By Lukwikilu C. Mangayi Housing is one of the greatest needs that African immigrants confront in Johannesburg’s inner city, South Africa. One of the reasons for the manifestation of a shortage of housing correlates with the large-scale and uncontrollable migration, which has occurred over the past three decades or so. This mass migration, predominantly of..
Read moreJust housing: Constructing a theological praxis-agenda in a (South) African city
By Stephan de Beer Against the backdrop of Africa’s urban revolution and the vastly unequal housing patterns in most African cities, this article argues for just housing to be a theological praxis-agenda. Drawing from a very local journey in one South African city, it considers David Korten’s four generations of development as a possible framework..
Read moreFuture(s) for the church on the corner: A proposed praxis of spatial justice for South African congregations
By Caroline J. Powell South Africa, is a racially, economically and spatially divided nation, a legacy of our colonial and apartheid histories. Thirty years into democracy, discourse across all spheres of society around land, spatial and housing justice continues to provoke questions about the political and societal will for making access to land ownership and..
Read moreSafe spaces for marginalised young people: Ambivalent pastoral engagement of Pentecostal churches in the slums of Guatemala
By Martina Bär Many marginalised young people in Guatemala City, one of the poorest and most dangerous cities in the world, face a bleak future. Faced with poor prospects, many turn to the Mara youth gangs, where crime and drug abuse are part of everyday life. The Pentecostal churches offer an alternative to the power..
Read moreDecolonial cities: Considering the potential of the periphery in Rio de Janeiro
By Graham McGeoch Augustine has long set the ‘gold standard’ for any theology of the city. However, in the Americas, Thomas Aquinas’ De regimine principum exerts a greater practical and political influence as it was the basis for the instructions of Spanish and Portuguese crowns to the conquistadores. Colonial city architecture and urban planning followed Christian medieval..
Read moreUrban land ownership and the housing question in Germany: Insights from Catholic social ethics
By Julian Degan As one measure to combat the housing affordability crisis, land policy is once again receiving more attention. However, it is little known that Catholic social ethicists in Germany were also heavily involved in urban land policy debates between 1950 and 1980. Along the lines of Catholic property ethics, they criticised that land..
Read moreJust housing: Transdisciplinary perspectives from theology and the built environment
By: Thomas Wabel & Stephan de Beer In cities worldwide, housing is precarious. Local socio-economic environments can exacerbate existing social differences and exclusions, but can also contribute to alleviate these differences, and to foster high levels of social inclusion. This article introduces a special collection of articles asking how theology should contribute theologically to address..
Read moreSize and the good life: Tiny houses, social housing and the role of social imaginaries
By:Thomas Wable Among the key figures of global housing inequality is the average living space per person. Thus, it comes as no surprise that during the past decade, tiny houses have become an attractive option for some who want to set an example in an affluent society of the global north: free-standing, two-storey building with..
Read moreThe garden city as a commons: Social-ethical perspectives on the new housing question
By: Torsten Meireis & Lukas Johrendt Europe faces a severe shortage in affordable housing. Even though the situation is less dire than in many cities of the Global South, rising rents and real estate prices affect the poorest hardest. Faith-based organisations, especially Christian churches, have monitored and tackled this problem for more than six decades.
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