Bahaipedia:WikiProject Geography
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WikiProject Geography is a coordinated effort to create and maintain quality articles on places connected with the Bahá'í Faith on Bahaipedia and related projects.
Scope[edit]
This WikiProject concerns itself with the creation and maintenance of Bahaipedia articles related to places throughout the world, with a special focus on locations of importance to the Bahá'í Faith. The articles with which this project deals should all be included in Category:Geography or one of its subcategories. This project's Spiritual Assemblies task force specifically deals with Local and National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world.
Lists of articles in scope are maintained at Portal:Contents, under the headings Geography and places (for geographical entities such as continents, countries and smaller regions), and Institutions (for Spiritual Assemblies and other institutions). Note that while cities are also in scope, we do not maintain a list for city articles, as it would potentially grow too long. As a general rule, any populated place with a significant or formerly significant Bahá’í presence (i.e. one which is or has been home to a group of Bahá’ís or a Spiritual Assembly) can be considered in scope.
Local and regional institutions[edit]
As a general rule, independent articles about local and regional institutions are not in scope except where notability is clearly demonstrated. The reasoning is twofold: first, there are a great number of Local Spiritual Assemblies and cluster- and regional-level agencies that exist in the world, and creating independent articles for each would require great effort; and second, details on these institutions are often much harder to find than for national- or international-level agencies, compounding the effort required to write articles.
As mentioned, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, articles about the Local Spiritual Assemblies of New York City, Chicago, and Tehran would be in scope, because they are historically significant as some of the first such institutions in the world, and because they were directly involved in major events in the development of the Baha'i Faith. Some Regional Bahá’í Councils may also meet notability requirements for independent articles, especially those which are responsible for special areas.
In most cases, it should be sufficient to cover the details of local and regional institutions within the article devoted to the city or region.
Goals[edit]
To create, expand, and maintain articles related to places. This will specifically include those articles contained within the Category:Geography, and, for the Spiritual Assemblies task force, articles contained within Category:Spiritual Assemblies.
Article style[edit]
Because of Bahaipedia's focus on the Bahá'í Faith, please ensure that geographical articles clearly and prominently demonstrate connections to the Faith, the Bahá'í community, or individual Bahá'ís. At a minimum, articles should contain the following:
- A lead paragraph giving basic information about the place and its most important Bahá’í connections;
- A locator map to show the place's general location;
- Links to official Bahá’í websites and contact information for the Bahá’í community in that place, where available;
- Citations to sources for the above information.
Where available, the following information should also be added and properly referenced:
- Historical information, such as the year the place was opened to the Faith, by whom, and who was the first local Bahá’í;
- Statistical information, i.e. an estimate of current Bahá’í population, the number of clusters and Local Spiritual Assemblies;
- For countries, the current membership of its National Spiritual Assembly.
Text[edit]
The most important Baha'i connections to an article's subject should be stated in the article's lead paragraph. As an example, an early revision of the article on Istanbul began with the following:
Istanbul, formerly Byzantium and Constantinople, is the largest city in Turkey and the country's economic, cultural and historic center, as well as an important historical site for the Bahá'í Faith owing to the visit of Bahá'u'lláh in 1863. The city straddles the Bosporus strait, with its commercial and historical centre and two-thirds of the population in Europe, and the rest in Asia. It is the world's fifteenth-largest city, with a population of over 15 million residents.
Basic information (such as population, general location, and major geographical features that are closely associated with the place) should be added to articles to provide a more complete overview of the article's subject. For instance, one of Istanbul's defining characteristics is its trans-continental location on the Bosporus strait, so an article about it should not neglect that detail.
Information that is more technical (such as population density, demographics, economic activity, or minor geographical details that are secondary to a general overview of the place) should only be included insofar as it is connected to the Faith or serves to explain certain aspects of Bahá'í history or community life. For instance, Montreal's high population of Catholics is relevant because it was specifically mentioned by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the Tablets of the Divine Plan.
Images and media[edit]
The main image or images on a geographical article should showcase a place's most notable connections to the Bahá'í Faith. For instance, an article on Santiago should use an image of the House of Worship for South America, which is located in that city and is that city's most notable connection to the Faith. Collages of multiple images are acceptable; to continue the above example, the image of the Santiago House of Worship could be joined by an image of the local Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds and a high-quality image of Bahá'í community activities.
Of course, in cases where a place has a direct connection to one of the Central Figures of the Faith, that connection should be prioritized above others. For instance, an article about Montreal should prominently feature an image of the Bahá'í Shrine—the house where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stayed. Likewise, an article about Baghdad should feature images of one or more of the locations connected to Bahá'u'lláh, such as the Garden of Ridván or His primary residence in that city.
In general, high-quality images should be preferred over lower-quality ones, and colour images should be preferred over black-and-white ones where possible, except where historical connections take precedence.
Participants[edit]
Do you want to help improve articles related to places throughout the world? Join WikiProject Geography by adding your name here:
- Dragfyre (talk) 18:59, 9 April 2019 (PDT) - See my to-do list
- Jagar (talk) 20:21, 9 April 2019 (PDT)
- Smkolins (talk) 13:47, 15 April 2019 (PDT)
Articles[edit]
Needing attention[edit]
Cities
Cities missing images: 335 • missing locator maps: 98 • missing country information: 30 • missing statistical information: 468 • missing historical information: 465 • missing contact information: 344 • missing websites: 331
Cities with BCI websites: 31 • with BCI email addresses: 17
Countries
Countries missing images: 112 • missing statistical information: 213 • missing historical information: 203 • missing contact information: 229 • missing websites: 129
Countries with bahai.org websites: 35
By category[edit]
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By topic[edit]
Departments[edit]
- Bahaipedia:WikiProject Geography/Assessment - the assessment department of this Wikiproject.
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