Rassem Khamaisi, Town and Regional Planner and Urban Geographer, Department of Geography. khamaisi@geo.haifa.ac.il http://geo.haifa.ac.il/~khamaisi/
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a918778531&db=all
Abstract
This paper (which is an excerpt from a book) examines the question of the revitalization of the Old City of Jerusalem as opposed to renovation or rehabilitation in connection with the question of the gentrification and Judaization of the ancient city through various measures. The author argues that demographic and geopolitical factors as well as Israeli policies have led to the deterioration of living conditions as well as living space in the Old City. An increase in population coupled with the changes effected by the border wall has meant that Palestinians have been forced to deal with increased need for living space in ways which are deemed extra-legal by Israeli authorities but which also work against preservation of the historic cultural integrity of the Old City of Jerusalem. The author argues that Palestinians should adopt strategies of 'Forest Life' and 'Urban Village', and that resistance as well as the role of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) should be utilized in what will improve Palestinian living conditions as well as preserve the cultural and historical integrity of the Old City of Jerusalem.
|
| Keywords: urban revitalization; Old City of Jerusalem; gentrification; Forest Life; Urban Village; population; preservation; spacio-cide; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) |
The following is a previous paper published by the author
http://www.ipcc-jerusalem.org/Old%20City.pdf
39
CHAPTER TWO
The Assassination of Place
Resisting Creeping
Urbanization and
Gentrification in the Old
City of Jerusalem and its
Surroundings
In this chapter we discuss the Israeli control of
the Old City of Jerusalem through the planning
of renovation and revivification projects. We
also discuss the impact of these tools on the
transformation of urban space within the Old
City. In brief, it is the view of this study that,
in spite of the attempts of Israeli institutions to
utterly Judaize and gentrify the space, the Arab
presence is still alive and actually dominates the
nature of the Old City. This fact notwithstanding,
the Israeli planning and control agencies ignore
organized Palestinian civic organizations and
deny them the opportunity to actively participate
in the development of the Old City.
We also explore this claim by examining it from
three perspectives: first, within a theoretical
conceptual framework growing out of the
literature related to the processes of rehabilitation,
construction and production in communities
where there is an on-going conflict, particularly
in the old parts of such cities; secondly, we
review the recent history of efforts to revitalize
in Jerusalem and the Old City, including the
underlying forces at work, the characteristics of
the many efforts, and the effects of the various
plans and projects; thirdly, we identify the
major tools that the Israeli authorities use to
dominate, infiltrate, gentrify, and eliminate the
Palestinian inhabitants within the Old City walls
and beyond, and we note the consequences of
these policies on Palestinian society. We conclude
by formulating strategies to resist the unilateral,
discriminatory planning and management
polices that are re-shaping the reality of the
Old City of Jerusalem and its surroundings.
The strategies include both counter actions to
Israeli schemes and the proactive involvement of
the Palestinian people in developing their own
plans, as well as the engagement of third party
international oversight.
Deterioration and Urban
Rehabilitation--a Conceptual
Framework
The phenomena of deterioration and urban
revitalization are common to most religious
centers and ancient neighborhoods in cities
throughout the world. Each urban unit, including
the city centers, passes through an urban life
cycle—first it will grow, and then gradually begin
degrading physically, economically and socially.
This deterioration leads to negative immigration
(emigration) as the area becomes a less and less
desirable site for housing and employment. We
can clearly see the phenomenon of deterioration
in most cities globally, especially in the second half
of the twentieth century when the world began
an “urban flight” to meet the rapidly growing
demands for housing and employment.
The phenomenon of urbanization and deterioration
has accelerated as result of the increase in the
population of cities, the evolution of construction
techniques and the economic growth resulting
from globalization. The emergence of urbanized
globalization, characterized by the creation of
communication networks between the world’s
major urban centers, has further solidified the role
of cities as national and global hubs.
The deterioration of city centers leads to an
emigration, especially of middle class residents.
As city centers slowly become epicenters of the
poor and in some cases nests of social pathologies
and criminality, they become less attractive as sites
for residence and commerce. These problems are
exacerbated within cities that suffer from social
fissures or cultural and national conflicts.
After such a period of deterioration, there is
typically a vote or popular expression of opinion
supporting the need for revival of the areas and
the restoration of their functional role in the urban
fabric (Neal, 2003). Having already lost much of
the community’s original diversity, capital and
economic activities, “revitalization” becomes the
next logical step.
“Urban Vitality”, the concept that describes the
Jerusalem Old City:
Urban Fabric and Geopolitical Implications
40
necessity to revitalize urban centers, outlines a
process in which the mobility of life and economic,
social and cultural activity are brought back to
the degraded part of the city. Urban vitality is
diminished when the city becomes unattractive
to business and loses the economic capacity that
originally distinguished it in a functional way.
The decline in urban vitality is part of both a local
phenomenon, within a consolidated political
and economic environment, and a global process
(Shatern and Na’ly Yusuf, 2009).
The restoration of urban vitality comes through
a process known as “Urban Revitalization”. One
of the premises of urban revitalization argues
that it fights deterioration by increasing economic
activities that depend on development, settlement
and private investment in operational units
within the city (Zielenbach, 2000). More private
investment leads to an increase in the value of
property, and finally contributes to the overall
increase in the economic success of the area.
Urban revitalization is a comprehensive and multifaceted
process that aims to solve urban problems
through long-term solutions (Roberts, 2000). Some
aspects focus on economic and structural features,
while others concentrate on the comprehensive
social sphere. The latter includes the production
of methods, such as ¨Forest Life¨ or ¨Project
Planning¨, by which a differentiation is made
about how a project is measured as successful
(Gratz and Mintz, 1998). In short, the process
is vital, and there is a clear difference between
revival and renovation—the former includes
the community, while the latter does not. Urban
renovation, as a project, involves the demolition
or “uprooting” of poor areas and their re-planting
into new places or projects. In the Old City of
Jerusalem, the renovation developments are part
of the process of gentrification. Gentrification does
not take into account the needs of the community.
Instead, the process seeks to displace the original,
indigenous inhabitants as a whole. The more
organic urban revival or revitalization approach
of intervention, known as “Forest Life”, takes into
account the environmental ecosystem. It focuses
on the integration, coherence and harmony of
each component of the space. And, importantly,
in this approach, the goals are development and
progress based around what already exists in the
space. In other words, it does not uproot, as in the
renovation methodology. The revival approach
is perhaps best described by Gratz and Mintz in
their work,
Studies concerned with the underlying objectives
of the processes of urban revitalization and
Urban Husbandry.
renovation in other cities have identified a desire
to raise the values of properties based upon a
predictable schedule of deterioration, revitalization
and increased demand for urban spaces. The
application of the gentrification process in the old
neighborhoods of most European and American
cities has led to a rise in the value and demand
for property. However, this process begins only
after those neighborhoods have been degraded
socially, economically and physically (Smith,
1995). In order to increase the demand for these
sites within the city, cultural events are developed
and centered there, and an increased accessibility
to different sites is developed (Elizabeth, 1999;
Gross and Rogowsky, 1998).
After the application of the original renovation
methodologies came under criticism, new
methodologies were developed to achieve urban
revitalization (Grogan and Proscio, 2000). The new
methodology insists that the old neighborhoods
can be healthy and attractive without imitating
the suburban, economically or socially. In short,
the goal is to regenerate a community, rather
than to attract outsiders through a process of
deterioration and the elimination of its diversity.
These new methodologies can be summarized as
“New Urbanism”—a movement developed in the
cities of North America as a reaction to the process
of suburbanization and the flight of people from
the city centers to the suburbs.
The main ideas of this approach are:
• The strengthening of the relationship between
the neighborhoods in the city centers
• The development of short foot paths and public
spaces (e.g., for picnics or walks)
• The development of public transportation,
41
CHAPTER TWO
thereby reducing the number of private
automobiles
• The development of integrated and harmonious
land usage regulations in the city center
Another approach to urban revitalization is
known as Urban Villages, first mentioned by
Carbor Aosporgen in 1992. He theorized that in
order to create an environment of accommodation
throughout the city, one must first make
improvements to the poor and abandoned areas
within it (Neal, 2003). The objectives of the urban
village approach are similar to the “new city”
method. The application of this methodology
requires the active involvement and presence of
the inhabitants so that they can help formulate
and produce the revitalized spaces in which they
live (Soja, 2000; Lefebvre, 1991). Success, in the
new approach, depends on the involvement of the
inhabitants in the process of revitalization. There
must be an agreement between the objectives of
the inhabitants to improve their conditions and
the urban governmental authorities that monitor
resources, implement projects and regulate
development.
Urbanism and Renovation
Programs in Jerusalem and the Old
City
As we have noted, the phenomenon of urbanism
and renovation of urban centers is a global one.
How has it operated in the case of the Old City?
Before exploring that question, it should be noted
that the phenomenon of the deterioration of
neighborhoods in Jerusalem’s urban center was
a nonorganic created process, particularly in the
western part of the city after its division in 1948.
The deterioration developed as a result of the suburbanization
of the city and the establishment of
neighborhoods and settlements around it based
on geo-political motives. These motives grew out
of a competition for the city center (i.e., the triangle
between the streets Judea, King George and Jaffa)
and neighborhoods that were degraded physically
and socially, such as Nhalwt and Rahabaya.
The Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem (MoJ) has
formulated and applied the policies of restoration
for these neighborhoods through the development
of infrastructure and an active campaign to attract
the middle-classes to inhabit them. The Old City
of East Jerusalem, however, was not included in
the projects or as part of the revitalization of city
centers in West Jerusalem.
The reasons for the delayed intervention to revive
the Old City are primarily geo-political. East
Jerusalem is still an occupied territory, and there
is no foreseeable international decision that will
legitimate this occupation. Although Israel asserts
that it united East Jerusalem with West Jerusalem
in 1967, most of the revitalization projects have
focused on the construction of new settlements
around the city.
We should note, however, that there were two
“development” projects that impacted the Old
City. The first was the gentrification of Bab-
Almagarbah and Almeedan neighborhoods in
1967. Israel seized the properties and houses
of the Palestinians living there (in an area of
approximately 122,000 sq.m.) and replaced the
mostly Moroccan area with what is now known
as the Jewish Quarter. The second project was
the partial renovation of infrastructure in various
parts of the Old City during the seventies. With
those exceptions, penetration into the Old
City for urban revitalization has been largely
deferred. One should also note that efforts at
Jerusalem’s gentrification have drawn a great
deal of Palestinian and international opposition,
and this has prompted Israel and the MoJ to defer
the continuation of the discriminatory renovation
process.
In 1982, Jordan took the initiative to put Jerusalem
on the UNESCO list of protected World Heritage
sites. However, this declaration did not correct the
flawed process of revitalization in the Old City as
it should have by creating a plan oriented toward
and supported by the people and institutions
involved. In turn, the urban pressure increased.
The geo-political conflict in Jerusalem, its physical
state of disrepair and the standard of living of
its inhabitants deteriorated. The situation of the
Palestinian inhabitants of Jerusalem was especially
dire. They had not been given citizenship in Israel,
despite the city’s “unification” in 1967, and were
instead defined as “permanent residents”.
Jerusalem Old City:
Urban Fabric and Geopolitical Implications
42
During the nineties, and especially after the
Oslo Agreement of 1993, a Palestinian process
of revitalization for the Old City of Jerusalem
came into effect. However, this process was
limited, resulting only in the preparation of a
revitalization scheme (Toqan and Khamaisi,
2002). Geo-political events such as the Al-Aqsa
Intifada of 2000 and a drastic increase in Israeli
attacks inside the occupied Palestinian Territories
ultimately led to the tightening of Israeli closure
on Jerusalem and the building of the separation
wall between Jerusalem and its environs.
The Old City’s revitalization process was limited
to only a few projects involving the Ministry of
Religious Affairs of Jerusalem and a few local
national societies. Conversely, the physical,
social and economic situation in the Old City
of Jerusalem continued to decline, prompting
international institutions, such as UNESCO, to
prepare a bench-marked achievement program
by which to maintain those sites of unique and
universal quality. These programs have also been
limited, but the need to revive ancient Jerusalem
remains as urgent as ever.
Between 1987 and 2000, the presence of the Israelis
was significantly reduced in ancient Jerusalem.
However, beginning in 2000, this migration
began to reverse itself. In was in that year that
the Israelis began to openly consider the Old City
to be part of West Jerusalem and therefore sought
to establish their total control over it.
To achieve the Israeli-desired process of the
revitalization of the Old City, the MoJ put forth,
and in 1973 adopted, under a plan known
as pm/9, a detailed structural outline of the
areas within the boundaries of the wall. Under
pm/9, construction within the Old City and its
immediate environs has ground to a halt. Any
construction bid must undergo a vigorous and
expensive process of planning, and then must
wade through a time-consuming bureaucracy if it
ever hopes to be realized. Ironically, this scheme
has slowed not only Palestinian construction
in or around the area, but also the neighboring
Israeli settlements.
In the beginning of the year 2000, the MoJ began
to amend pm/9 with a new detailed scheme of the
Old City. This scheme sought to establish strict
municipal control over the revitalization process in
the Old City, and included the addition of a number
of housing units. Though this scheme is still not
being implemented, the amendments offered to
it do not aim to revitalize. Rather, they seek to
establish further Israeli control over the city, while
diminishing Arab influence and participation,
through the process of land use classification
and the construction permission process. This
new scheme (titled 10276) seeks to overcome the
shortcomings of older schemes and is a joint effort
of the Government of Israel (operating through
the MoJ) and private developers. Its declared goal
is to “renew, preserve and protect” the Old City.
This scheme did not include the areas surrounding
the Old City, but rather concentrated on the area
within the walls along three axes:
• Preserving daily living patterns and cultures
• Preserving the distinguishing features of the
architecture
• Tourism and economic infrastructure
development
As of this writing, the scheme has only
accomplished a few projects, such as the
conservation of the walls around the Old City
and the collection of waste from their base.
Furthermore, these projects have so far been
carried out without the active involvement of
the inhabitants in either their formulation or
implementation. Consequently, Palestinians view
the process and results as observers rather than
stakeholders.
*****
Any effort to renovate or revitalize the Old City
must take into account the interrelationship
between certain realities, including: the resistance
of Palestinian residents to emigration; the
burgeoning population growth and its impact
on density and housing demands; and the role of
religions in the life and space of the Old City. For
example, note that identification with religious
sites, such as Al-Haram Al-Sharif and the Church
of the Holy Sepulcher, as well as with the cultural,
43
CHAPTER TWO
archeological and historical heritage of the Old
City, inhibits residents from emigrating from
the community in an exodus that frequently can
be observed in other cities. Their immobility in
turn disrupts the typical urban lifecycle. Indeed,
the low rate of emigration from the deteriorated
center and the high rate of natural growth have
functioned to increase the number of inhabitants
significantly. Since 1967, the population of the Old
City has increased from 23,675 in 1967 to 37,060 by
the end of 2006 (see
This increase was abetted by the closure policies
of 1993 and 2000, a key part of which was the socalled
“Center of Life” provisions. Palestinians
who held the blue card status to reside in
Jerusalem and receive the Israeli social welfare
package—but who had chosen to live outside
the city—were threatened with the loss of those
Table 2.1).
benefits if they did not in fact reside within the
city itself. Consequently, many chose to return to
East Jerusalem and of those, many resettled in the
Old City, adding to its population and worsening
urban density. The onset of the separation wall
in 2002 gave further impetus to this return
migration.
In short, the city’s population did not naturally
decrease, or unload—a fact which makes renovation
a more complicated process. What little population
unloading that has occurred, under the guise of
renovation, has been anything but natural. As we
noted earlier, as part of the gentrification process
the neighborhoods of Almagarbah and Almeedan
were completely demolished and their space was
“renovated” into a Jewish neighborhood.
•
City has increased by 56.5% in the last 40 years.
In comparison, the population of Jerusalem as a
whole has increased around 175% over the same
period.
Table 2.1 shows that the population of the Old
•
rates in the Old City according to the religious
Table 2.1 shows that there is difference in growth
affiliation. While Muslims have increased their
numbers by about 65%, the Armenians have
decreased nearly by half between 1967 and 2006.
• The rapid population growth explains the Old
City’s high housing unit density, as illustrated in
Table 2.2
below.
• The calculation of the data is according to
generally recognized neighborhood borders.
• This table does not include the Al-Haram Al-
Sharif, which, including the surrounding walls,
occupies, 137, 000 sq.m,
Usually ancient cities deteriorate as a result of
urban flight or significant decreases in population,
however the Old City suffers from the opposite
problem—an increase in the population and
accommodation density within its defining walls.
Moreover, there are large discrepancies between
the neighborhoods in the Old City in terms of
population density. Net density in the Jewish
neighborhood is about one third of that in the
Islamic neighborhood even though the combined
area of the Jewish and Armenian neighborhood is
three times the size of the Muslim Quarter. This
rapid density increase within one sector, which
comprises only 40% of the physical space, has
significant consequences on the lifestyles and
standards of the inhabitants. The strain extends
from accommodation standards to the quality of
sewage and drain water infrastructure, as well as
on other public services.
As a natural consequence of the steady increase of
inhabitants in ancient Jerusalem, the competition for
accommodation has grown. The following
2.3, 2.4,
Tablesand 2.5 show the changes in the housing
sector inside the Old City over a recent five year
period (2003 – 2007).
Table 2.1: Population in the Old City 1967-2006.
Year Muslims Christian Armenians Jews Total
1967
16,681 5,397 1,598 - 23,675
1995
22,814 5,377 1,193 2,802 32,331
2006
27,500 5,681 790 3,089 37,060
Growth rate
1967-2006
64.9 5.3 -50.6 10.2 (based
on 1995)
56.5
Jerusalem Old City:
Urban Fabric and Geopolitical Implications
44
Table 2.2: Population Density and Construction in the Old City (2007)
Quarter Number of
inhabitants*
The land
area of
housing
(per
1000sq.m)
The land
area of
institutions
(per
1000sq.m)
The
Number of
of housing
units
The space
of buildings
for housing
Net density
of inhibit-ants
for housing
Density of
building
housing
units per
1000sq.m
Built space
per person
m²
Christian 5,419 49.5 76.9 1,217 50,774 109.5 24.6 9.3
Armenian 2,464 37.9 38.9 605 32,707 65.0 16.0
13.3
Jewish 2,546 37.9 26.6 582 41,117 67.2
Muslim 26,646 160.0 34.2 ** 3,410 139,169 173.8 22.6
15.3 16.15.3
Total Old City 37,075 285.3 176.6 5,814 263,767 129.9 20.4 7.1
Table 2.4: Average Housing Space in the Old City as Compared with Jerusalem as a Whole (2003 – 2007 sq. m)
Neighborhood 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Christian
54 54 54 54 54
Armenian
41 41 41 41 42
Jewish 71 71 71 71 71
Islamic 40.6 40.6
41 41 41
Old City 51.6 51.6 51.7 51.7 52.0
Jerusalem 76.0 76.1 76.5 76.7 77.1
Old City as a % of Jerusalem 67.9 67.8 67.6 76.4 67.4
Source: http://www.jiis.org.il/imageBank/File/shnaton_2006/diur/SHLMGR03-07_av_area.pdf
Table 2.3: Housing Units in the Old City (2003 – 2007)
Neighborhood 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Christian 1210
Armenian 599 597 602 605 605
Jewish 560 570 578 578 582
Islamic 3394 3406 3402 3401 3410
Old City total 5763 5786 5802 5800 5814
Jerusalem total 177142 180347 182665 184655 187469
Old City as a % of Jerusalem
1213 1220 1216 12173.25 3.20 3.18 3.14 3.10
Source: http://www.jiis.org.il/imageBank/File/shnaton_2006/diur/SHLMGR03-07_dwellings.pdf
Table 2.5: Square Meters of Housing Space in the Old City (2003–2007)
Neighborhood 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Christian 49,880 49,945 50,224 50,249 50,774
Armenian 32,373 32,340 32,688 32,695 32,707
Jewish 39,721 40,243 40,822 41,053 41,117
Islamic 137,770 138,267 138,531 138,934 139,169
Old City total 259,744 260,795 262,265 262,931 263,767
Jerusalem total 13,461,454 13,726,604 13,967,242 14,167,709 14457,501
Source: http://www.jiis.org.il/imageBank/File/shnaton_2006/diur/SHLMGR03-07_tot_area.pdf
45
CHAPTER TWO
The tables show that from 2003-2007, a mere 47
housing units were added in the Old City while 10,327
housing units have been established in Jerusalem as
a whole--most of them in the predominantly Jewish
Western side of the city. The area of housing units in
the Old City in 2007 was equivalent to approximately
36% of that occupied by housing units in Jerusalem
as a whole. To highlight the contradiction between
population growth and construction note that
between the years 2003 and 2007, the constructed area
in the Old City merely increased by 4,023 sq. meters!
Despite the allegation of illegal construction in
the Old City, the records of the MoJ indicate that
the volume of construction has not responded
to the increased needs of the inhabitants. It is
true that the Old City suffers from a pattern of
emigration, mostly among its upper class, but
high birth rates—especially amongst the Muslim
population and the forced return of blue carders
from the suburbs--have led to a net increase in the
Old City’s population, all within a highly defined
finite space (see
Most Palestinian Jerusalemites are still in the process
of urbanization. This is indicated in their consistently
high birth rates and low average age. Data gathered
in 2005 revealed that the average age in Jerusalem in
2005 was 23.4 years. The average age of Palestinian
Christians was 34.1 years, for Muslims it was 19.1
years and for Israelis the average age was 25. Within
the Old City, the average age of Muslims was 18.4;
which is lower than both the Jewish and Christian
populations in the Old City which were found to
be 19.1 and 31.6 years respectively (
Yearbook,
After reviewing the increase in population and its
impact on the revitalization of the Old City, it must
Table 2.6)1 .Israeli Statistical2007; Table C/14: 104 - 105).
be noted that the urban configuration of Jerusalem
does not align with standard metropolitan life cycles
of renovation or revitalization; i.e. urbanization,
sub-urbanization, distribution and the return to
the city center under the programs of renovation or
revitalization. Though this standard model fits the
urbanized, metropolitan Israeli behavior, it does not
apply to the Palestinians, who are villagers still in the
process of urbanization and do not act to renovate or
revitalize their city center. It should be remembered
that a significant part of the population originally
came from the Hebron area, such as the large Edkidk
and Hijazi families, and they still exercise traditional
demographic behaviors in the Old City. To be sure,
between 1949 and 1967, the Old City was also
inhabited by wealthy upper-middle class and elite
families but many of these later emigrated. Now,
most of the population of the Old City belongs to the
middle and poorer classes.
Furthermore, the decrease in housing opportunities
and the threat of confiscation of Jerusalem I.D.
residency permits from any who might move
outside the city have prevented the displacement of
the inhabitants from inside the Old City, outward.
Beyond the political aspect, many of the Palestinians
living in the Old City have remained there because
of its proximity to the Haram Al-Sharif and the
promise of religious rewards for attending to and
protecting the site. This faith-based motivation has
long played a role in affecting both immigration and
emigration rates in the Old City.
Another reason for the Palestinian steadfastness
in remaining in the Old City is the provocation
of extreme-right Jewish organizations and Israeli
individuals attempting to move into the Old City,
either by purchasing or confiscating Palestinian
homes. Ironically, this behavior has helped to create
an atmosphere that leads Palestinians to steadfastly
remain in the Old City. Despite the creeping
Table 2.6: Population Increase in the Old City in 2005
The area Inhabitants
Beginning-2005
Inhabitants End-2005 Balance of
Immigration
% Population
Increase
Old City 35894 36577 - 387 1.9
Palestinian 31949 32635 -306
2.1
Israeli 3945 3942 -81 -0.1
Source: Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, 2007, No. 22, Municipality of Jerusalem and the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Research, Jerusalem.
1 The author posits that this demographic behavior, amongst Palestinians in the Old City, is due to their not having adapted to
the ‘urban’ model and continued reliance upon the ‘village’.
Jerusalem Old City:
Urban Fabric and Geopolitical Implications
46
settlement growth within
2 and around the Old
City, resulting from previous forced gentrification
projects, Palestinians in the main have chosen not to
leave.
The increased demand for accommodation in the Old
City is caused by the strict control over Palestinian
construction outside of the walls in the surrounding
area. Since its adoption, scheme ASG/9 has imposed
strict regulations that prevent the extension of the
buildings outside the walls of the Old City which
would provide solutions to the inhabitants within.
The Old City provides educational, religious and
cultural services for Jerusalemites from surrounding
neighborhoods such as Wadi Al-Joz, Sheikh Jarrah
and Salah Al-Din. Ironically, the prevention of
Palestinian-oriented development outside the walls
and in the surroundings of the Old City has actually
contributed to the impossibility of Palestinians
abandoning the Old City.
*****
The concentration of religious and cultural centers in
the Old City has been beneficial to the revitalization
of the area and its centrality.
distribution of institutions and cultural centers in
the Old City.
Table 2.7 shows the
Historically, this density of religious institutions
was one of the driving forces behind the
revitalization of the Old City. The desire of each
particular sect to maintain and use these sites for
instruction, service provision, donation gathering
and inter-faith competition prompted religious
institutions to take better care of their spatial
allotment in Jerusalem. There is perhaps no city
in the world that contains this number of religious
institutions in such a small space. The land under
the control of these institutions has reached
312,000 sq.m, or 36% of the entire Old City. Each
institution manages the physical condition and
supervises the administration of these sites.
While most home-owners attempt to do the
maintenance and restoration of their homes on
their own, these attempts are conditional upon
the wealth of the resident. Because most of
the Palestinian Jerusalemite families in the Old
City have relatively low incomes, their ability
2. Fewer than 12 sites were colonized beyond the neighborhood known as the Jewish Quarter in 1967. Since then, Jewish groups
monitoring the Old City point out that the number has grown to over forty. (Mier, 2007) - see
Two.
Chapter Three and Appendix
Table 2.7: Distribution of Religious, Educational and Cultural Institutions in the Old City according to the Major Religious Groups
Classification of institutions Muslim Christian Jewish
Mosques 29
Working educational institutions
11
Museums and libraries
3
Sites of religious and historical importance 83
Administrative and service buildings 8
Orthodox sites and institutions 37
Catholic sites and institutions 47
Armenian- Orthodox sites and organizations 20
Butistnt Sites and institutions
15
Coptic- Orthodox sites and organizations
5
Sites and other institutions and shared
11
Chapel
22
Public institutions
12
Educational institutions 10
Cultural sites and museums 20
Total 336 139
133 64
47
CHAPTER TWO
3.Of the 872,000 sq.m. of space within the walls, public and open squares occupy 186,000 sq.m. (21%).
to preserve or restore their residence is limited.
Many of these families have added to their
accommodation using materials and “informal”
building techniques that do not fit within the
mosaic of the Old City. Consequently, they
actually work to distort the aesthetics and privacy
of the space.
Moreover, the absence of a municipal authority
to maintain the public space in the Old City has
contributed to the deterioration of the public and
semi-public spaces in the vicinity: about one fifth
of the space of the Old City is “general” space and
is lacking any municipal or local authority through
which to manage or reverse its deterioration
The distribution of responsibilities and powers
within the Old City has led to the absence of any
centralized authority to oversee the process of
revitalization. The dispersed initiatives carried out
by individuals and the institutions of Palestinian
3.
civil society have not led to any significant change.
Rather, conditions have continued to deteriorate
in spite of a growing population.
Activities undertaken by the national institutions
have, thus far, not changed the realities in the
Old City. Recently, interest in the revitalization
of the Old City has increased, especially because
of growing recognition about the danger that
informal construction was posing to inhabitants.
This increased awareness, however, still operates
under Israeli control. Consequently, it does
not produce qualitative transformation “on the
ground”.
The lack of any real political agreement, or even
gestures towards one, has created an opportunity
for the MoJ to initiate plans for the revitalization
of the Old City. This plan is still in its infancy,
and eight Israeli institutions--both formal and
informal-- currently oversee this process of
revitalization. They are the Antiquities Authority,
the Development Company of Jerusalem,
the Israel Lands Authority, the State Tourism
Corporation, the Corporation for the Restoration
and the Development of the Jewish Quarter, the
Company for the Development of East Jerusalem,
the Department of Nature and National Gardens,
and the Jerusalem Fund.
In addition to these, there are Palestinian
institutions such as the General Jerusalem
Assembly, cooperative societies, church
organizations and UNESCO. They are working in
parallel with the Israeli institutions. While most
are not recognized, and even fewer are empowered
in any formal sense, they play a vital part in the
revitalization process by monitoring international
laws and norms.
*****
Contemporary Israeli plans for revitalizing the
Old City are built upon the following underlying
forces and motives:
1- The failure of political negotiations between
the Palestinians and Israelis, especially
after Camp David, convinced Israel to
consolidate its control over Jerusalem. While
Israel controls the Old City, its continual
deterioration is not attractive to tourists,
visitors or pilgrims—which casts doubt not
only on Israel’s right, but also their capacity,
to maintain the Old City and its surroundings.
2- The Israeli government and the MoJ have,
in large part, abdicated the real authority of
their roles. Instead, they have allowed the
vigilantism of right-wing extremist groups
to play a major part in transforming the Old
City (see Chapter Three). On the other hand,
Palestinian institutions have also entered
into the provision of services in the Old City,
and are now posing alternative structures
that differ from those provided by the
Israeli government. The absence of Israeli
authority in the Old City stems from fear
of international pressure over the legality
of its assertion. However, because of recent
geo-political changes, local and global, the
atmosphere has become opportune for the
Israeli government to intervene in the Old
City once more.
3- The separation wall between Jerusalem
Jerusalem Old City:
Urban Fabric and Geopolitical Implications
48
1. There is an overlap between space usage, the number of floors in the building and existence of backyards.
and the Palestinian territories prevents
Palestinian suburban communication with
the Old City. This wall sent a message to the
world, and to the Palestinians, that the reality
on the ground, not laws, would determine
the control of Jerusalem.
4– Interference from UNESCO came in the
form of reports detailing the conditions
of the deteriorating Old City, both as a site
of universal heritage and as an occupied
territory. In the case of the former, even in
times of conflict, cultural heritage is the
responsibility of the dominant or occupying
force.
5- The Old City of Jerusalem constitutes one of
the major tourist centers in the country. In
order to attract tourists and pilgrims, the Old
City must provide an infrastructure that is
able to accommodate increasing numbers of
visitors, especially in the public areas.
6- The absence of certified control over the
processes of planning in the Old City is
apparent and costly. As the population
increases, there are home additions made
by residents to provide a minimal level of
accommodation. Because the residents have
built without first receiving the required
permits and permission, the MoJ is able
to reject any subsequent petitions with no
oversight, and little recourse for appeal.
7– The preparation of a comprehensive structural
outline for Jerusalem, “Jerusalem 2000”, put
the Old City in the heart of the plan. Despite
this effort, the municipal governmental
authorities have continued to ignore what
is actually happening in the Old City and its
surroundings.
8- After the Israeli authorities created a belt of
settlements around Jerusalem and tightened
control through the construction of the wall,
they have returned their attention to the Old
City. The settlement belt surrounding the
Old City area passes through Silwan, Dahod,
Wadi Al-Joz and onwards to Sheikh Jarrah.
9- The increase in the population of the Old City,
and the resulting “illegal” construction, was
unacceptable to Israeli authorities seeking to
revitalize the city center in a tourist-oriented
fashion. Prepared schemes and plans dictate
construction in the Old City, not the needs of
the inhabitants.
10- There is a necessity to provide basic services
to the residents of Jerusalem, the taxpayers.
If these services are not provided, it threatens
the health of the Old City residents and of
those residents who live in the surrounding
Palestinian and Israeli neighborhoods.
These forces are the underlying factors behind
the initiatives of the municipality in the Old City.
Although parts of these policies appear to include
the interests of the population in their content and
application, in reality they do not.
*****
A legitimate, institutionalized vacuum of power
in the Old City has led to the continuous, random
construction and development. The effort to guide
this process exerted by Palestinian civil institutions
has been limited due to a lack of resources
and political or legal representation. Because
Jerusalem is under Israeli sovereignty, an authority
rejected by most of the international community,
they have created a reality that is inherently full
of contradictions. The Israeli authorities seek to
legitimize the union of Jerusalem and to control
the Old City. At the same time, the Palestinian
inhabitants and the civil institutions have refused
to deal with the Israeli authorities or to coordinate
with them on the restoration, rehabilitation and
revitalization of the Old City.
After occupying East Jerusalem in 1967, Israel
extended its sovereignty over the area. However,
this sovereignty did not include the Palestinian
inhabitants, who instead remain permanent
residents without citizenship rights. The inherent
elitism of the process of extending sovereignty and
“screening inhabitants” extends from an ideology
that seeks to “clean up the space” (spacio-cide)
49
CHAPTER TWO
while keeping the population more or less intact
(Hanafi, 2009). Spacio-cide not only includes the
destruction of buildings, but also the attempt to
change the identity of a place—as if to brainwash
the public into believing that there is a correlation
between a place and its new identity.
The assault on the Islamic character of the Old
City has not been limited to physical destruction,
but has also focused on changing the character
and identity of the place: practices such as
renaming areas, corroborating non-governmental
institutions, and the manipulation of movement
have all entered into the policy toolkit.
After the establishment of the Jewish neighborhood
on the ruins of Almagarbah, the project of
changing the names, nature and development
of infrastructure in the Old City was launched.
Ironically, these projects have been completed in
a reality in which the number of Palestinians who
live within the Old City is increasing, rather than
decreasing. Thus, there is a contradiction between
the real presence of Palestinians in the Old City
and the Israeli desire to transform it through a
constant and creeping control.
The Palestinians in the Old City have challenged
Israeli control by establishing and expanding their
homes without a license. As the municipality will
not give new building licenses due to the imposed
freeze on construction in the Old City, the demand
for housing and resettlement among residents,
both Israeli and Palestinian, has grown.
The Palestinian side has a historic presence
and a clear present claim to the place because
they constitute the majority of the population.
However, they do not have any legal authority
or political power. Therefore, they struggle to
survive under a policy that seeks to control and
reduce their numbers through such means as the
confiscation of I.D.’s, the implementation of fines,
raising fees and house demolitions.
Despite their suffering and inability to change
the rules of the game, the Palestinians continue
to resist these practices. Still, the Israeli side has
the resources and wields the power to extend
its influence over the Old City. This influence is
comprehensive and includes the closure of areas,
the initiation of projects to serve only Israelis, as
well the preparation of an alternative historical
knowledge base and narrative to offer visitors and
tourists.
The renovation and revival of the Old City was
initiated by the Israeli authorities on the premise
that the current sovereign Israeli control would
continue for the foreseeable future. The vision
of Jerusalem as the capital and heart of the
Jewish people must be realized not only through
slogans, but a real Israeli presence—especially in
the area in and around the Old City. This does
not mean ignoring the Palestinian presence, but
rather “dealing with it” through population
displacement or its gradual transformation from
majority to minority.
The Old City, as the historic heart of Jerusalem, is
inhabited by a wide variety of cultures, histories
and classes that insist on a different approach to
the process of renovation than that offered by
the Israeli authorities. These authorities exercise
power over ancient ruins, and over time the
entire Old City of Jerusalem and its surroundings
have been declared both an archaeological and
world heritage site. This means that construction
is prohibited without prior archaeological
examination of the area. Moreover, right-wing
Jewish institutions try to seduce or exploit the
weaknesses of property owners in title disputes
that are often unfair. The results are typically land
confiscations followed by the transfer of that land
to Israeli control, such as that which is happening
now in Silwan, Dahod and the area of Shimon
Alsedeeq in the region of Kopanyah Om-Harum.
Resolving the hardships that the broader Israeli-
Palestinian conflict has brought upon the region,
and the Old City in particular, depends on the
urban revitalization method known as Forest
Life. This method allows for the involvement
and participation of the population living in
urban space in the decision-making process
over its development. However, Palestinians
do not trust this engagement, and they fear that
their participation in these projects could lend
legitimacy to the occupation’s authority and its
claim of sovereignty over the Old City. The fear
Jerusalem Old City:
Urban Fabric and Geopolitical Implications
50
of granting legitimacy to Israeli projects pushes
Palestinians to oppose them outright in defense
of their own right to be there—even going so
far as to appeal to the judicial institutions of
Israel to interfere in the government’s planning
institutions.
Strategies for Renewing the Old
City
The on-going conflict requires a re-evaluation
of the means and objectives of the revitalization
of the Old City in order to include Palestinian
interests in Jerusalem and to preserve its character
and identity.
Our suggested scheme of renovation and
revitalization focuses on three axes. The first
is the Living City method, which means the
development of the Old City as an urban fabric
that will be used effectively for housing, work,
trade and education with an emphasis on the
empowerment of the inhabitants and community
development. To achieve such complex goals,
there must be participation from all sectors of the
Old City’s population.
The second axis focuses on the “Conservation of
Existing Heritage”. This includes the restoration
and rehabilitation of buildings in the Old City,
especially those of historical, cultural or religious
significance, and the strengthening of public
institutions. The goal is to maintain the fabric
of the Old City, including the groups and classes
that make it up. Each class represents a period of
civilization and history of ancient Jerusalem. The
accumulation of these classes and epochs makes
distinguishing them and managing them difficult
within the finite space of the Old City.
The third component relates to the development
of tourism as the core element of economic
development in the Old City. Tourists and
pilgrims coming to the ancient city bring a
great deal of money with them, and leave with
memories and impressions. The desire to sculpt
these perceptions, of the identity of the Old City
in particular, is at the heart of many problems
facing any future joint Israeli-Palestinian planning
process.
There is little confidence between Israelis and
Palestinians concerning any revitalization
scheme; indeed, so little that UNESCO could
only coordinate the preservation of the cultural
heritage in the Old City by conducting separate
meetings with the two feuding sides. The vital
coordination, facilitated by UNESCO, takes place
without any face-to-face communication between
the primary stakeholders.
There is little doubt that this lack of trust impedes
the process of the renovation and revitalization
of ancient Jerusalem. The duplications and
contradictions of the Old City require alternative
models. There are some on the Palestinian side
who claim that the continuation of the Israeli
occupation disallows participation in such
projects. Conversely, the Israeli side refuses to
deal with official Palestinian institutions that will
not pay for their involvement in the planning or
implementation process. This means that both
main components of the Old City’s revitalization
are either disabled or distorted.
*****
An outline plan for the Old City was launched by
a Palestinian institution, the Welfare Association,
that is reality-based and focused on achievable
strategies by which to revive the area. However,
the Israeli side has not adopted their strategies
and, thus, little has been accomplished within
Jerusalem and the Old City while under their
dominion. Furthermore, there is a major
contradiction between the hypotheses and
structural basis of the Palestinian scheme versus
Israeli objectives, though through professional
mediation and facilitation, these may be
overcome.
The MoJ is preparing another renovation
project for the Old City, and again this project
is considered by Palestinians to be yet another
extension of Israeli control or provoked by
gentrification as were previous projects. Because
of this, though severely affected by the results,
Palestinians often willingly remove themselves
from the process. Also UNESCO has developed a
plan to complete the restoration and rehabilitation
of urban buildings and landmarks in the Old
51
CHAPTER TWO
City, but its achievements are still limited. In
other words, the conflict over the Old City still
constitutes a major impediment to revitalization.
In the meantime, urban deterioration continues.
The question now becomes: “How do we get out
of this impasse and rejuvenate a confined space
where approximately 37,000 people, surrounded
by a further 60,000, are living in substandard
housing and subjected to inadequate services?”
Does this current reality have to continue? Or
are there methods by which to revive the Old
City in a manner that nurtures the success of the
larger geo-political agreement? Regardless of
the big picture, there must be a restoration and
rehabilitation of the urban fabric that will enable
and empower the inhabitants to be involved with
the development of their own environment.
Until a larger conflict resolution agreement is
reached, Palestinians have two choices: continue
fighting the policies practiced by the Israeli
authorities, or they can slowly allow themselves
and their identity to be wiped out of the Old
City and its surroundings. Before either path is
chosen, one should learn the lessons of history
and develop realistic and assertive strategies
focused on the empowerment of Palestinian
Jerusalemites.
New Rules: Active Palestinian
Involvement—Resistance and
Intervention
This strategy should not follow an automatic
reactionary response to the Israeli courts and its
description of reality. Instead, this new initiative
should create different rules of the game, ones that
increase the Palestinian presence in the production
and formulation of their space and environment,
including the restoration, rehabilitation and
revitalization process. The suggested initiative
is derived from the concepts of both resistance
and behavior. It should be pointed out that
resistance allows for the utilization of patterns
and methods by which Palestinians can protect
ancient Jerusalem. The role of professionals in
this new reality is especially important, as they
must be charged with creating working bodies
and mechanisms able to invest in the Old City’s
available space as well as defend the identity of
Jerusalem in joint Israeli-Palestinian forums.
The starting point is the recognition that the Old
City of Jerusalem is not the property of Israel, and,
therefore, the state’s efforts to gentrify it or to kill
its identity are illegitimate. It is a city of universal
value and a formalized part of the world’s heritage.
It possesses an Arab and Islamic character, and in
the face of Israeli practices, this must be protected.
It is not enough for Palestinians to merely monitor
and record the transformations going on around
them; they must go further and begin to actively
interfere with the formulation of production and
maintenance schemes in Jerusalem.
The resistance strategy of intervention is based
on community-level organization and institutionbuilding.
These institutions will serve to represent
the interest and identity of the Palestinian people
in their dealings with Israeli authorities and will,
in turn, rely upon the international laws and
norms that require the occupier to defend certain
rights and liberties of the occupied.
A process of defense and civilian resistance
in the urban space, one that contributes to the
empowerment of people through their conscious
participation, needs to be developed. Rather than
participation offering legitimacy to Israeli control,
an active popular movement can at once make real
policy achievements, while also strengthening the
identity and attachment of Palestinians with the
Old City and its surroundings. In parallel to the
process of organizing the community, the process
of planning strategies that encompass Palestinian
interests at the planning and project level needs to
be ongoing. Maintaining a Palestinian presence,
and resisting the transformation of reality by
Israel, must be carried out at both the community
level and through the development of professional
alternative plans.
International Oversight
A key part of the strategy is the enhancement
of the role of UNESCO, to the position of acting
supervisor over a process of revitalization and
rehabilitation of the Old City that includes both
Israelis and Palestinians. We must therefore
Jerusalem Old City:
Urban Fabric and Geopolitical Implications
52
develop a comprehensive methodology for
planning, as well as empowering an internationally
recognized body able to represent the residents
of the Old City and its basin. This will allow for
the joint groups of Israelis and Palestinians to
meet under supervision, as well as allowing the
participation of Arab countries on the behalf of
stateless Palestinians.
Inclusion of the Neighboring
Environment
The scope of the strategy promoted
here—resistance, intervention, and
internationalization--is not limited to the Old
City and its basin. The Israeli campaign to
exclude neighboring Palestinian villages from
Jerusalem has been crucially important to the
weakening of the Old City—economically and
culturally and has diminished its central place
in Palestinian identity. The Old City’s linkages
with Palestinian Jerusalem surroundings must
be included in the revitalization efforts
Conclusion
Despite Israeli policies aimed at gentrifying,
evacuating and indeed assassinating a
civilization and heritage, the Palestinian
presence in Jerusalem continues to grow and
resist. Their presence in the Old City is the
basis for a process of revitalization and the
restoration of urban vitality. The planning and
methodology of revitalization projects should
be inspired by their surroundings and makeup.
In order to not trample the ecosystem in our effort
to revive and rehabilitate, the methodologies
adopted should be based upon the principles of
the Forest Life and Urban Village approaches.
These methodologies allow us to address the
unique character of Jerusalem and its Old City,
a character too complex to be captured in readymade
“off the shelf” applications. Currently,
the conflict over and within the Old City forms
a clear obstacle to resolving the broader conflict.
However, the absence of the broader solution
has, in turn, burdened the development of
Jerusalem and the restoration of its urban vitality.
Lacking an overall solution limits Palestinian
agency in the process. Will they allow the
situation to continue? Or will they change the
form and organize their resistance to ensure the
preservation, restoration and continuity of their
presence in Jerusalem?
There is no doubt that the ideas put forth in this
analysis need to be developed further through
the establishment of professional institutions
based on private, collective and political
support. These institutions need to deal with
the “realities of now” in Jerusalem, and work
to alleviate the suffering of their constituents
while defending their identity and presence in
the Old City.
The City of Jerusalem, the Holy City, has its
own character and distinctiveness. It therefore
requires tools, policies and strategies that
understand and protect its uniqueness. The
continuation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
is slowly assassinating the space of Jerusalem,
despite the promises of humanitarian, religious
and nationalist organizations to protect it.
Jerusalem Old City:
Urban Fabric and Geopolitical Implications
54
|
