Over the course of almost fifty years, the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israeli national planning authorities have dealt extensively with planning in Jerusalem, including the planning of the Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem. And yet, despite the many plans that have been drawn up and approved in this period, the planning situation in these neighborhoods … read more
Bimkom conducted the first of its kind study of urban renewal techniques in Israel and around the world. This Urban Renewal summary explains the types of urban renewal conducted in Israel and provides recommendations for better methodology.
An article published in Haaretz newspaper about Bimkom’s report on how to promote urban renewal which is responsible and takes into account the needs of current residents. The Bimkom report urges a change in policy with respect to urban renewal in the country, whereby its primary goal would become “to upgrade the living conditions of existing residents and to ensure the possibility that they will be able to enjoy the fruits of that upgrading.”
Of the Bedouin villages in the Negev, only 12 (one of them just recently in 2014) have been recognized by the government. The government planning process for the recognized villages has largely ignored their spatial reality and its logic. In practice, only 128 residential building permits were issued in only two villages.
Sept. 2014- Bimkom submitted a shadow report in response to Israel’s report to the United Nations regarding the implementation of the covenant on civil and political rights. The shadow report deals with sections of the State report pertaining to issues of planning, building and adequate housing in the Bedouin localities in the Negev, in Arab localities … read more
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The Association for Civil Rights in Israel along with the Regional Council of Unrecognized Villages and Bimkom, among others, filed an emergency petition to the High Court of Justice on behalf of local residents claiming that the government has a responsibility to protect its citizens and demanding the installation of portable shelters in the Bedouin … read more
The Bedouin communities scattered throughout the area between East Jerusalem and the outskirts of Jericho comprise some 7,500 residents, most of whom belong to the Jahalin tribe (‘ashirah), though some belong to the Ka’abnah tribe; both tribes share a similar history that led them to their present situation. Until 1948, the Jahalin tribe resided in … read more
The Praver/Begin Plan is off the table, and Agriculture Minister Yair Shamir is showing signs that he understands the problems, and has internalized the messages of Bimkom and others working together with the Bedouin to advance equitable solutions and an end to discrimination.
Bimkom assisted residents of the East Jerusalem neighborhood Wadi al-Joz in demanding that the Municipality pave a walkway which had become dangerously run down. Municipal plans show this path, meaning that it is the city’s responsibility to maintain it, but this had never been done, until now.
