Arieh Sharon > Planning Jerusalem, The Old City and Its Environs 1968-1971

Planning Jerusalem, The Old City and Its Environs 1968-1971 Galleries

Introduction : PREV                                                                                                  1 of 7                                                                                                                   Next ... Ten measures of beauty descended from the heavens, nine were taken by Jerusalem and one by the rest of the world. Of the ten measures of grief, Jerusalem also received nine.     (The Talmud) ... We did not want the Old City and its immediate environs to be converted into a frozen historical monument, nor to turn it into a museum piece, rather to preserve it is at is - a lively urban organism - while restoring its former character as a city of pedestrians moving freely and unimpeded from house to house, shop to shop, from home to school, to mosque, church or synagogue, and from the gates and piazzas to the bazaars, as was the pattern in earlier generations. ...

Introduction

The Plan in the Context of History : Prev                                                                                                    2 of 7                                                                                                                   Next

The Plan in the Context of History

Jaffa Gate Promenade 1973 : Prev                                                                                                    3 of 7                                                                                                                   Next During the Mandatory period, derelict structures, shacks and rubble blocked the view of Jaffa Gate. After the Six Day War, the Jerusalem Municipality cleared the entire area so that the whole wall is now restored to view. The first phase, already executed, included the conversion of the empty and neglected patch of land into a paved garden piazza and the creation of a new and wide approach route for pedestrians leading from this square to Jaffa Gate. The new promenade, which follows the projections of the west wall, is separated from the existing motor road by a planted garden strip, which protects the pedestrian from the dust and noise of the traffic.

Jaffa Gate Promenade 1973

Restoration of the Pool of Hezekiah : Prev                                                                                                    4 of 7                                                                                                                   Next This pool, reached through Jaffa Gate, has been in existence since the period of the Second Temple, when it was called the Pool of the Towers. The Pool of Hezekiah is now surrounded by dwellings and almost inaccessible. It is dry abandoned and neglected. It is therefore proposed to restore the pool and once again fill it with water, build a promenade around it, provide an adequate access to it and to develop a new commercial front in the existing buildings along the promenade.

Restoration of the Pool of Hezekiah

The Old City Outline Scheme : Prev                                                                                                    5 of 7                                                                                                                   Next Prior to planning, a detailed survey of the Old City was prepared by the planning team. The survey maps included building and land use, population density, road network and street surfacing, public and private open spaces, location of community services, historical and religious sites. The Old City of Jerusalem is also a lively residential and commercial centre. Unlike many walled-in medieval cities in Europe, the Old City is a vivid and lively urban organism, full of people of various races and religions. Its area covers an irregular square of about 900 by 900 meters surrounded by strong and impressive walls. Throughout the centuries, the Old City has been largely a pedestrian city. The interior distances allow both inhabitants and visitors to reach their destination on foot: the children their schools, the residents their workshops, the visitors their churches, mosques or synagogues and the bazaars. As of old, donkeys and mules have remained the conventional means of transport in the narrow and stepped streets. For the aim of this scheme was to restore to the city its former character and charm, to preserve the residential and commercial streets with their strong-built facades; to plan the rebuilding of the destroyed houses and synagogues of the Jewish Quarter; to provide parking lots near the main city gates and to prohibit motor traffic within the Old City. Thus we hoped to restore the ancient character of the Old City as a purely pedestrian town.

The Old City Outline Scheme

The Outline Scheme of the Special Zone : Prev                                                                                                    6 of 7                                                                                                                   Next The area of the special zone is roughly 10,500 dunams (2,625 acres). It includes the dense and lively Old City skirted in the east, south and west by the steep ravines and valleys of Hinnom and Kidron. These historical valleys have preserved their natural character of stony slopes with olive trees, cemeteries and ancient buildings. They were designated as a National Park of 500 acres. Across these valleys rise the impressive hills of Mount Scopus, the Mount of Olives, the Mount of Offence and Government Hill, which are partly built-up with residential quarters and public buildings. These hilly ridges are to be developed into organic neighbourhoods and Mount Scopus is to be the site of the enlarged Hebrew University campus. The immediate objective of the scheme was to determine the use of the land, to define existing and future residential areas, to prescribe building heights and density and to designate special sites for religious and public buildings, hotels and pilgrims' centres, gardens parks and natural reserves.

The Outline Scheme of the Special Zone

Jerusalem National Park : Prev                                                                                                    7 of 7                                                                                                                  NEXT The area proposed as a National Park consists of the biblical valleys of Hinnom and Kidron, today mostly barren, and the adjoining ridges of Mount Scopus, the Mount of Olives and Mount of Offence to the east. The area covers about 600 acres of unique historic importance and the beauty of its natural landscape has been enriched by a treasury of handsome structures and monuments of various periods of past ages. The park area was basically approved and partly developed and planted in the last few years. The aim of the scheme was to create a green belt around the city walls - a vibrant, unifying element, linking the Old City with the hills to the east and with the new Jerusalem quarters to the west.

Jerusalem National Park

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