Book Title SIDEWALKS IN THE KINGDOM
New Urbanism and the Christian Faith
Book Author Eric O. Jacobsen
Pub. Year 2003
Genre Theology
My Rating 5 Stars
ISBN 978-1-58743-057-2
I was attracted to this book because… I was intrigued by this concept of community and cities. I heard about during a webinar. There are very interesting concepts of what makes communities work and why so many of suburbs leave us feeling rather separated and unfulfilled. On it adds in the element of faith into cities. I felt like this book would support the current piece of fiction I’m writing.
This book was about… there were two parts in the book, Part 1 - Thinking about our cities, which discusses God’s plan from the Garden to Jerusalem. The city of New Jerusalem is God’s ultimate destination for his chosen people. Part 2 - Looks at Markers of the City and includes the elements of faith to go along with these markers.
Things I liked about this book… I was challenged by the societal elements of the book and the practical ways he supports his writing with scriptures and examples. It did have many elements that supports the ideas in the project I’m working on. I realized that many Hallmark movies are based on these concepts. - Efficient, modern architects are coming into town to replace a historical building with a modern, cold structure or want to build condominiums. Although it doesn’t mention Hallmark movies, this book show why we are drawn to those stories. For what I’m writing, I was particularly intrigued by the section on critical mass or a sufficient number of people to engage or sustain action around a specific concerns. Cities can provide critical mass.
Why you should read this book… If you want to have your thinking turned upside down about living in a city or about mixed zoning or low income housing this book is for you. If you are thinking about moving somewhere different, I would recommend this book.