Placemaking with Places of Worship
A church standing over a town square and marketplace in Germany. (Source: Flickr.)
Churches have historically served as anchor institutions in the local community—often located at the physical center of a town and operating as a place of social gathering. Much of this reality has shifted in the collective American Suburban Experiment that has, at a universal level, diminished both town centers and vibrant places for social gathering. Our current crises of loneliness and polarization hint that there are severe downsides to this modern paradigm within the fabric of our cities.
I contend that, rather than submit to this status quo, we ought to muster greater intentionality for developing places that meet our human need for real-life social networks, which are established by way of knowing our actual neighbors and loving our actual places. Eric Klinenberg makes a great case for this in his book Palaces for the People.
In the book, he fleshes out the term “social infrastructure” by describing the places and networks that provide the social backbone so vital to fostering a healthy community. While Klinenberg hones in on the ways that public libraries have served this role, I believe that places of worship are also particularly valuable players in this arena, especially in view of their historic roots. In my experience, both urban and suburban places of worship have opportunities to stir the recovery of social gathering places in our communities.
A foundational starting point for any place of worship wanting to make inroads for connecting neighbors is to visibly open your space for public use. This may require a shift in your orientation to the property. While much time likely has been dedicated to designing the property to support the needs of the particular communities that meet and worship there, it is not likely much thought has been given to how the property is perceived, experienced, and valued by those outside the four walls.
Most places of worship have some form of quasi-public space, yet little is done to make it invitational for active use by the local community. Thinking of spaces, such as parking lots, front, and side yards, sidewalks, and possibly alleyways and playgrounds, as opportunities for community flourishing will provoke you to ask new questions, such as: “Would someone walking by our property experience an invitation to health, goodness, and delight?” Or, “How does this property serve those living in our neighborhood, even those who may never enter the church door?”
There are two immediate pushbacks I hear when I suggest that churches design and plan for public use of space on their properties. The first is property insurance and liability. I’ll start with the disclaimer that every place of worship is unique, and every insurance policy has its individual nuances, so always check with your insurance broker to mitigate risks as best as possible. But most churches already are carrying a hefty amount of insurance because they are inviting the public on to their property every week for services in some fashion. Adding for liability coverage for things such as public seating, gardens, playgrounds, and dog parks are usually negligible in cost.
The second concern is attracting unwanted behavior. This is not a problem unique to places of worship. For decades, city parks have been attracting individuals who may be “up to no good.” While safety is important, I encourage churches to dip a toe in the water to see what actually happens if they invest a small amount in some public placemaking infrastructure.
Oftentimes fears are based on hypothetical what-ifs, and if there is opportunity to root the conversation in reality, everyone is much better positioned to learn what does and doesn’t work and adapt to what really happens on the ground. Moreover, good behavior drives out bad behavior. The more activity and connections that a place sparks among neighbors, the less you will struggle with a forlorn, abandoned, and scary lot.
Here are three simple examples of ways that places of worship have embraced the public space mindset with their property and made it visibly open to public use.
(Source: Author.)
1. Extend a Simple Invitation
This church in St. Paul, Minnesota, simply put up a sign that directly invites people in the neighborhood to use their property. This front lawn has been one of the more active church spaces I encounter while on my walks, so it seems to be working! This example gives me the opportunity to stress the importance of signage. I’ve heard so many churches lament that they invested money on small placemaking improvements to their property, only to have no one use them. Inevitably I ask whether they actually communicated that these things were for public use and, all too often, the answer is no. If you want neighbors to use these places, you have to invite them!
2. Put in a Walking Path
This church in Edina, Minnesota, has a significant amount of greenspace, which is not developable due to the local watershed, yet it is great for an intentionally designed walking path that can be enjoyed by the neighborhood. They piloted the walking path idea with their congregation on a Sunday a few years ago. It stirred everyone’s imaginations and three years later, they’ve mulched the pathway and strung it with Christmas lights for the holiday season. This project has sparked more active use by church members and the local community. Furthermore, in pursuing a master plan for the property, they’ve decided to prioritize landscaping and exterior improvements that will benefit the community before considering interior upgrades. This definitive orientation in their approach to the property blossomed from a low-cost walking path pilot project that ignited a new vision for their place in the community.
3. Develop a Dog Park
A dog park might feel like a heavy lift, but this is actually a pretty straightforward, low-cost investment for a church to consider! Dog parks have become a modern-day watering hole where neighbors meet and friendships are formed. Many churches could easily provide this venue on their property, and I’ve discovered that several churches do. I reached out to Central Christian Church in Dallas, Texas, and asked them to share with me some valuable insight they’ve gained in creating a dog park:
They carry additional insurance, but only saw about $1,000 increase to the annual premium. No insurance claims have been made thus far.
They contract a service for dog waste disposal that costs $275/month to come three times a week.
While no permitting was required by the city, noise ordinances apply, so park hours need to be restricted accordingly.
Signage is critical! (No surprise here.) Once in a while, someone (or a dog) does get out of line and being able to point to posted rules and guidelines is a valuable avenue for rectifying the issue.
After 3–4 years of being up and running, the dog park has become financially self-sustaining. A community developed organically among those using the park and they now raise money together for improvements and events, always inviting the congregation to join in.
Lastly, they noted, “If your congregation sees interactions with the community as a ministry, then go for it.”
Obviously these ideas are applicable to more than places of worship, but my work is centered on activating churches to be stewards of neighborhood flourishing with their properties. If you want to take a deeper dive into the theological framework for why churches ought to engage in placemaking endeavors as part of their mission, you can check out the Redemptive Placemaking Toolkit, which I co-authored. It’s also full of placemaking ideas and worksheets to help you lead a team in identifying a project that fits your community context. I believe recovering places for social gathering and building relationships with our neighbors is fundamental to the health of our communities. And, I would love to see more churches leading the way in this placemaking effort!
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Sara Joy Proppe is the founder of Proximity Project, an educational and consulting firm centered on equipping churches to be strategic stewards of their properties through placemaking and real estate development for the common good. She is the co-host of the Embedded Church Podcast and writes and speaks nationally on the intersections of urban design, placemaking, and theology.
Public bathrooms are an essential component of people-centered places. In addition to maintaining public health, they encourage foot traffic and community, as people are more likely to frequent an area when they know bathrooms will be available — especially if they have children or medical conditions.