of revered beings became more formalized in ritual and ceremony, adding more
layers of meaning. Eventually, such activities were transferred to formal, architectural structures.
The precedents of earlier civilizations and antiquities have shaped the origins of
the parks’ movement in many developed nations. In the United States, political
appeals to dedicate National Parks sites were premised on dramatic, symbolic
imagery about the grandeur and a nativistic expression of the sacred in landscape.
Many cultures, including Indian, Japanese, and African, have traditions of honoring
sacred forests, groves, mountains, and other unique natural features.
Compared to pristine or wild landscapes, the urban environment may have few
natural features that inspire, or there may be little memory of ancient practices. Yet in
their studies of community response to tragedy, Svendsen and Campbell (2010) have
found that many contemporary memorials are aligned with natural elements, such as
lakes, ponds, shorelines, forested areas, gardens, and fields. In some cases, symbolic
trees are acknowledged, including new plantings. Many of these locations were not
formally dedicated or consecrated but have been appropriated by community
members.
Images, symbols, and physical places that include natural elements may convey
both religious and civic sacred associations with life, death, and rebirth. Parallels are
observed between the human life cycle and plant and animal lives, including how to
weather hardship and challenge. Choices of particular species, colors, or planting
arrangements may be used to recognize past events and project messages into the
future. Plant materials are used in ceremonies marking human milestones. Refugees
and immigrants often plant or forage for plant materials that represent both secular
and sacred aspects of their homelands (Poe et al. 2014).
8.4.5 Social Constructions
The role of human and community processes in creating, consecrating, and acknowledging the sacred is equally important as object or artifact. This dynamic may be
particularly relevant in urban settings. While most scholars of sacredness have
focused on religious or ritual sources, Svendsen and Campbell (2010, 2014) have
been particularly observant about secular social process in their research on postdisaster memorials. The emergence of post-9/11 community-based memorials in the
USA offers insights as to how people create the civic sacred in their lives and
communities. They found two general types of nature-based response, that of formal,
institutional process and emergent, vernacular, and community reactions.
Formal, institutional processes of place making for memorials must simultaneously welcome stakeholder input and may have to limit participation in order to
move from process to construction. Citizen participation may include visioning
exercises, public workshops, and design input, but citizens ultimately may have
little direct authority in project decisions.
8 From Sanitary to Sustainable to Sacred: Metro Nature Experiences and. . .
145
layers of meaning. Eventually, such activities were transferred to formal, architectural structures.
The precedents of earlier civilizations and antiquities have shaped the origins of
the parks’ movement in many developed nations. In the United States, political
appeals to dedicate National Parks sites were premised on dramatic, symbolic
imagery about the grandeur and a nativistic expression of the sacred in landscape.
Many cultures, including Indian, Japanese, and African, have traditions of honoring
sacred forests, groves, mountains, and other unique natural features.
Compared to pristine or wild landscapes, the urban environment may have few
natural features that inspire, or there may be little memory of ancient practices. Yet in
their studies of community response to tragedy, Svendsen and Campbell (2010) have
found that many contemporary memorials are aligned with natural elements, such as
lakes, ponds, shorelines, forested areas, gardens, and fields. In some cases, symbolic
trees are acknowledged, including new plantings. Many of these locations were not
formally dedicated or consecrated but have been appropriated by community
members.
Images, symbols, and physical places that include natural elements may convey
both religious and civic sacred associations with life, death, and rebirth. Parallels are
observed between the human life cycle and plant and animal lives, including how to
weather hardship and challenge. Choices of particular species, colors, or planting
arrangements may be used to recognize past events and project messages into the
future. Plant materials are used in ceremonies marking human milestones. Refugees
and immigrants often plant or forage for plant materials that represent both secular
and sacred aspects of their homelands (Poe et al. 2014).
8.4.5 Social Constructions
The role of human and community processes in creating, consecrating, and acknowledging the sacred is equally important as object or artifact. This dynamic may be
particularly relevant in urban settings. While most scholars of sacredness have
focused on religious or ritual sources, Svendsen and Campbell (2010, 2014) have
been particularly observant about secular social process in their research on postdisaster memorials. The emergence of post-9/11 community-based memorials in the
USA offers insights as to how people create the civic sacred in their lives and
communities. They found two general types of nature-based response, that of formal,
institutional process and emergent, vernacular, and community reactions.
Formal, institutional processes of place making for memorials must simultaneously welcome stakeholder input and may have to limit participation in order to
move from process to construction. Citizen participation may include visioning
exercises, public workshops, and design input, but citizens ultimately may have
little direct authority in project decisions.
8 From Sanitary to Sustainable to Sacred: Metro Nature Experiences and. . .
145