily, Woods, Orland and Tse, Justin, eds. Handbook of the Geographies of Religion, Springer International Handbooks of Human Geography, Switzerland: Springer, pp. 391-414. (10.1007/978-3-031-64811-3_24)

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Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to explore the nexus between religion and urban planning. Given its immediate focus on matters of public policy, this theme might seem tangential to much recent debate in the geography of religion. However, research has repeatedly revealed the ways in which urban planning and related forms of state-mandated zoning control impact upon the spatial practices, lived experiences and institutional presence of religious groups in various national and societal contexts. Through its role in managing the development of the built environment, urban planning has a considerable stake both in directing the location, design, and scale of religious sites, and in limiting the ‘externalities’ of their practical use. Moreover, it has become increasingly apparent that planning has divergent impacts on different religious groups, with minority groups in different contexts often tending to be exposed to discriminatory outcomes due to planning decision-making. Such forms of control often present religious organisations with serious practical impediments, necessitating responses that range from creative strategies of spatial adaptation through to organised expressions of political challenge. This chapter draws together international case materials and theoretical discussion both to present an analytical synthesis of this dynamic topic, and to locate it within the wider field of the geography of religion.

Item Type:	Book Section
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Geography and Planning (GEOPL)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Publisher:	Springer
ISBN:	9783031648106
Last Modified:	19 Mar 2025 11:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/176968

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