Faith, Gender, and Planning in the UK: Diversity and the Work of Being ‘Hard to Reach'

Social planning in the United Kingdom (UK) has remained peripheral to planning practice, despite new challenges from increasingly complex diversity. For faith planning specifically, there is divergence between diverse religious needs and the institutionalised and secular spatial logic of planning. This chapter investigates faith, gender and planning practice in three UK case studies with substantial population change and diversity. In the case studies planners relied on ‘community leaders’ representing groups as a key means of engaging with diversity, with attendant conflict shown in the literature to be common with the use of community leaders. These practices were further challenged by diversity; the increased numbers, varying natures and spatio-temporal differences of groups presented challenges to engagement practices premised on simplistically conceived social groups represented by leaders. Moreover, a notable amount of community leaders were female, and unequal outcomes for these leaders underline the possible negative implications for females engaged in civil society in this way. Where minority ethnicity, faith and female gender intersect these issues can be pronounced. Initial recommendations for further research and practice are provided in conclusion.