Part I
The Urban Thinkers Campus Conference: “Livable Neighborhoods in the Metropolis, The garden city in the 21st century”
Second Day – 13.11.2024, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem
Conference page: https://www.bezalel.ac.il/en/events/661741
The conference is a collaboration of the School of Architecture at Bezalel, Liebling Haus and the Ministry of Construction and Housing, and took place as part of UN Habitat’s Urban Thinkers Campus events, to promote sustainable environmental and social settlement.
This two-day conference, part of the global UN-Habitat Urban Thinkers Campus, was held in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It aims to explore landscape heritage conservation principles in urban and metropolitan settings. The event highlighted cities’ cultural and natural heritage as key elements in sustainable public space development, emphasizing their contribution to community wellbeing and environmental health.
Like many nations, Israel faces population growth challenges, necessitating innovative housing solutions, urban density, and renewal. In the face of these needs, guidelines for preserving and developing open spaces in metropolitan and residential areas must be established urgently. The conference focused on the heritage of garden cities, particularly the Geddes master plan for Tel Aviv and the Kaufman Garden Suburbs in Jerusalem. Both plans connect human activity with nature in urban environments, and offer vital strategies for addressing climate change challenges in modern cities. Participants examined conceptual, design and infrastructural approaches to create high-quality green spaces in Israeli urban landscapes.