Building in God's Backyard: Housing on Faith Property

Course Details

The old model of the single-use house-of-worship property, barely used six days a week, surrounded by a fence, with a large, unused parking lot, no longer works — neither for the faith institution nor for the community. Savvy houses of worship are considering mixed use as a solution to the mismatch between large buildings and small congregations. Planners compare the excess of house-of-worship space to the deficit in affordable housing and view a possible solution.

This course brings together a diverse team who have been studying the issue including a planner, consultant, and academic. The team will spotlight cases that highlight how the Black Church is revitalizing their community through a faith-based affordable housing development, how churches in Virginia/Maryland are creating equitable and inclusive housing projects, and how the City of Seattle is using a density bonus tool geared towards houses of worship building affordable housing.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the crisis faced by declining houses of worship
• Compare three ambitious faith-based affordable housing developments
• Learn how zoning codes can be reformed to make it easier to build on faith property