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Sacred Suburbia: when American
Evangelicalism and New Urbanism Meet
Shared with the World by Elangkathir Duhindan
Although a significant cultural and political
force in the United States, especially in the
suburbs, the role of Evangelical Christians in
shaping the built environment has been
overlooked in planning literature. This
research presents an initial attempt to
understand this relationship in the absence
of scholarly literature on this topic.
Focusing on a case study in Reynoldsburg,
Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, this
dissertation investigates a mixed-use
development led by an Evangelical
denomination, a rare occurrence. Following
a thorough literature review that
contextualizes the different forces at play in
this development, the researcher
undertook semi-structured interviews with
key figures involved in the development to
better understand the dynamics and
motivations involved in this project. These
interviews were coded and analyzed to
arrive at distinct themes, which inform the
structure of the discussion. Ultimately, this
research finds that collaboration between
Evangelical leaders and planning
practitioners in this case is due to market
incentives; the use of a New Urbanistinspired
typology is due to these market
incentives. Ultimately, the Evangelical
leaders were more influenced by the
market and the opinions of planning professionals than theological or ideological
principles, and therefore planners have
opportunity to catalyze on the profitability
motive when partnering with religious
groups. This research may have wide
implications for both planning academia
and practice, and hopefully spur greater
consideration of the role that Evangelical
Christians, along with other religious
groups, may play in development.
Shared with the World by Elangkathir Duhindan