THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR TEL AVIV-YAFO The City Vision / December 2017 THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR TEL AVIV-YAFO The City Vision / December 2017 A Message from the Mayor This document presents the today. It has gone from being a 'disregarded city' to a 'highly updated Strategic Plan for Tel regarded city' with the largest population it ever had, and from Aviv-Yafo and sets forth the a 'waning city' to a 'booming city' that is a recognized leader and vision for the city's future in the pioneer in many fields in Israel and across the globe. coming years. Because the world is constantly changing, the city – and Approximately two decades especially a 'nonstop city' like Tel Aviv-Yafo – must remain up have elapsed since we initiated to date and not be a prisoner of the past when planning its the preparation of a Strategic future. For that reason, about two years ago we decided the Plan for the city. As part time had come to revise the Strategic Plan documents and of the change we sought to achieve at the time in how the adapt our vision to the changing reality. That way we would be Municipality was managed - and in the absence of a long-term able to address the significant changes that have occurred in plan or zoning plan that outlined our urban development – we all spheres of life since drafting the previous plan and tackle the attached considerable importance to a Strategic Plan which opportunities and challenges that the future holds. would serve as an agreed-upon vision and compass to guide As with the Strategic Plan, the updating process was also our daily operations. characterized by an open and broad-based dialog that made The preparation of the Strategic Plan entailed an unprecedented use of cutting-edge tools and approaches to urban planning process of in-depth, comprehensive and multidisciplinary and development. Hundreds of residents, opinion leaders and planning. Close to 1,000 residents and stakeholders who experts from different fields took part in workshops, forums and represented a variety of interests and areas of expertise took online platforms on the municipal website. Furthermore, the part in that process. It produced two main documents: The process included special collaboration with the 100 Resilient City Profile, which describes the state of affairs in the city as Cities Network pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation. perceived by the public (published in 2002) and The City Vision, To better meet the social, economic and physical challenges the which includes an agreed-upon plan that outlines the city's long- city is likely to face in the future, Tel Aviv-Yafo became a member term strategic courses and the policy guidelines deriving from of the 100 Resilient Cities Network so it could incorporate a plan it (published in 2005). for increasing urban resilience in the revised Strategic Plan. Today, nearly 13 years after their completion, we are able to I believe that the products of this process – the updated City appreciate the extent of the impact of those documents, on Profile and City Vision which are now being presented to the which the Municipality's operations were founded for over a public – will enable our city to continue growing and flourishing decade, and the significant contribution they made to the renewal in the coming years as well, while at the same ensuring an and development of Tel Aviv-Yafo and to making it what it is improved quality of life. The founders of Tel Aviv-Yafo, headed by its first mayor, Meir Dizengoff, understood from the outset that the city is not only comprised of buildings and streets. Rather, it primarily relies on the spirit and values brought to it by the people who live there. Accordingly, from its early days as the first Hebrew city and up to the present, Tel Aviv-Yafo has played an important role in leading the civic agenda in the State of Israel and in shaping the image of Israeli society. Therefore, it is no surprise that Tel Aviv-Yafo's values are intertwined with the revised vision and strategy documents: democracy, tolerance, fostering science and research, rational thinking, culture and art, a home for all denominations and minorities, and openness that includes exchanging ideas with the rest of the world. All these have been and remain our beacon – just like the lighthouse in the city's logo, which will continue to mark Tel Aviv-Yafo's path and lead its agenda within and outside the city. I express my heartfelt gratitude to all those who took part in preparing and formulating the updated vision. I wish to thank the hundreds of residents who participated in the process as well as the people who spearheaded it – the City Engineer and the Strategic Planning Unit, the various departments at City Hall who were actively involved, and the professional consultants who facilitated the process. Ron Huldai Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo A Message from the City Engineer I am pleased to present the City The formulation of the plan is not a one-time endeavor. Vision document that Rather, it is a management process that incorporates a way summarizes the second stage of life characterized by ongoing learning, analysis and staying of updating the Strategic Plan informed. Our continued work will focus on monitoring and for Tel Aviv-Yafo. evaluating to what extent the Strategic Plan and the directions it has taken have succeeded. The preparation of the Strategic Plan positions Tel I wish to express my gratitude and admiration to the Mayor, Aviv-Yafo among cities in the Ron Huldai, for his support and good advice. That support is world that have adopted this vital to advancing the City Vision and has no substitute. innovative planning and municipal management methodology. I also extend special thanks to the Director General of the Thanks to the Strategic Plan, Tel Aviv-Yafo was able to Municipality, Menahem Leibe, whose recognition of the formulate a vision that will guide the city's operations in a importance of the plan has been critical to turning it into a competitive and changing environment. Advancing the plan dynamic and influential process. has been a significant professional challenge because of its multidisciplinary nature and the fact that it involves many Additionally, I am grateful for the special collaboration with stakeholders in the city who had to reach a consensus within the 100 Resilient Cities Network pioneered by the Rockefeller a short period of time. Foundation and its contribution to updating the Strategic Plan. The City Profile document summarizes the first stage of I would like to thank and congratulate all the participants in the formulating the plan. That document outlines the city's profile, process as well as our numerous partners who helped prepare analyzes the existing situation, notes what was learned from this document. I wish to thank the manager of the Strategic other cities around the world, and defines the challenges that Planning Unit, Cili Bar-Yosef, the Strategic Plan coordinator, Oded the city will face in the coming years. Ginosar, the department heads at the Municipality, the Strategic Plan Team that includes the team leaders and coordinators, the The current City Vision document presents a desired image of staff of the Strategic Planning Unit, the representatives from Tel Aviv-Yafo in the future as envisioned by multiple participants. other municipal units, and the outside consultants for their hard This vision defines four strategic courses, 33 goals and scores work in preparing the City Vision. of policy guidelines and courses of action that will enable us to address urban challenges. Hundreds of residents and stakeholders were involved in the process of formulating the plan, both through workshops as well Oded Gvuli, Architect as online participation. The fact that dozens of employees and City Engineer managers at City Hall from different fields were also involved in the process contributed to interdepartmental collaborations. 6 A Message from the President of 100 Resilient Cities Network On behalf of the entire 100 We strongly believe the work developed in Tel Aviv-Yafo has Resilient Cities family, I want the potential to serve as a reference to other cities, across our to congratulate Mayor Ron network and beyond. Importantly, the Strategic Plan shares our Huldai, the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, priority of focusing on those poorest and vulnerable in cities. and Chief Resilience Officer It addresses the challenges of promoting the city’s growth as Efrat Makin, on the launch of an economic and cultural leader while also ensuring greater the Tel Aviv-Yafo City Vision, a equality and a high quality of life economically, environmentally, major milestone for the city and and socially, for all residents. 100RC’s partnership with it. This document is the result of the hard work and dedication 100RC is extremely proud to have Tel Aviv-Yafo as a member of Tel Aviv-Yafo’s Strategic Plan Team and various city since 2016. The appointment of the CRO and the creation of the departments and local stakeholders. It is an important Resilience Office in 2017 helped establish the foundation and achievement and marks the next stage of 100RC’s partnership momentum for our partnership. Since then, we have worked with Tel Aviv-Yafo. We are excited to see the city continue its together to engage with the local community in areas such as path of innovative interventions to ensure a vibrant, collective, assessing citizens’ perceptions of resilience, defining Discovery and equal future. Areas and aligning Tel Aviv-Yafo’s own strategy development By supporting the implementation of this Strategic Plan, we process with 100RC’s.