Urban Renewal in the Geographical Periphery Of Israel

The State of Israel currently lacks an orderly policy for urban renewal in the periphery, although the nonexistence of renewal there is acknowledged. In the few cases where renewal is undertaken, it is marginal. Where to begin? This new policy paper maps out renewal trends throughout the country and recommends, on the methodological level, preparing strategic renewal plans on an urban-regional scale for Israel’s geographic periphery, while changing the paradigm for developing such plans for the periphery: thinking about urban renewal in an urban-regional context, and adapting the tools of renewal to the economic, social and spatial context of each region. It also calls for a paradigm shift in residential planning and development patterns in the country’s geographic periphery: for the next two decades, suburban and the purist regional development (in both cities and rural settlements) should be paused, in favor of focusing on developing construction patterns that relate to employment engines and the promotion of new, synchronous residential typologies that can offer an opportunity for a different way of life.