Renewed Faith: A Case for the Preservation and Adaptive Reuse of Urban Neighborhood Churches
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University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK
2011
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-ucin13073227712021-08-03T06:14:49Z Renewed Faith: A Case for the Preservation and Adaptive Reuse of Urban Neighborhood Churches Nagel, Ryan M. Urban Planning adaptive reuse historic preservation neighborhood churches economic development community planning Catholic church <p>Churches are an important presence in the neighborhood fabric of communities throughout the United States. They serve as local landmarks, establish identities for neighborhoods, and play a key role in the community and spiritual lives of neighborhood residents. However, significant socioeconomic forces at work in urban areas as over the last half century are increasingly threatening the vitality and survival of not only urban churches, but the neighborhoods in which they have stood for over a century. The phenomenon of church closings is currently no more painful than in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Following a trend of sporadic closings over the last twenty-five years, a major reconfiguration and consolidation of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland’s parish and property inventory is now underway. Cleveland Catholic Diocese Bishop Richard Lennon on March 14, 2009 announced a sweeping reconfiguration of the Diocese, will result in a net reduction of 52 parishes by June 30, 2010. This reduction will result in 23% of the city’s parish either being eliminated or combined while 13% will be completely vacated in a time period of just over 15 months.While there is often a desire within a parish or congregation to save or preserve a former church, the buildings themselves have proven challenging to convert for other uses. Issues commonly faced when reusing churches include the atypical nature of church buildings with respect to their interior spaces and exterior features, restrictive regulatory factors, financing requirements, and the development process itself. These issues are compounded by the lack of familiarity on the part of church officials, congregation members, the public, and developers with respect to converting a former church building into a different use.</p><p>Using two case studies of churches that have been adaptively reused in Cleveland, Ohio, this thesis investigates what factors must be present for the successful adaptive reuse of a religious structure. Factors considered in successful projects include level of community commitment, stakeholders involved, regulatory context, financial incentives and partnerships, historic designation, building and site design, development process, and development in declining neighborhoods. The case studies examined are: The First Church of Christ in the University neighborhood, and St. George Lithuanian in St. Clair-Superior near Hough. The findings of this thesis indicate that the availability of financial incentives, influential stakeholders, and dedicated owners were most important in successfully reusing these buildings. Other findings include explanations as to why the recent church closures in Cleveland have been primarily a phenomenon of the Catholic Diocese. The lessons learned through the study suggest more anticipatory and locally based planning procedures are necessary to recommend the most viable use for historic churches in urban neighborhoods.</p> 2011-09-20 English text University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1307322771 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1307322771 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
Urban Planning adaptive reuse historic preservation neighborhood churches economic development community planning Catholic church |
| spellingShingle |
Urban Planning adaptive reuse historic preservation neighborhood churches economic development community planning Catholic church Nagel, Ryan M. Renewed Faith: A Case for the Preservation and Adaptive Reuse of Urban Neighborhood Churches |
| author |
Nagel, Ryan M. |
| author_facet |
Nagel, Ryan M. |
| author_sort |
Nagel, Ryan M. |
| title |
Renewed Faith: A Case for the Preservation and Adaptive Reuse of Urban Neighborhood Churches |
| title_short |
Renewed Faith: A Case for the Preservation and Adaptive Reuse of Urban Neighborhood Churches |
| title_full |
Renewed Faith: A Case for the Preservation and Adaptive Reuse of Urban Neighborhood Churches |
| title_fullStr |
Renewed Faith: A Case for the Preservation and Adaptive Reuse of Urban Neighborhood Churches |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Renewed Faith: A Case for the Preservation and Adaptive Reuse of Urban Neighborhood Churches |
| title_sort |
renewed faith: a case for the preservation and adaptive reuse of urban neighborhood churches |
| publisher |
University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2011 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1307322771 |
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AT nagelryanm renewedfaithacaseforthepreservationandadaptivereuseofurbanneighborhoodchurches |
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