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G. Schwake
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1
Frontier settlements played a key role in the formation of Israeli society and its territorial project. In the pre-statehood years and during the first decades after the establishment of the state of Israel, settling the frontiers formed one of the main national objectives, securing the nation’s control over space while promoting a unified local identity. Appropriately, settlement practices and discourse focused on pioneer rural communities and industrial towns, with a clear emphasis on housing units and residential estates. With the privatisation of the local economy, the national settlement development mechanism was privatised as well, the former state-led enterprise was harnessed to the interests of the market, and the earlier focus on housing was thus replaced by a property-oriented approach. This article studies the transformations in Israeli frontier settlement practices while analysing their changing modes of spatial production and the terminology they relied on. Studying the development process of Tzur-Yitzhak and Harish, two Israeli localities on the border with the occupied Palestinian West Bank, this article demonstrates how they first emerged as small-scale rural settlements and eventually turned into corporate-led projects. Presenting the geopolitical and societal interests behind both case studies, as well as the manner their proposed planning altered over the years, this article illustrates the transforming modes of production and the evolution of the local settlement terminology, demonstrating the shift from a pioneer-oriented to a market-led frontier settlement.
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Frontier settlements played a key role in the formation of Israeli society and its territorial project. In the pre-statehood years and during the first decades after the establishment of the state of Israel, settling the frontiers formed one of the main national objectives, securing the nation’s control over space while promoting a unified local identity. Appropriately, settlement practices and discourse focused on pioneer rural communities and industrial towns, with a clear emphasis on housing units and residential estates. With the privatisation of the local economy, the national settlement development mechanism was privatised as well, the former state-led enterprise was harnessed to the interests of the market, and the earlier focus on housing was thus replaced by a property-oriented approach. This article studies the transformations in Israeli frontier settlement practices while analysing their changing modes of spatial production and the terminology they relied on. Studying the development process of Tzur-Yitzhak and Harish, two Israeli localities on the border with the occupied Palestinian West Bank, this article demonstrates how they first emerged as small-scale rural settlements and eventually turned into corporate-led projects. Presenting the geopolitical and societal interests behind both case studies, as well as the manner their proposed planning altered over the years, this article illustrates the transforming modes of production and the evolution of the local settlement terminology, demonstrating the shift from a pioneer-oriented to a market-led frontier settlement.
Dwelling on the Green-Line
Privatise and Rule in Israel/Palestine
Book
(2022)
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G. Schwake
Concealed within the walls of settlements along the Green-Line, the border between Israel and the occupied West-Bank, is a complex history of territoriality, privatisation and multifaceted class dynamics. Since the late 1970s, the state aimed to expand the heavily populated coastal area eastwards into the occupied Palestinian territories, granting favoured groups of individuals, developers and entrepreneurs the ability to influence the formation of built space as a means to continuously develop and settle national frontiers. As these settlements developed, they became a physical manifestation of the relationship between the political interest to control space and the ability to form it. Telling a socio-political and economic story from an architectural and urban history perspective, Gabriel Schwake demonstrates how this production of space can be seen not only a cultural phenomenon, but also as one that is deeply entangled with geopolitical agendas.
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Concealed within the walls of settlements along the Green-Line, the border between Israel and the occupied West-Bank, is a complex history of territoriality, privatisation and multifaceted class dynamics. Since the late 1970s, the state aimed to expand the heavily populated coastal area eastwards into the occupied Palestinian territories, granting favoured groups of individuals, developers and entrepreneurs the ability to influence the formation of built space as a means to continuously develop and settle national frontiers. As these settlements developed, they became a physical manifestation of the relationship between the political interest to control space and the ability to form it. Telling a socio-political and economic story from an architectural and urban history perspective, Gabriel Schwake demonstrates how this production of space can be seen not only a cultural phenomenon, but also as one that is deeply entangled with geopolitical agendas.
The Community Settlement
A neo-rural territorial tool
The Israeli Community Settlements are small-scale non-agricultural villages that consist of a limited number of families and a homogenous character. This method began to be used by the Israeli government and its different planning agencies during the 1970s as a tool to strengthen the state's territorial and demographical control over the Israeli internal frontiers of the Galilee, the West-Bank and along the Green-Line. Unlike earlier settlement methods that relied on ideological values such as labour, agriculture, redemption, identity and integration, as part of the nation-building years, the Community Settlements promoted a more individual and neo-rural lifestyle. In this paper I ask to show how the Community Settlements formed the new leading tool for a national agenda, in correspondence with the changing ideals in Israeli culture, moving from a quasi-socialist society into a market-driven neoliberal one. Later, suburbanising the neo-rural phenomenon.
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The Israeli Community Settlements are small-scale non-agricultural villages that consist of a limited number of families and a homogenous character. This method began to be used by the Israeli government and its different planning agencies during the 1970s as a tool to strengthen the state's territorial and demographical control over the Israeli internal frontiers of the Galilee, the West-Bank and along the Green-Line. Unlike earlier settlement methods that relied on ideological values such as labour, agriculture, redemption, identity and integration, as part of the nation-building years, the Community Settlements promoted a more individual and neo-rural lifestyle. In this paper I ask to show how the Community Settlements formed the new leading tool for a national agenda, in correspondence with the changing ideals in Israeli culture, moving from a quasi-socialist society into a market-driven neoliberal one. Later, suburbanising the neo-rural phenomenon.
Segregating Infrastructure
The Nazareth border-road
Walls, fences and barriers are essential components of ethnically divided cities, forming an integral part of contested areas and their landscape. Whether in Berlin, the US–Mexico border, Ceuta, Palestine or Korea, separation infrastructure constitutes a physical materialisation of political and ethnic conflicts, reproducing them through built space. In the case of Israel, one might immediately think of the West-Bank Separation Barrier, the Gaza Strip land obstacle, or the fences and entrance gates that decorate most of the Israeli settlements. Nevertheless, alongside these usual martial techniques, roads have been functioning as a complementary mechanism, which continues, enhances and serves the overt territorial land development policy. However, while the use of segregated bypass roads in the West-Bank creates parallel and ethnically segregated networks, inside official Israeli territory they function as the border itself, preventing integration while highlighting the spatial stratification which the local society is based upon.
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Walls, fences and barriers are essential components of ethnically divided cities, forming an integral part of contested areas and their landscape. Whether in Berlin, the US–Mexico border, Ceuta, Palestine or Korea, separation infrastructure constitutes a physical materialisation of political and ethnic conflicts, reproducing them through built space. In the case of Israel, one might immediately think of the West-Bank Separation Barrier, the Gaza Strip land obstacle, or the fences and entrance gates that decorate most of the Israeli settlements. Nevertheless, alongside these usual martial techniques, roads have been functioning as a complementary mechanism, which continues, enhances and serves the overt territorial land development policy. However, while the use of segregated bypass roads in the West-Bank creates parallel and ethnically segregated networks, inside official Israeli territory they function as the border itself, preventing integration while highlighting the spatial stratification which the local society is based upon.
The Bourgeoisification of the Green-Line
The new Israeli middle-class and the Suburban Settlement
This paper focuses on Kochav-Yair and Oranit, two localities that exemplify the Israeli Suburban Settlement phenomenon. With the first being developed by a selective group of families and the latter by a single private entrepreneur, yet both with the full support of the state, they represent the selective privatisation of the national settlement project during the 1980s. Examining the geopolitical, social and economic interests that accompanied their development, this paper illustrates how both projects incorporated the upper-middle-class bourgeoisie in the national territorial effort along the border with the occupied West-Bank (the Green-Line). Analysing the planning and construction process of both case studies, as well as their spatial characteristics, this paper explains how the upwardly middle-class and its contractors were granted substantial planning rights. Consequently, enabling them to influence the production of space while promoting a new local suburban typology that is based on better living standards, private family life and a distinctive isolated community. Therefore, this paper illustrates the Suburban Settlement typology as an outcome of the bourgeoisification of the Green-Line, which domesticated the former frontier area and enabled its inclusion in the greater national consensus.
...
This paper focuses on Kochav-Yair and Oranit, two localities that exemplify the Israeli Suburban Settlement phenomenon. With the first being developed by a selective group of families and the latter by a single private entrepreneur, yet both with the full support of the state, they represent the selective privatisation of the national settlement project during the 1980s. Examining the geopolitical, social and economic interests that accompanied their development, this paper illustrates how both projects incorporated the upper-middle-class bourgeoisie in the national territorial effort along the border with the occupied West-Bank (the Green-Line). Analysing the planning and construction process of both case studies, as well as their spatial characteristics, this paper explains how the upwardly middle-class and its contractors were granted substantial planning rights. Consequently, enabling them to influence the production of space while promoting a new local suburban typology that is based on better living standards, private family life and a distinctive isolated community. Therefore, this paper illustrates the Suburban Settlement typology as an outcome of the bourgeoisification of the Green-Line, which domesticated the former frontier area and enabled its inclusion in the greater national consensus.
Financialising the Frontier
Harish City
Housing and settlement played a key role in the formation of an Israeli society and its territorial project. While earlier frontier settlement relied on the rural sector and on peripheral development towns, with the liberalisation and privatisation of the local economy it was incorporated in the nationwide suburbanisation process. Eventually, with the neoliberal turn, the state sought to redirect investors, entrepreneurs, developers, and families to frontier areas by creating a real estate market and thus financialising the national territorial enterprise. This paper focuses on Harish, a rapidly developing housing project on the border with the occupied Palestinian West-Bank (the Green-Line). Presenting the geopolitical and societal interests behind its development, as well as the transformations its planning processes went through, this paper shows how the state was able to financialise its frontier and to eventually domesticate its border area. Analysing the spatial characteristics of Harish, this paper explains how the built environment functioned both as the medium and outcome of the alliance between national interests and market economy, merging financial frontiers with economic ones.
...
Housing and settlement played a key role in the formation of an Israeli society and its territorial project. While earlier frontier settlement relied on the rural sector and on peripheral development towns, with the liberalisation and privatisation of the local economy it was incorporated in the nationwide suburbanisation process. Eventually, with the neoliberal turn, the state sought to redirect investors, entrepreneurs, developers, and families to frontier areas by creating a real estate market and thus financialising the national territorial enterprise. This paper focuses on Harish, a rapidly developing housing project on the border with the occupied Palestinian West-Bank (the Green-Line). Presenting the geopolitical and societal interests behind its development, as well as the transformations its planning processes went through, this paper shows how the state was able to financialise its frontier and to eventually domesticate its border area. Analysing the spatial characteristics of Harish, this paper explains how the built environment functioned both as the medium and outcome of the alliance between national interests and market economy, merging financial frontiers with economic ones.
An officer and a bourgeois
Israeli military personnel, suburbanization and selective privatization
In the 1980s the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) initiated the construction of several suburban communities for the benefit of its personnel. These new settlements offered the opportunity of a better quality of life in a homogeneous and exclusive environment, all in a commuting distance from the main metropolises. The State subsidized the construction of these settlements to support the military, and in the hope that the prestigious image of the IDF would help in developing peripheral areas. Military officers could live their bourgeois dream while taking part in the greater national mission of urban development. Reut is an architype of such a suburban military settlement. It offered young officers the ability to obtain subsidized spacious houses in an exclusive community while forming a steppingstone in the later mass development of the area. Therefore, using selective privatization as a means to encourage the formation of a real estate market and to enable further development.
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In the 1980s the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) initiated the construction of several suburban communities for the benefit of its personnel. These new settlements offered the opportunity of a better quality of life in a homogeneous and exclusive environment, all in a commuting distance from the main metropolises. The State subsidized the construction of these settlements to support the military, and in the hope that the prestigious image of the IDF would help in developing peripheral areas. Military officers could live their bourgeois dream while taking part in the greater national mission of urban development. Reut is an architype of such a suburban military settlement. It offered young officers the ability to obtain subsidized spacious houses in an exclusive community while forming a steppingstone in the later mass development of the area. Therefore, using selective privatization as a means to encourage the formation of a real estate market and to enable further development.
Settle and Rule
The evolution of the Israeli national project
Settling in Palestine is an integral part of the national revival of the Jewish nation, which eventually led to the establishment of the state of Israel. This paper defines the Practical Zionism territorial strategy as a Settle and Rule mechanism that evolved through four periods of development, from the pre-state era to the post-state era: first, the agricultural settlements of the 1920s and 1930s (cultivate and rule); second, the 1950s’ industrial towns (industrialize and rule); third, the suburbs of the 1980s (suburbanize and rule) and; and fourth, the recent corporate-led development (financialize and rule). This paper argues that the national settlement mission transformed according to the changes in the modes of production and the interests of the ruling hegemony. Therefore, it focuses on four different national plans for the frontier area of the Galilee and analyses the layout of the proposed new settlements and the architecture of the housing units.
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Settling in Palestine is an integral part of the national revival of the Jewish nation, which eventually led to the establishment of the state of Israel. This paper defines the Practical Zionism territorial strategy as a Settle and Rule mechanism that evolved through four periods of development, from the pre-state era to the post-state era: first, the agricultural settlements of the 1920s and 1930s (cultivate and rule); second, the 1950s’ industrial towns (industrialize and rule); third, the suburbs of the 1980s (suburbanize and rule) and; and fourth, the recent corporate-led development (financialize and rule). This paper argues that the national settlement mission transformed according to the changes in the modes of production and the interests of the ruling hegemony. Therefore, it focuses on four different national plans for the frontier area of the Galilee and analyses the layout of the proposed new settlements and the architecture of the housing units.
The ‘Stars’ are series of suburban settlements adjacent to the border with the occupied West-Bank which illustrate the increasing privatisation of the Israeli settlement mechanism. Unlike earlier examples, which were dictated by pioneer ideology or individualistic attempts to achieve better living standards, during the 1990s the state adopted a supply-side territorial policy, which tried to ensure the continuation of its geopolitical project by securing the economic feasibility of the private sector. Analysing the development of the ‘Stars’, this paper sheds light on the privatisation and commodification of the Israeli settlement mechanism and with it the transformation of its spatial product.
...
The ‘Stars’ are series of suburban settlements adjacent to the border with the occupied West-Bank which illustrate the increasing privatisation of the Israeli settlement mechanism. Unlike earlier examples, which were dictated by pioneer ideology or individualistic attempts to achieve better living standards, during the 1990s the state adopted a supply-side territorial policy, which tried to ensure the continuation of its geopolitical project by securing the economic feasibility of the private sector. Analysing the development of the ‘Stars’, this paper sheds light on the privatisation and commodification of the Israeli settlement mechanism and with it the transformation of its spatial product.
The Privatisation of a National Project
The settlements along the trans-Israel Highway since 1977
The settlements along the Trans-Israel Highway illustrate the privatisation of the national settlement enterprise. To understand this process, this dissertation focuses on the settlement production mechanism, which consists of the reciprocal interests of the government and various private groups to develop and domesticate the border area between the State of Israel and the occupied West-Bank - the Green-Line. Centring on the spatial privileges the state granted to diverse spatial agents, this dissertation examines the manner in which different favoured groups were given the power to colonise, plan, develop and market space as a means to enhance the state’s power over it. Investigating the gradual transformation of this production mechanism, this dissertation explores the increasing privatisation of the local economy and culture, as well as how this was manifested in the built environment. Examining the modifications in the architectural and urban products this mechanism produced, this dissertation analyses the materialisation of the privatised national settlement project and how it transformed together with the changing political and economic interests.
...
The settlements along the Trans-Israel Highway illustrate the privatisation of the national settlement enterprise. To understand this process, this dissertation focuses on the settlement production mechanism, which consists of the reciprocal interests of the government and various private groups to develop and domesticate the border area between the State of Israel and the occupied West-Bank - the Green-Line. Centring on the spatial privileges the state granted to diverse spatial agents, this dissertation examines the manner in which different favoured groups were given the power to colonise, plan, develop and market space as a means to enhance the state’s power over it. Investigating the gradual transformation of this production mechanism, this dissertation explores the increasing privatisation of the local economy and culture, as well as how this was manifested in the built environment. Examining the modifications in the architectural and urban products this mechanism produced, this dissertation analyses the materialisation of the privatised national settlement project and how it transformed together with the changing political and economic interests.
The UN Resolution 181 of 27 November 1947, which called for the establishment of a Jewish state in parts of Palestine, was one of the only votes backed by both the USSR and the USA. Both superpowers saw the future state as a potential ally. Though being long affiliated with the American agenda, the young state of Israel did possess several Soviet-like characteristics during the early rule of the socialist Mapai party. One of the young state’s key projects was the construction of new industrial towns and residential neighbourhoods. These environments corresponded with ruling socialist ideology as they consisted of affordable, repetitive, and customised public housing estates. The growing alliance with the USA in the 1960s significantly influenced the Israeli culture and economy, as both underwent a process of ‘Americanisation’. This included the promotion of liberal values, such as privatisation, entrepreneurialism, and individualism. ‘Americanisation’ largely affected the local built environment. Through an intense process of privatisation, the former monotonous publicly built housing estates began giving way to new privately constructed projects. Ultimately, what began as a tool of self-expression was taken over by large-scale private corporations. The early public housing estates first turned into private houses, and later into a commodity. This article aims to reveal how the Israeli allegiance with the USA affected its local culture and economy. Leading to a transformation in the system of housing production, it replaced the former socialist housing approach with a market-driven one. The article focuses on five adjacent settlements located beside the Green Line and the West Bank: Kibbutz-Eyal (1950), Tzur-Nathan (1966), Sal’it (1977), Kochav-Yair (1986), and Tzur-Yitzhak (2005). Analysing their development, the article shows how the growing privatisation process altered the development of the built environment while adapting to changes in local politics, culture, and economy.
...
The UN Resolution 181 of 27 November 1947, which called for the establishment of a Jewish state in parts of Palestine, was one of the only votes backed by both the USSR and the USA. Both superpowers saw the future state as a potential ally. Though being long affiliated with the American agenda, the young state of Israel did possess several Soviet-like characteristics during the early rule of the socialist Mapai party. One of the young state’s key projects was the construction of new industrial towns and residential neighbourhoods. These environments corresponded with ruling socialist ideology as they consisted of affordable, repetitive, and customised public housing estates. The growing alliance with the USA in the 1960s significantly influenced the Israeli culture and economy, as both underwent a process of ‘Americanisation’. This included the promotion of liberal values, such as privatisation, entrepreneurialism, and individualism. ‘Americanisation’ largely affected the local built environment. Through an intense process of privatisation, the former monotonous publicly built housing estates began giving way to new privately constructed projects. Ultimately, what began as a tool of self-expression was taken over by large-scale private corporations. The early public housing estates first turned into private houses, and later into a commodity. This article aims to reveal how the Israeli allegiance with the USA affected its local culture and economy. Leading to a transformation in the system of housing production, it replaced the former socialist housing approach with a market-driven one. The article focuses on five adjacent settlements located beside the Green Line and the West Bank: Kibbutz-Eyal (1950), Tzur-Nathan (1966), Sal’it (1977), Kochav-Yair (1986), and Tzur-Yitzhak (2005). Analysing their development, the article shows how the growing privatisation process altered the development of the built environment while adapting to changes in local politics, culture, and economy.
The 2019 AESOP conference took place in Venice, on 9–13 of July. This year’s conference consisted of five intensive days that included more than 100 different panels, which consisted of thematic and special sessions, roundtables, discussions and poster presentations. Overall, more than 1000 scholars attended the 2019 AESOP, representing almost 100 different institutions word wide. The 2019 conference was overall a stimulating and intriguing event, which was further enhanced by the city of Venice, the chosen venues and the evident organization. One could only hope that future conferences will continue to embrace the same level, depth and diversity of topics, while encouraging a wider and more critical approach to the question of planning history.
...
The 2019 AESOP conference took place in Venice, on 9–13 of July. This year’s conference consisted of five intensive days that included more than 100 different panels, which consisted of thematic and special sessions, roundtables, discussions and poster presentations. Overall, more than 1000 scholars attended the 2019 AESOP, representing almost 100 different institutions word wide. The 2019 conference was overall a stimulating and intriguing event, which was further enhanced by the city of Venice, the chosen venues and the evident organization. One could only hope that future conferences will continue to embrace the same level, depth and diversity of topics, while encouraging a wider and more critical approach to the question of planning history.
Post-traumatic urbanism
Repressing Manshiya and Wadi Salib
Trauma is defined as a wound or an injury caused by an act of violence on one's body, or as a severe anxiety caused by an unpleasant experience. The victims of traumatic events may develop psychological stress disorder, which is manifested in several symptoms: post-traumatic stress disorder. The 1948 Arab-Israeli had caused both physical and psychological trauma. The symptoms of this trauma are still visible today in various Israeli cities. As a result of the war, Israeli cities had annexed formerly owned Palestinian villages and neighborhoods. Along the years, these vacated Palestinian houses were settled by Jewish immigrants, turned to slums and became the target of several urban renewal projects. These renewal projects mainly asked to erase all traces of the neighborhood's Arab past, and to introduce a new urban order. This research focuses on Al Manshiya in Tel Aviv-Jaffa and Wadi Salib in Haifa, two former Palestinian neighborhoods, which were vacated from their original inhabitants. This research surveys the re-planning process of both neighborhoods, its implementation and its current status. Asking whether one can depict symptoms of post-trauma in the urban scheme and in the buildings' architecture. Al Manshiya was torn down completely in the 1970's, in order to make place for Tel Aviv's new central business district. This project was never fully completed, as the symptoms of the post-trauma are manifested in the disconnected grand office buildings, the urban void and the parking lots surrounding them. The majority of Wadi Salib was torn down as well, as several decaying buildings are still standing in the cleared and empty neighborhood. The emptiness, neglect and oblivion emphasize the post-traumatic experience. In the recent years however, several projects asked to deal with the neighborhoods' past and heritage. Even then, the references remained superficial leaving the trauma unattended and not curing the neighborhoods' from their post-trauma symptoms.
...
Trauma is defined as a wound or an injury caused by an act of violence on one's body, or as a severe anxiety caused by an unpleasant experience. The victims of traumatic events may develop psychological stress disorder, which is manifested in several symptoms: post-traumatic stress disorder. The 1948 Arab-Israeli had caused both physical and psychological trauma. The symptoms of this trauma are still visible today in various Israeli cities. As a result of the war, Israeli cities had annexed formerly owned Palestinian villages and neighborhoods. Along the years, these vacated Palestinian houses were settled by Jewish immigrants, turned to slums and became the target of several urban renewal projects. These renewal projects mainly asked to erase all traces of the neighborhood's Arab past, and to introduce a new urban order. This research focuses on Al Manshiya in Tel Aviv-Jaffa and Wadi Salib in Haifa, two former Palestinian neighborhoods, which were vacated from their original inhabitants. This research surveys the re-planning process of both neighborhoods, its implementation and its current status. Asking whether one can depict symptoms of post-trauma in the urban scheme and in the buildings' architecture. Al Manshiya was torn down completely in the 1970's, in order to make place for Tel Aviv's new central business district. This project was never fully completed, as the symptoms of the post-trauma are manifested in the disconnected grand office buildings, the urban void and the parking lots surrounding them. The majority of Wadi Salib was torn down as well, as several decaying buildings are still standing in the cleared and empty neighborhood. The emptiness, neglect and oblivion emphasize the post-traumatic experience. In the recent years however, several projects asked to deal with the neighborhoods' past and heritage. Even then, the references remained superficial leaving the trauma unattended and not curing the neighborhoods' from their post-trauma symptoms.
Report from the 18th International Planning History Society conference
15–19 July 2018, Yokohama, Japan