At Long Last, Tel Aviv Approves Affordable Housing Plan Sustainable City Blog, March 3, 2010

After over two years of study and deliberation, the Tel Aviv Municipality has approved a plan to create affordable housing units in the city. While this does not mean that rents will fall any time soon, it does mean that a supply of below market value rental apartments will gradually come into existence over the next several years. By approving the plan, Tel Aviv became the first Israeli city to come up with a coherent affordable housing strategy.

So This is Democracy Sustainable City Blog, Feb. 10 2010

The first thing you notice about a city council meeting in Tel Aviv is the theatrics. The exaggerated security arrangements, the grandstanding of council members, the roped-off area reserved for municipal workers (though few bother to attend.) There are speeches and votes, and sometimes (quite often actually) one of the councilors yells something out of turn. The mayor even gets a bit worked up from time to time. But once you get past that, it dawns on you that not much is really going on here.

Out of Control The Jerusalem Post, September 11, 2009

One year ago, the Tel Aviv Municipality announced a “revolutionary plan” to build hundreds of affordable apartments for young people. One year and a global financial crisis later, apartment prices in the city continue their inexorable climb. Mayor Ron Huldai, who announced the plan just months before the local election, was re-elected, and the plan to build affordable housing vanished from the headlines. Meanwhile young people, faced with rent hikes at the end of their leases, are increasingly leaving the city center.

Tel Aviv Demolishes Old Bus Station, May Replace New One GreenProphet.com, August 9, 2009

Tel Aviv’s derelict Old Central Bus Station, out of use since the early 1990’s, finally became history this week. Meanwhile, rumor has it that the New Central Bus Station, an almost universally detested structure credited with destroying the entire surrounding neighborhood, may soon be vacated as well. Bus companies are reportedly fed up with the place, and are looking to transfer their activities elsewhere.

Finally, A Respite of Sorts for Israel’s African Refugees Mondoweiss.net, August 3, 2009: In response to a massive public backlash, the government has decided to back down on some of its anti-foreigner policies.

African Refugees Forced to Leave Tel Aviv Mondoweiss.net, July 26, 2009: This weekend, some friends and I helped four Sudanese families move out of Tel Aviv. Leaving the city was not their choice, but as of the beginning of July, they are no longer allowed to live and work here.

Skyscraper City GreenProphet.com, July 21, 2009: A dramatic plan that would change the face of Tel Aviv is likely to be approved, despite the adamant opposition of residents and charges of sloppy and unprofessional planning.

Do Not Oppress the Stranger SustainableCityBlog.com, July 4, 2009: This week, Israel began its crackdown on African refugees and foreign workers living within its borders.

Refugees Keep Out! SustainableCityBlog.com, June 29, 2009: Israel’s new point man on refugee issues makes some pretty shocking statements in an interview with Haaretz.

The Two-Wheel Solution SustainableCityBlog.com, May 23, 2009: I recently joined the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Bicycle Association, an organization that advocates for bike-friendly planning in the city.

Mayor, Meet the Greens TreeHugger.com, May 10, 2009: A full decade after being elected, Mayor Ron Huldai conducts his first organized meeting with the city’s green movement.

Tel Aviv’s New Politics The Jerusalem Post, May 8, 2009: City for All, a new red-green political movement, is changing the way people think about local politics in Tel Aviv.

After 12 Year Campaign, Tel Aviv Gets a New Park TreeHugger.com, April 26, 2009: After over a decade of activism by a group of stubborn neighbors, the city has finally granted approval for transforming an abandoned, publicly-owned plot of land in the city center into a public park.

Let the Country’s Heart Thrive The Jerusalem Post, April 26, 2009

At the ripe old age of 100, the city of Tel Aviv has earned the right to a bit of introspection. While it was a welcome surprise to hear that City Hall had chosen to kick off the city’s 100^th birthday celebrations with a conference on urban sustainability, many of the conference’s discussions felt stale and lacking in substantive debate. A few thoughts on moving toward greater urban sustainability in Tel Aviv, based on what was (and wasn’t) said at the event.

Tel Aviv’s Blurry Eco-Vision The Jerusalem Post, April 24, 2009: A conference on the city’s past and future development makes a few strong statements, but ultimately misses the mark.

Souled Out? The Jerusalem Post, April 24, 2009: An interview with urban creativity guru Charles Landry, who warns that Tel Aviv may be neglecting its “good vibes.”

Leaky Sewage Pipe Shuts Down Tel Aviv Beaches for a Month TreeHugger.com, March 22, 2009: What happens when a sewage pipe bursts outside of Tel Aviv, spilling raw sewage into the ocean? Bureaucrats pass the buck, politicians fret and environmentalists moan – but the pollution continues to flow.

Election Q&A with the Candidates (pdf) The Jerusalem Post, Nov. 7, 2008: Interviews with Dov Khenin of A City for All and Doron Sapir, Mayor Ron Huldai’s right hand man, of Tel Aviv 1 on the eve of local elections in Tel Aviv. Khenin: “Some people say the city is being run like an army barracks, with the mayor as commander, where the people’s opinions do not really count.” Sapir: “We can either build low-rises at the expense of the open spaces, or we can build up. All claims to the contrary are cheap demagoguery.” Video interview with Dov Khenin.

Yom Kippur = Carfree Day in Tel Aviv GreenProphet.com, Oct. 12, 2008

Once a year, people who live in the city are given the right to explore it freely, without the beeping, noise and exhaust of half a million cars. A somber day of introspection in most of Israel, in mellow Tel Aviv the Day of Atonement is the closest thing to a day without cars in the Middle East. With all cars banished from the pavements for 25 hours, helmet-clad children on bikes conquer the streets.

Priced Out of Town (pdf) The Jerusalem Post, October 10, 2008

Tel Aviv is undergoing a profound change: as the Israeli upper class abandons the suburbs for sparkling apartment towers and newly renovated Bauhaus buildings in the city center, and foreigners buy up vacation apartments near the beach, many of the young people who give the city its unique flavor are being pushed out. “Affordable housing is important for the city as a whole, and not just for the renters,” says a new local opposition movement, whose platform includes a detailed proposal for creating affordable apartments in Tel Aviv. The municipality also has a plan, created with the help of an impressive commission of experts. But, with rents continuing to rise and more and more young renters forced to look elsewhere for a place to live, many wonder how sincere the municipality really is about making housing more affordable in the city.

It’s Story Time Again (pdf) The Jerusalem Post, Oct. 10, 2008: At a pre-election gathering organized by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, residents of Jaffa and southern Tel Aviv meet their representatives on the city council. “The south of the city is being filled with building plans,” said a neighborhood activist from Florentine, her newborn baby slung around her neck, “but the people living here are being pushed aside, and the problems in our neighborhoods are not being solved.”

Legendary Curitiba Mayor Jaime Lerner in Tel Aviv: “This City Could be a Jewel” GreenProphet.com, Sept. 2, 2008: At a screening of journalist Nitzan Horowitz’s film “Urban Legend,” local city planners were challenged to think creatively about Israel’s cities and the many challenges they face.

Efficient Market Theory (pdf) The Jerusalem Post, August 1, 2008: Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market generates 15 tons of waste every day – roughly the equivalent to the waste created by 7,500 people. Most of it ends up in landfills in southern Israel. But why should the open-air market waste money paying for the removal and disposal of its waste, when it could be making thousands of shekels a month by turning it into compost? Online version.

After Demonstration, Long-Stalled Clean Air Law Passes (video) TreeHugger.com, June 5, 2008: The demo apparently caught the attention of Israeli lawmakers, who voted to approve the law, which would create mechanisms for monitoring, regulating and enforcing clean air standards, and which has been stuck for three years.