Users mix

The project deals with the phenomenon of Haredization, in which, over a short time, the composition of a population changes, affecting the urban space. For example, apartment balconies that must accommodate a Sukkah or the need for a large number of public buildings. The current planning mindset is to separate rather than mix the secular and Haredi populations. In our view, foreignness creates alienation, alienation creates fear, and fear creates hatred. We propose a model of a mixed city with interface points between the populations and an urban infrastructure for living lives that are not completely separate, which, in our understanding, can lead to a better future. The project examines the issue in Jerusalem, in the seam between the Haredi neighborhood of Bayit VeGan and the neighborhood of Kiryat HaYovel, which is undergoing Haredization. We propose to intervene in the seam space between the neighborhoods at this moment in time, in order to offer a framework for a different urban process than the familiar one, which allows for encounters and acquaintances between the populations living alongside and among each other. The project was carried out under the supervision of architect Tamar Pertsov and architect Ilana Rudashevsky. The project won the Bezalel Excellence Award in the area.