New Technology

This week I wanted to develop my knowledge surrounding how religion influences the different spheres of society in Birmingham. One way to understand this interaction between the social and the religious is to look at how different faith groups work with the community.

I began researching the community work of all faiths in the region and found that they all make a tremendous effort to improve and shape the world around them. Did you know that the Church of England Birmingham Diocese is involved in an initiative to encourage switching energy sources to solar power? This not only means lower electricity bills but also contributes towards the CofE Church’s aim to become carbon neutral by 2030! 

Furthermore, a big part of our project is telling the story of Birmingham in a visual way including the use of maps. I wanted to explore how we could utilise maps of Birmingham to develop a clear understanding of religion in the city and so I turned to the data visualisation software CARTO.

Using this website, I was able to input some data regarding the geographical location of mosques in Birmingham and create a map that gives a clear view of where the mosques are concentrated in the city. This helps to understand where more Muslims are living in Birmingham and with this knowledge, I can begin to research why certain areas have a higher Muslim population than others. 

This was a really interesting week which helped me to gain a fuller picture of the history and influence of religion in Birmingham and I now feel more confident to begin writing some content!