Merhav Overview The Movement for Israeli Urbanism

Affordable Access to Opportunities

Merhav provides a new perspective to:

A major social problem that cuts

across the entire population of Israel but afflicts marginalized populations

the worst.

The social problem:

Too many Israelis do not have affordable access to opportunities

to better their own life… …or even to make ends meet

Merhav’s perspective:

Due to their poor design - Most Israeli cities do not

provide their residents affordable access to economic, social and cultural opportunities to realize

their full potential as individuals or as a community.

92% of Israelis live in 220 Urban Cities and Towns

The City is the key mechanism that provides

people the opportunities to fulfill their inherent potential

Most Israelis do not have affordable access to a successful city and therefore can not fulfill

their potential

This is true not only in the periphery but in the center too.

Car ownership is 1/3 of the US and ½ of W. Europe.

Only 16% of Israeli families own 2+ cars.

Yet cities and towns are built as if everyone has a

car.

Israel is plagued by neglected city centers, unnecessary sprawl, planning

that leads to economic and social polarization, wasted resources and

environmental deterioration.

In order to improve affordable access to opportunities for all,

Merhav promotes quality urban environments that are compact,

vibrant, provide many opportunities and potential uses, and leverage

public spaces as the foundation of community life.

Quality Urban Environments = Affordable Access to Opportunities

Affordable Access to Opportunities

for all

sustainable for the long term

Employment

Education

Services

Goods

Entertainment

Culture

Recreation

Many other People

Quality Urbanism the no compromise solution

Simultaneously Promotes

•Economic Development

•Social Justice

•Sustainability

•Cultural Development

The Movement for Israeli Urbanism Creating sustainable and humane cities and communities in Israel

• We, the members of the Movement for Israeli Urbanism, strive to improve the quality of urban life in Israel and actively promote the development of a sustainable and humane urban environment in Israel.

• We founded MIU in order to transform the quality of urban life in Israel by applying: – People-oriented planning that prevents

deterioration and atrophy of cities – Sustainable local development that

enhances opportunities – Democratic urban planning processes

Who we are

• Merhav - the Movement for Israeli Urbanism is a registered non-profit organization which includes more than 500 members from the private sector, government offices and other NGOs.

• The members of the organization are urban planners, architects, landscape architects, members of academic world, community workers, economists, developers, business people, transportation planners, environmental activists, sociologists, lawyers, real estate appraisers, civil servants and citizens who wish to transform cities in Israel.

• MIU is part of the community of "environmental organizations" in Israel; yet, MIU is the only organization that focuses on changing the urban built environment, and which works to develop the necessary professional and practical tools for making this transformation.

• MIU enrolls the planning and development community in making a difference by implementing a holistic planning approach.

MIU Activities

Changes

Awareness Tools Policies Processes

Targ

et P

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Professionals and Academia

Decision Makers

General Public

Activities

• Conferences

• Mayor’s Institute

• Model Projects

• Research, Tools and Forums

• Exhibitions

• Events

• Blog and Website

Some examples of our activities…

Conferences that Introduce New Concepts in Urbanism to Israel

• Beer Sheva Conference and Workshops 2005

– “The Need for Urban Renaissance in Israel”

– 400 participants

• Haifa Conference and Workshops 2006

– “City Action - Tools for New Urbanism in Israel“

– 350 participants

• Bat-Yam Conference and Roundtables 2008

– “The Quality of Density”

– 400 participants

• Sachnin Conference and Roundtables 2010

– “Innovative Planning - Urbanism in Arab Towns”

– 250 participants

• Ashkelon Conference and Workshops 2011 – “the City as an Engine of Economic Growth”

– 400 participants

Israeli Mayors’ Institute on City Renewal

• Professional tools for Israeli mayors to promote sustainable city renewal and local economic development (LED)

• A series of intense workshops with the participation of an experienced, multidisciplinary professional team.

• A landmark project in Israel, developed based on the model of the US Mayors’ Institute on City Design (www.micd.org)

Laboratory for Urban Intensification

• Tools for the intensification and renewal of deteriorating urban residential neighborhoods in Israel, while reinforcing the quality of housing and urban variety.

• Aging residential projects, built by the government cheaply and quickly following massive waves of immigration in the 50s, 60s and 70s, constitute the largest part of Israel’s housing stock, yet they are also the most neglected, and are characterized by:

– small residential units – cramped quarters inappropriate for growing families

– uniform housing stock – all apartments are of the same size and plan

– low-quality construction – improvements within apartments are expensive, and improvements to the building as a whole are even more so

– lack of access to amenities, community services and good consumer products

• The tool is based on Merhav’s 10 Principles for Good Urbanism

Kiryat Shmona International Charrette Collaborative Planning for the Renewal of the Old City Center

December 2-6, 2007

• The first full charrette in Israel. • The charrette combines creative, intense work

sessions with public workshops, a collaborative planning process that harnesses the talents and energies of all interested parties to create and support a feasible plan that represents transformative community change.

• The Partners: The Ministry of Housing, Koret Foundation, M.A.T.I - Business development center Kiryat Shmona, citizen organizations in K.S., the Galilee Development Authority, shop and office owners, K.S. residents, youth and students from Tel Hai College.

• The charrette was organized and led by an interdisciplinary professional team from the MIU.

Merhav Stamp on Urban Renaissance increasing awareness in the general public

Introduced by the Israeli Postal Service in 2010

A paragraph from the introduction included with the day-of-issue commemorative envelope, written and signed by the executive director of the Movement for Israeli Urbanism

Friends and supporters of our activities from overseas: Dhiru Thadani, Neal Payton, John Norquist, Harald Kegler, John Kaliski, Jaime Lerner,

Heather Smith, Ralph Zucker, Michael Mehaffy, Deependra Prashad, Stefan Kuhn, James Hulme, Anna Hercz, Paul Murrain, Nikos Salingaros, Robert Freedman, Peter Katz

The Social Justice Movement in Israel

Too many Israelis do not have affordable access to opportunities to better their own life… or even to

make ends meet

Due to their poor design - Most Israeli cities do not provide their residents

with the economic, social and cultural opportunities to realize their full potential as individuals or as a

community.

We can do much better!!!

The Social Justice Movement

• Started as a housing crisis.

– What did not lead to the crisis?

– What did lead to the crisis?

– What can be done differently?

– What additional budgets are needed?

– What can be the role of NGOs?

The Social Justice Movement

• Started as a housing crisis

• What was Merhav’s role in the Movement thus far?

– Education and training at the tent cities

– Providing position papers and testimony to the Trajtenberg commission

– Position papers for use by the movement and by politicians

– Participation in the alternative expert team of the movement

– Participation in the drafting of the position papers of the alternative expert team

What did not lead to the crisis?

• It is not a lack of land designated and marketed for building – There is more land designated for building than is

need for the next 20 years

• It is not a failure of the “free market” – There is no free market in the Israeli real-estate

market, it is all centrally controlled

• It is not the failure of the bureaucracy to approve enough plans – There are approved plans for over 160,000 dwelling

units that no-one wants to build

What did lead to the crisis?

1. Limits on urban development that do not enable reaching the necessary density for success and prosperity of cities.

2. Mass development of car dependent sleep only suburbs that require their residents to buy cars and spend time and money every day on them.

3. Urban planning that encourages and facilitates construction on open space at the edge of towns while neglecting the inner cities.

4. Design that encourages use of private vehicles and inefficient public transportation based on outdated concepts.

5. Archaic planning system, hierarchical, cumbersome and not committed to the residents nor to promoting the true interests of the state.

What can be done differently?

1. Urban densification in the periphery and intermediate cities. 2. Changes in the urban density policies of Tama35. 3. Preference and promotion for the development of the older

neighborhoods in the city centers rather than in open areas outside the city.

4. Reducing standards and expropriations for "public purposes" in municipal plans.

5. Development of efficient, frequent and convenient public transport.

6. Build neighborhoods with a wide variety of residence types rather than homogeneous neighborhoods for the rich.

7. Reforming the planning system and empowering the local planning committees.

What additional budgets are needed?

• The 52B ₪ annual building budget is plenty!

• The issue is how it is used not how do we increase it.

What can be the role of NGOs?

• Be the catalyst for social change of a social problem that cuts across all populations but afflicts marginalized populations the most – Awareness

• Affordable access to opportunities is tightly linked to city design • Grass roots level as well as government

– Tools • For building cities and towns around people not cars • For participatory planning, budgeting and governance • Model projects based on tools

– Policies • Research to inform policy makers and the public • Lobbying for policy change and participating in committees

– Processes • Translate new policies to processes • Training on new policies and processes

Merhav Overview The Movement for Israeli Urbanism

nachman@miu.org.il

2011