In 1985, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s ‘Commission on Urban Priority Areas’ published a report entitled ‘Faith in the City.’ It made recommendations about the Church’s place and responsibilities in urban areas, as well as suggestions about public policy issues such as unemployment, housing, education, and urban policy. In its call for action, the Commission argued that Church and State should have ‘faith in the city.’

The report caused a stir as it suggested that neo-liberal policies were largely to blame for the growing spiritual and economic poverty in cities. Globally, it had a familiar echo, identifying a historic break with the pre-Reagan/Thatcher era, when the Church, along with the State, played a key role in urban and suburban development. After World War II, religious bodies were one among a large and diverse group of private actors and NGOs involved in urbanization processes. Yet, in recent architectural and urban history, post-war urban development is often portrayed as being propelled largely by public initiatives. Faith frequently appears entirely absent, even deliberately removed from the discourse.

This session therefore seeks to highlight the impact that religious bodies had on post-war urbanization. Many were actively involved in building community in cities reconstructed after the war. They also created new capital cities, new towns, and expanded suburbs across the globe. The modern places of worship they commissioned played a key role in a country’s social and urban development. Papers are invited that document the development of modern places of worship in relation to urbanization processes. Topics could reveal the ideas of the protagonists who shaped them in the light of broader socio-political and design histories at play. The aim of this session is to create a more nuanced understanding of the development of the post-war civic realm.Session Co-Chairs: Philip Goad, University of Melbourne, and Janina Gosseye, University of Queensland