The Megachurch in the Landscape: Adapting to Changing Sale and Managing Integrated Green Space in Texas and Oklahoma, USA

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Bratton

Christian megachurches in Texas and Oklahoma, of 4000 weekly attendance or greater, vary in green space design from impenetrable to highly accessible, and from predominantly mowed lawn to sophisticated plans incorporating a variety of outdoor recreational and ritual spaces. The most complex layouts include sites for baptism and prayer, as well as small natural areas. Conscious expression of practical theology or Christian symbolism in the green space is correlated to higher landscape connectivity and diversity. The recent appearance of large church campuses, exceeding 50 ha, has resulted in sporadic innovation, while for many large congregations green space remains an underutilized resource. Five theological questions for religious campus planners include how does green space: 1) express God's beauty; 2) honor providential environmental services; 3) teach about the relationship between God, humanity, and the environment; 4) provide connections among God, nature, the congregation and the neighbors; and 5) provide for the needs of others?

Author(s):  
Fengrui Jing ◽  
Lin Liu ◽  
Suhong Zhou ◽  
Jiangyu Song ◽  
Linsen Wang ◽  
...  

Previous literature has examined the relationship between the amount of green space and perceived safety in urban areas, but little is known about the effect of street-view neighborhood greenery on perceived neighborhood safety. Using a deep learning approach, we derived greenery from a massive set of street view images in central Guangzhou. We further tested the relationships and mechanisms between street-view greenery and fear of crime in the neighborhood. Results demonstrated that a higher level of neighborhood street-view greenery was associated with a lower fear of crime, and its relationship was mediated by perceived physical incivilities. While increasing street greenery of the micro-environment may reduce fear of crime, this paper also suggests that social factors should be considered when designing ameliorative programs.


Author(s):  
Mikael Hallenius

Faith-based organizations and professional development: A case for practical theology? The question discussed in this article is: “in what ways can perspectives from practical theology  contribute to the study of professional development within faith-based organizations? To an swer this question, I present my critical reading of the report, När tilliten prövas: En studie av  studieförbundet Ibn Rushd samhällsbidrag (2019) and the results are analyzed utilizing per spectives from practical theology. My method is theory-testing critical reading where I search  for and present concepts in the report concerning 1) What is said of religion in the relationship  between religion and society in the report? 2) Which perspectives are raised in the report con cerning stakeholders, staff, and visitors/participants behavior? Finally, using perspectives from  practical theology, I outline two answers addressing what professional development in faith based organizations is and how practical theology can contribute in this field. Firstly, I propose  that professional development in faith-based professions occurs when one’s own and other’s  expression of intentional religion is perceived as one of many positive assets from the onset.  Practical theology has the resources to both study and develop knowledge in these processes.  Secondly, I claim that practical theology has resources to identify and utilize lessons learned  from other professions with clear religious identities. Their experiences should be of interest  for actors dealing with similar challenges and for society in general. Professional development  in faith-based organizations is a case for practical theology.  


Author(s):  
Kaili Chen ◽  
Tianzheng Zhang ◽  
Fangyuan Liu ◽  
Yingjie Zhang ◽  
Yan Song

In recent years, the interest in the relationship between urban green space and residents’ mental health has gradually risen. A number of researchers have investigated the causal relationship and possible mediators between the two, although few have summarized these mediators. For this reason, we searched for relevant studies and filtered them by criteria and quality score, and analyzed the mediators and paths of the impact of urban green space on residents’ mental health. The mediators can be divided into environmental factors, outdoor activity, and social cohesion. From the perspective of heterogeneity, both individual characteristics (e.g., age and gender) and group characteristics (e.g., level of urban development and urban density) of residents are considered to be the cause of various mediating effects. Types of urban green space tend to affect residents’ mental health through different paths. Furthermore, this review discusses the details of each part under the influence paths. Finally, the policy implications for urban green space planning from three mediator levels are put forward based on an analysis of the situation in different countries.


Horizons ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael G. Lawler

ABSTRACTThis essay is an exercise in practical theology, the theological reflection arising out of and in response to the church's actual situation. Practical theology insists that it is not enough to analyze the church's actual situation with deductive, ahistorical theological principles, but that it is necessary, first, to uncover and, then, reflect critically on the actual situation to test it for the presence of the Spirit, relevance, and significance in light of the gospel. Practical theology grows out of the relationship between theoria and praxis which, for the church, is the relationship between faith and praxis. The essay argues that to recognize scientifically the church's actual situation and to perform the required theological reflection practical theology requires sociology.The essay explores, therefore, the relationship between practical theology and the data of sociological research. It also examines the theological realities, sensus fidei and reception, and explores their relationship to that data. The exploration is concretized theologically by a consideration of the sociological data and theology about two Catholic moral doctrines, divorce and remarriage without prior annulment and artificial contraception. A theological reflection on the actual situation of both doctrines and a sociological consideration of the data suggest the conclusion that a dramatic development and re-reception of both doctrines, in line with previous dramatic developments of doctrine in the church, is under way.


Jurnal BIOMA ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
PUTRI DIANA ◽  
REFIRMAN DJAMAHAR ◽  
HANUM ISFAENI

ABSTRACT Urban area is dominated by land that  functioned  of  the  interest of  economy and  settlement,  but only a few land allocated for wildlife. The butterflies was one of the wildlife that could be found         in urban areas.The remaining habitat that can be used by butterflies assumed confined to the urban green space. Based on its life cycle, the butterflies having an initial phase (egg to larvae) is a phase which is generally require specific habitat. This research aims to determine the relationship between landscape characteristic and oviposition site preferences of butterfly. This research was conducted on April to June, 2014 at fifteen urban green spaces in East Jakarta by using descriptive survey technique. Landscape characteristics measured include area, perimeter, lawn area, closed vegetation area, open vegetation area, non vegetation area. Landscape characteristic not only measured from urban green space, but also measured from the area around urban green space within the scope of 100 meters  buffer. Results show that there is a relationship between landscape characteristic and oviposition site preferences. Significant positive correlation between the abundance and area correlation coefficients   rs (0,546), open vegetation area rs (0,758) and non vegetation buffer area rs (0,688). There was no significant correlation between the abundance with perimeter area,  lawn  area,  closed  vegetation  area,  non vegetation  area,  lawn  buffer,  open  vegetation  buffer  and  closed  vegetation  buffer.   Keywords: caterpillar,landscape characteristic, oviposition site, preferences, urban green space


2020 ◽  
pp. 147447402094887
Author(s):  
Paul Draus ◽  
Dagmar Haase ◽  
Jacob Napieralski ◽  
Salman Qureshi ◽  
Juliette Roddy

This paper offers an exploratory overview of different research literatures examining the relationship between urban nature or green space on the one hand, and marginalized, stigmatized, and illicit activities on the other. We situate this discussion within the geographic literature concerning assemblage theory and informality, and apply these concepts to urban green space. We offer some comparative examples from Detroit and Berlin, two cities known for their green space and illicit activity, but with very different histories and cultural contexts. For this purpose, we draw on our own primary research in both Detroit and Berlin, examining how the dynamics of these interactions produce diverse and distinctive urban places in some cases and associations of danger or insecurity in others, sometimes both simultaneously. We utilize diverse methodologies, including qualitative interviews and focus groups, mobile explorations, photography, and sketching to provide examples of spaces as complex assemblages of actors with diverse, emergent potentials. We conclude by contending that green spaces and urban nature belong on the same map as studies of informal and illicit activities, adopting a more fluid conception of the shifting relationship between people and green space in the evolving city.


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