Faith For Cities

Dwight J. Friesen

February 7

I'm joining Chris Elisara and the folks at Faith for Cities seeking to harness multi-faith insights and actions in the face of an unparalleled era of urbanization. The focus of Faith for Cities is addressing urban challenges with a lens of faith and a spirit of collaboration. Faith for Cities has three primary objectives:

Align religious organizations, leaders, and non-religious allies around a common cause of advancing human wellbeing and thriving through urban development.
Support and develop the capacity of all religions to more effectively contribute to city building commensurate with human thriving within their own religious theological perspectives and traditions, and through their own religious communities and resources.
Support and develop ways, means, and networks for all religions, to engage and collaborate with global bodies, national governments, sub-nationals, civil society, and the private sector for the purpose of advancing localized wellbeing and thriving in cities, towns, villages, and neighborhoods.

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"As Faith for Cities' website states:

Through vast networks and grassroots presence, diverse faith communities possess not only unique insights into urban challenges but untapped capacities and resources to tackle those challenges. For this reason, UN-Habitat is willing and able to collaborate with faith-based organizations and actors with urban expertise and common alignment.

These uniquely intertwined factors present an unprecedented opportunity for religious organizations and leaders to help shape urban development. In response, the Templeton Religion Trust (TRT) has provided a grant to fund a nine-month stakeholder engagement process, considering pathways whereby the global multi-faith community can contribute to the development of thriving cities for all; that is cities, towns, and villages that are just, productive, equitable, inclusive, ecologically sustainable, and beautiful for all. Aligned with TRT's overarching aim to "improve the well-being of individuals and societies through spiritual growth and an ever-improving understanding of spiritual realities," this project will mobilize diverse faith communities to contribute more effectively to the economic, environmental, and social returns supporting human development in the communities to which they belong, love, and serve.

www.faithforcities.org