Cultivating Neighborhood Shalom
Rob Kaple, Lead Pastor of Grace Midtown
Episode 6 - Rob Kaple on Church renovation as placemaking
In this episode, Eric and Sara Joy interview Rob Kaple of Grace Midtown Atlanta. The church won a merit award for design at the Congress for the New Urbanism's 2021 Charter Awards. Their facility is located at the intersection of an upscale neighborhood and an underinvested neighborhood. It is a compelling story of how the church went through a paradigm shift as they considered how to best utilize their facility to support their mission. They first considered a complete tear down and rebuild of a new building that would be oriented towards the upscale neighborhood. But they decided that it was more in line with their mission to repurpose the main building and orient their church towards the underinvested neighborhood.
Image credits: Kronberg Urbanists + Architects, Grace Midtown Instagram, and the Congress for the New Urbanism
Links to resources and terms from this episode:
Articles, Books, Media, & organizations
A new kind of church, in a former warehouse published on CNU Public Square
Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City by Timothy Keller
Upper Room and Lower Room Thinking by Will Mancini
The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition by James Howard Kunstler - for a “Kunstleresque” smackdown on Atlanta read “Atlanta: Does Edge City Have a Future”
Kronberg Urbanists + Architects
Key Terms
Embedded Church
Mixed Use
Border Vacuum
Redlining
Placemaking