Abstract
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This article seeks to explore a public theology of urban regeneration, developed out of liberation and postmodern theologies, as well as reflections on place and space, and augmented by critical discussions about the involvement of faith communities in urban development. This theology is actualized in the experience of one uk regeneration programme in Devonport, Plymouth via an analysis of local neighbourhood stories, and extended to include a critique of national urban policy. These local voices expand traditional concepts such as death and resurrection, sin and redemption to provide a richer theological understanding of God’s relationship to the human creation; equally, attention to the tradition provides further insights into what is happening at the level of the street. When neighbourhood and global configurations are juxtaposed, they result in an imaginative Devonport Trinity, which allows and heals the binaries and complexities of (post)modern urban communities. This article seeks to explore a public theology of urban regeneration, developed out of liberation and postmodern theologies, as well as reflections on place and space, and augmented by critical discussions about the involvement of faith communities in urban development. This theology is actualized in the experience of one uk regeneration programme in Devonport, Plymouth via an analysis of local neighbourhood stories, and extended to include a critique of national urban policy. These local voices expand traditional concepts such as death and resurrection, sin and redemption to provide a richer theological understanding of God’s relationship to the human creation; equally, attention to the tradition provides further insights into what is happening at the level of the street. When neighbourhood and global configurations are juxtaposed, they result in an imaginative Devonport Trinity, which allows and heals the binaries and complexities of (post)modern urban communities.
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