Megachurches, Sprawl, And Smart Growth

A new law review article, "Supersizing Religion: Megachurches, Sprawl, and Smart Growth," calls for the need to incorporate megachurches into smart growth planning. Such large, multi-use churches, often located on greenfields, are becoming increasingly popular. The article -- by Jonathan Weiss of the George Washington Center on Sustainable Growth and attorney Randall Lowell -- appears in the St. Louis Public Law Review in August. Introduction: The injection of religion or religious overtones into any area of American public policy creates tension. The emerging field of smart growth to counter the increasing concerns over sprawl proves no exception. Smart growth is not about stopping growth, but about better managing growth so that communities and regions can improve their quality of life and more effectively plan for the future. It is based on such principles as encouraging reinvestment into existing communities and promoting broad-based public participation in planning decisions. But to be successful, no matter the initial tension created, smart growth cannot ignore the role and placement of religious institutions. Editor's note: The link below is directly to an Adobe PDF file.

Thanks to Sprawl Watch