Churches
Quantifying the Potential of California’s ‘Yes in God’s Backyard’ Bill
A new report estimates that 171,000 acres of land would be available for housing development if California approves SB 4, Affordable Housing on Faith and Higher Education Lands Act of 2023.
Op-Ed: Let Churches Build Housing
The ‘Yes in God’s Backyard’ movement could get a boost from a proposed bill in the California state legislature.
‘Yes in God’s Backyard’ Movement Wins in Pasadena
Houses of worship in the California city will be allowed to build housing on their properties in an effort to alleviate the city’s housing shortage.
Berkeley's Black Churches To Build Affordable Housing
Historically Black churches will use their property to build affordable housing aimed at seniors and other residents being priced out of their neighborhoods.
Lawsuit Challenges Zoning to Limit Church Soup Kitchens
Local residents of Brookings, Oregon say a local church's meal services during the pandemic were attracting crime and vagrancy, so the city passed a zoning ordinance that limited the number of days the church could serve meals to two a week.
Leveraging Church Properties to Build Affordable Housing
As owners of valuable urban real estate, some churches are taking up the mandate to serve their community by using their vacant properties to provide housing for people being priced out of their homes.
U.S. Supreme Court Rules on State-Imposed Social Distancing Restrictions
In a 5-4 decision, the court voted to uphold the prohibition of religious services that was part of California Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order. While the restriction had since been loosened, the plaintiff wanted all restrictions removed.
Reopening California: Respected County Health Official Issues Warning
Dr. Sara Cody, the Santa Clara County health officer widely credited for leading the Bay Area into issuing a 6-county shelter-in-place order on March 16, the nation's first, warns that the pace of reopening is too fast.
Religion in the Pandemic: First Amendment vs. Public Health and Safety
Conflicts between church and state are being decided in state and federal courts as governors act to protect their constituents from the coronavirus while religious institutions and their supporters seek exceptions from social gathering restrictions.
Conflict in Philadelphia Over Church Parking in Bike Lanes
A long-standing policy allows parking in front of churches and synagogues but leaves cars blocking bike lanes, and cyclists want the practice to end.
'Yes In God's Backyard' Offers a New Way Forward for Housing Advocates
San Diego housing advocates have coined a new term: "YIGBY," or "Yes in God's Backyard," to advance prospects for affordable housing development on property underutilized by houses of worship. The city's planning department is receptive.
Churches and the Creation Of Landscape
A visit to Tbilisi, Georgia, reveals that churches are crucial elements in the creation of landscape. Their civic functions are at least as important as their theological functions.
Adaptive Brew-Use
The Associated Press explores the trend of churches rebuilt as breweries.
How Aging Urban Churches Can Be Saved
Churchgoing in Washington, D.C. is on the decline, and neighborhood churches are finding it hard to pay the bills. One solution is to go mixed-use and share space with new development.
Some Hoping to Build Housing See Churches as an Obstacle
Miami-Dade Commissioner Barbara Jordan has expressed concerns that seldom-used churches aren’t paying taxes, take up valuable land, and would be better used to build housing for the Black community.
New Jersey Town Rejects Mosque, Claims Zoning Issues
Bayonne, New Jersey doesn't currently have a mosque, after a heated six-hour zoning meeting officials have rejected an application to build one.
Cities Lose Supreme Court Case on Sign Regulation
The Supreme Court, in two separate opinions, unanimously ruled on June 18 against an Arizona town's sign regulation that denied the placement of a street sign based on its content. At question was a sign directing passers-by to a church service.
Urban Churches Adapt to a Changing City
In Washington, D.C., residents, shops and restaurants come and go, often moving from neighborhood to neighborhood. But churches remain. They anchor the community as it changes, and often find themselves changing with it.
The Faith-Based Gap in the Institutional Landscape of Cities
By focusing on their common interest in working toward the public good, the gap between faith-based institutions and the planning processes of their communities can be bridged.
Walk, Bike, Transit Advocates Lose Sunday Parking Vote
Despite a grassroots campaign to retain Sunday parking meter charges it only approved two years ago, the San Francisco MTA agreed with Mayor Ed Lee to drop the charges, hoping that voters would approve two transit funding measures in November.
Placer County
City of Morganton
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area Management Committee
City of Waukesha, WI
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Indiana Borough
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