Breathing Space – Part 1

Posted on March 24, 2015 by PLT Staff

Lecture given by Heidi Neumark at the Spring Institute for Lived Theology 2006 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Urban planner Robert Moses approached his New York City business in a way that evicted, hurt and degraded the poor, many of whom were moved to the South Bronx in order to make way for Moses’ housing projects. Overpopulation and poor housing led to lower property values and higher crime. Neumark discusses her experience in the South Bronx and the harm that this built environment caused, economically, socially, spiritually and physically. She then shares the efforts that she took part in to improve the living situation in the neighborhood where she lived.

Excerpt: “I found young people interested in art and I invited them to paint on the front doors, and that really became a transitional point. Even when the doors were closed they were proclaiming a new kind of openness. The youth of the community really had a vision for transformation.”

This audio is published by the Project on Lived Theology (PLT). For any questions related to its use, please contact PLT (https://www.livedtheology.org//contact/). Copy available for use subject to Creative Commons License CC-BY-NC-ND (Attribution required, Non-Commercial use, No Derivatives, 3.0, Unported).

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