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v University of Oregon M. ARCH THESIS RESEARCH eli rosenwasser LIMINAL SPACE Concepts In Conflict Urbanism TABLE OF CONTENTS ISRAEL : PALESTINE CONFLICT BORDER SHIFTING 4-9 WEST BANK ANALYSIS 10-15 JERUSALEM ANALYSIS 16-29 CONTEMPORARY REALITIES 30-43 SITE CONTEXT 44-49 PROGRAM CONCEPTS 50-53 WORKS CITED 54-57 ISRAEL : PALESTINE CONFLICT BORDER SHIFTING 4-9 WEST BANK ANALYSIS 10-15 LIMINAL JERUSALEM ANALYSIS 16-29 1. of or relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process. CONTEMPORARY REALITIES 30-43 SITE CONTEXT 44-49 2. occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold. PROGRAM CONCEPTS 50-53 WORKS CITED 54-57 3 ISRAEL : PALESTINE CONFLICT BORDER SHIFTING 1947-2013 Maps adapted from : ATLAS OF THE CONFLICT ISRAEL - PALESTINE and UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs occupied Palestinian Territory Maps 4 1947 1949 1956 Border defined by Cease-fire Line Border following the UN Partition Plan (later the Green Line) capture of territory after the 1948 Arab- during the Second Israeli War Arab-Israeli War Maps adapted from : ATLAS OF THE CONFLICT ISRAEL - PALESTINE and UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs occupied Palestinian Territory Maps 5 1957 1967 1973 Cease-fire Line be- Cease-fire Line after Border following tween the Second the 1967 Arab-Israeli the capture of terri- Arab-Israeli War War tory during the 1973 and the 1967 Arab- Arab-Israeli War Israeli War 6 1974 1975 1980 Cease-fire Line after Border following the Border following the the 1973 Arab-Israeli Israeli disengage- Israeli disengage- War ment from part of the ment from part of the Sinai Peninsula Sinai Peninsula 7 1982 1985 1993 Border following Border following the Internal borders are Israeli withdrawal partial Israeli with- defined between from the Sinai pen- drawal from South Israel and the future insula and invasion Lebanon, keeping Palestinian state at of South Lebanon control of a ‘security the Oslo conference belt’ 8 1994 2002 2005 2013 Internal borders are Internal borders are Internal borders are Borders in the West defined between forcibly defined with defined by Israeli Bank defined by the Israel and the future the construction of disengagement from Wall and Settlements Palestinian state the Wall in the West the Gaza Strip and creating an Archi- as a wall is erected Bank Continued construc- pelago of isolated around Gaza Strip tion of the Wall communities 9 Occupation Wall 2005-2013 1949 Armistice Line Area between Wall and 1949 Armistice Line 10 WEST BANK WALL - 12.4% of the West Bank is in between the Wall and the Armistice line - 210,000 people are caught between the Wall and the Armistice line - The Wall eliminates Jerusalem as the metropolitan center for the greater West Bank - The Wall separates villages and creates social fragmentation 11 Palestinian Communities 1949 Armistice Line Israeli Ethnocratic Installation Zones (Housing, Kibbutzim, Moshavim, Military Bases) 12 ETHNOCRACY Regimes found in contested territories where a dominant ethnic group utilizes the state to further its expansionist aspirations, while maintaining the semblance of a formal democracy 13 14 ARCHIPELAGO EXCLAVE : Settlements for Jewish Israelis built in annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank ENCLAVE : Palestinian areas served by segregated road systems and surrounded by buffer zones 15 16 JERUSALEM 2014 Old City Jerusalem Israeli Neighborhoods Palestinian Neighborhoods 1948 Armistice Line (Green Line) West Bank Barrier Wall Jerusalem Municipality 17 18 LIMINAL URBANITY The city of Jerusalem, particularly East Jerusalem, is currently experi- encing a transitional period that leaves a significant portion of the city in a liminal existence. This unique urban condition is the focus of this the- sis project. The intention is to discover a new typology of architecture that could foster a geourban bond between Israelis and Palestinians who live in this liminal existence and hopefully catalyze a peaceful coex- istence. By using two villages in the southern region of East Jerusalem as the context for this new typology, this thesis will offer one small step in the direction of a peaceful coexistence in the future. 19 20 ‘SUBURBAN’ COLONIZATION Using the settlement enterprise as a socioeconomic and geographical process of metropolitan sub urbanization 21 22 SPACIOCIDE Areas that have been forced into the zone between the Wall and the 1948 Armistice Line. These zones are neither Palestinian Territory nor Israeli Territory. They are stateless, spaceless, “twilight” zones. Spatial, Political, Socioeconomic, and Physical fragmentation make develop- ment and cultural progress, nearly impossible. 23 24 SPATIAL ENCIRCLING Utilization of city planning policy to enclose Palestinian ar- eas by expropriating certain zones as “public parks” or “na- ture areas” strictly for the Israeli “public.” This creates buf- fer zones with restricted roads that block Palestinian expansion. 25 26 ROAD COMPARISON Roads in Palestinian neighborhoods are neglected because they do not reinforce an israeli ethnocracy, excuses are made with regard to funding, driving the inability for development and contemporary utilites. Pales- tinian road access, especially to main roads, is cut off and intentionally truncated. 27 28 COMMUNITY ACCESS POINTS The Israeli Settlements in East Jerusalem, including the community in the diagram (Har Homa), tend to have very closed off control points to access the inner walls of the isolated community. In the case of Har Homa there is one main entry point with a military road encircling the land around it. The adjacent Palestinian neighborhoods of Sur Baher and Um Tuba have very permeable access points because of military roads and zones that cut through their communities. There is a direct and maintained road from the main highway directly into Har Homa while the Sur Baher and Um Tuba roads are in poor condition with no direct access. 29 30 OVER UNDER There are separate road systems in the West Bank and East Jerusalem for Palestinian and Israeli drivers. There is a secluded highway system that runs between mainland Israel and the West Bank, offering direct and unobstructed passage between settlements, military installations and the etirety of the State of Israel and Occupied Territories. This road system at times is subterranian, along the Wall, cutting like a viaduct through a Palestinian community, or functioning as a route for surveil- lance. The Palestinian road system consists of much smaller, poorly maintained roads that are riddled with moving checkpoints and fixed checkpoints. 31 82% 18% 32 WATER SEGREGATION West Bank water aquafers are 82% to 18% Israeli to Palestinian. Water segregation is a barrier set up to control water access on either side. It is a race to see who can have control over the wells and springs. There are 3.6 Million Palestinians consuming approx. 259 mcm per year while there are 6.8 Million Israelis consuming approx. 1,831 mcm per year. 33 34 CHECKPOINTS The military checkpoints along Palestinian roads and at the border of the Wall are common experiences for Palestinians. It is typical, espe- cially at the larger checkpoints to find small vendors selling various items while vehicles wait in line. It is an intensified version of the bottlenecking that occurs at most international vehicular land borders between coun- tries. There is a certain level of anticipated hostility and possibility for violence between the soldiers and drivers that makes the experience on both sides a more intense encounter. 35 ISOLATED COMMUNITY ISOLATED COMMUNITY ISLAND ISLAND POTENTIAL FOR PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE ISOLATED COMMUNITY ISOLATED COMMUNITY ISLAND ISLAND Community of Understanding Bridging Islands / Proposed Program 36 BRIDGING ISLAND The archipelago of the West Bank is a cluster of isolated Israeli Settle- ments, Palestinian communities and cities, “refugee camps”, kibbutzim, moshavim, military installations, and agricultural zones. Working with this structural typology of interconnected islands, this diagram was gen- erated in an effort to express how a new form of “island” could function as a bridge between communities. The creation of an ISOLATED COM- MUNITY OF COEXISTENCE could work to bridge the two communities together while sheltering them from aggressors toward peace. 37 Jerusalem - 1918 Ottoman Period Ottoman - Era Jerusalem Boundary Old City Jerusalem Jerusalemite Religious Sect Non - Jerusalemite Religious Sect Acceptable Marriage Unacceptable Marriage 38 GEOGRAPHIC IDENTITY Jerusalemites shared a common bond that at times transcended eth- nicity and religion. Apparently, it would be absurd to marry a non-Jeru- salemite, but acceptable to marry a Jerusalemite Jew/Muslim/Christian/ Armenian/Arab. Prior to nationalization, Jews, Arabs, Christians, and Armenians were parts of neighborhoods and would identify with geogra- phy. Since nationalization the different groups identify with an ethnoreli- gious group. 39 40 SERVICE ECONOMIES In West Jerusalem there are a few common places where Israelis and Palestinians interact on a regular basis. These relationships can provide inspiration for ways to improve interaction, interdependence, and com- munication in a normalized manner between Israelis and Palestinians. The HEALTH, TRANSPORTATION, and CONSTRUCTION businesses are service economies that currently foster modes of peaceful coexis- tence. This thesis will attempt to suggest other realms in which Israelis and Palestinians can work, learn, and enrich each others existence. 41 42 HAND IN