Holy Houses & The City

Heads-UP on Friday

What a special initiative to reveal the everyday cultural and social layers of a city through its holy houses. This PodWalk takes you on a route through Rotterdam’s South District. A route on which you will ....

“hear the stories behind four church buildings in the Cool Zuid district. This historic neighbourhood is changing rapidly, partly due to the arrival of tall residential towers that will double its population. What do these urban transformations mean for these churches and their role in the neighbourhood? What challenges—or opportunities—lie ahead?

In five audio fragments, you will learn about the history of the neighbourhood and these church buildings, how the neighbourhood is changing and what the future might look like from stakeholders from the church communities, church building managers, neighbourhood residents and property developers.

From a personal point of view, I was particularly interested in how Reverend Graham Austin from the Scots International Church speaks about social cohesion and urban integration of new and old.

You don’t need to visit Rotterdam – I enjoyed listening remotely, the stories were engaging and valuable, a real pleasure to listen to.