I've done a lot of walking through urban neighborhoods in Pittsburgh this summer. I've spent time in places like Point Breeze, Homewood, Squirrel Hill, East Liberty, Shadyside, Garfield, Wilkinsburg, and Regent Square. I'm learning to appreciate all of the neighborhoods throughout the East End where I serve as a pastor. These neighborhoods contain many different types of people, architecture, restaurants, coffee shops, businesses, manufacturing warehouses, nonprofit organizations, churches, and lots of different sights and sounds. Each neighborhood has a unique feel and culture.
Cities are a gift from God, not some type of evil human invention that human beings need to escape from. Cities, and the different neighborhoods within them, can be seen as gifts of common grace. A defining narrative since the end of World War II in America has been the idea of the American dream, or the good life, being found outside of cities in suburban or rural environments. There are, of course, gifts of common grace that can be found in suburban and rural places, like good schools and plenty of wide open spaces that are not typically found in urban environments. There are many incredible people who choose to live, work, and play outside the city. However, the goal of families escaping the messiness of the big city may not be all that it is cracked up to be. Individual and corporate sin is just as prevalent outside the city as it is inside the city limits. There is no way for human beings to escape that reality, even though we try.
In Home from Nowhere James Howard Kunstler points out that "The idea of a modest dwelling all our own, isolated from the problems of other people, has been our reigning metaphor of the good life for a long time. It must now be seen for what it really is: an antisocial view of existence. I don't believe that we can afford to keep pretending that life is a never-ending episode of Little House on the Prairie. We are going to have to develop a different notion of the good life and create a physical form that accommodates it."
That is actually what I see when I walk through the urban neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. People are moving back into the city to experience the good life. People who remained in the city all along are welcoming new residents back into the neighborhoods that they love. New buildings are popping up everywhere. Old buildings are being renovated. Block clubs are forming. Community development organizations are networking the city and accessing power. Churches are not only thriving, but working with one another. Religious institutions, businesses, and political entities are working together toward the common good. The signs of a healthy city are everywhere, even when there are also many signs of brokenness. The process of transformation continues on and on when humanity is willing to invest in their cities instead of trying to escape from them. I'm thankful to have a small role in that process in my little part of Pittsburgh where I live and where I serve as a pastor.
Cities are a gift from God, not some type of evil human invention that human beings need to escape from. Cities, and the different neighborhoods within them, can be seen as gifts of common grace. A defining narrative since the end of World War II in America has been the idea of the American dream, or the good life, being found outside of cities in suburban or rural environments. There are, of course, gifts of common grace that can be found in suburban and rural places, like good schools and plenty of wide open spaces that are not typically found in urban environments. There are many incredible people who choose to live, work, and play outside the city. However, the goal of families escaping the messiness of the big city may not be all that it is cracked up to be. Individual and corporate sin is just as prevalent outside the city as it is inside the city limits. There is no way for human beings to escape that reality, even though we try.
In Home from Nowhere James Howard Kunstler points out that "The idea of a modest dwelling all our own, isolated from the problems of other people, has been our reigning metaphor of the good life for a long time. It must now be seen for what it really is: an antisocial view of existence. I don't believe that we can afford to keep pretending that life is a never-ending episode of Little House on the Prairie. We are going to have to develop a different notion of the good life and create a physical form that accommodates it."
That is actually what I see when I walk through the urban neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. People are moving back into the city to experience the good life. People who remained in the city all along are welcoming new residents back into the neighborhoods that they love. New buildings are popping up everywhere. Old buildings are being renovated. Block clubs are forming. Community development organizations are networking the city and accessing power. Churches are not only thriving, but working with one another. Religious institutions, businesses, and political entities are working together toward the common good. The signs of a healthy city are everywhere, even when there are also many signs of brokenness. The process of transformation continues on and on when humanity is willing to invest in their cities instead of trying to escape from them. I'm thankful to have a small role in that process in my little part of Pittsburgh where I live and where I serve as a pastor.
