UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Building the Sacred in Suburbia: Improvisation, Reinvention and Innovation

Dwyer, CL; Gilbert,, D; Ahmed, N; (2015) Building the Sacred in Suburbia: Improvisation, Reinvention and Innovation. Built Environment , 41 (4) pp. 477-490. Green open access

[thumbnail of Dwyer_BuiltEnviromentRevisedAugust2015.pdf]
Preview
Text
Dwyer_BuiltEnviromentRevisedAugust2015.pdf

Download (891kB) | Preview

Abstract

This paper explores diverse practices of religious place-making in suburban space drawing from a research project on the making of suburban faith in West London. We argue that the creative cultures and spaces of suburban faith communities are often marginalized in enduring narratives of secular suburban materialism. In contrast through an analysis of creative responses to suburban space by different faith communities, at different time periods, we suggest both the persistence of suburban faiths and the creativity of suburban faith communities. We argue that creativity is evident through processes of improvisation in the creation of make-shift places of worship in early ‘frontier suburbs’ and in the creative re-adaptation and re-invention of former buildings to new places of worship, often by diasporic faith communities. Finally we emphasise architectural innovation in making new places of worship which engage directly and imaginatively with suburban space. Our analysis suggests the importance of suburban faith communities in the making of suburban spaces and cultures, and the relevance of religion, and sacred place-making, in wider re-evaluations of suburban creativity.

Type: Article
Title: Building the Sacred in Suburbia: Improvisation, Reinvention and Innovation
Location: UK
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Publisher version: http://alexandrinepress.co.uk/built-environment/su...
Language: English
Additional information: Alexandrine Press ©2015
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1473379
Downloads since deposit
378Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item