Legislated Urbans: Jerusalem

This project investigates how Israeli planning laws —particularly “National Parks”— are used as a tool to freeze Palestinian urban growth in East Jerusalem. Initially focusing on SurBaher’s Wadi, which has been defined as a restricted construction zone is now set to become part of the “Eastern-Ring-Road”, a plan that interrupts the Palestinian space and primarily serving adjacent Israeli development. The project proposes alternative ways of the highway, and reinterprets its planning logic into a framework of equal planning rights for local residents, addressing critical public needs that have long been neglected. Taking a broader view including Al-Walajeh and Issawiya, the project aims to intervene in the existing legal-regulatory system, laying out conditions for urban continuity, spatial justice, and collective architectural approach within Palestinian spaces. Led by Arch. Ytav Bouhsira and Arch. Gil David