parc de jeux pour enfants, condition de la s6curitg des Inhabitants' Appreciation of the Environmental Quality routes etc .) . in Public Housing Projects Dans la seconde partie de notre etude (seulement 5 Jgrusalem, Seer-Sheva et Kiryat Ono, avec la participa- Joab H. Rektor, B.A. , M. Sc. (C.E. ) tion de 64 locataires). Les personnes interrogges ont Housing Sociologist eu a rgpondre 2 d'autres questions come pour quelles Technion, Institute of Technology raisons ont-ils choisis le quartier, quelle est la qua- Faculty of Civil Engineering lit6 des services (transport public, santg et gducation) Building Research Station, , 5 propos de l'efficacitg de la mairie et des autoritgs Israel. locales dans leur charges respectives, etc. Le principal but de cette enqu&te a 6t6 d'apprendre Synopsis par les locataires eux m&mes, qualles sont les princi- The study, which deals with inhabitants' needs with pales demandes (besoins) dans le milieu ambiant (dans regard to public housing ("shikunim") in Israel, wa:; le domaine de Ifhabitation) et dans quelles mesuresces carried out at five projects in , Beer-sheva, demandes ont eu rgponse satisfaisante. Kiryat Ono (one each), and (two). Within its Les r6sultats montrent de nombreuses lacunes concer- framework, 115 inhabitants were interviewed by means of nant 1'am6nagement et le fonctionnement de 1' appartement a questionnaire which included questions on the flat et du quartier des locataires. La source la plus fr6- (quality of design and construction; other deficiencies) quente de leurs plaintes est au sujet de l'amgnagement and the neighbourhood (sanitation, air pollution, noise, de l'appartement, sa grandeur, le manque de placards et public parks, children's playgrounds, road safety etc.). la muvaise qualit6 de la construction. In the second part, carried out in Jerusalem, Beer- Pour le quartier, les locataires se plaigment surtout sheva and Kiryat Ono and involving 64 inhabitants, in- du manque de propret6, l'absence de parc de jeux pour terviewees were questioned on their reasons for choos- les enfants, l'absence de pelouse, le bas niveau de la ing the neighbourhood, on the quality of provided ser- securitg de la circulation, le bruit, l'air pollug etc. vices (public transporation, health and education), on Les rgsultats de cette recherche sont rgunis dans des the efficiency of the local authority in carrying out tables pour chaque "shikun". Ces r6sultats peuvent its responsibilities, etc. gtre d'une aide valable pour les architectes, les entre- The principal object of the study was to ascertain, preneurs urbains et les autoritgs comp6tantes dans le at first hand, the most important needs in the environ- domaine de la construction et de l'habitat en 1sragl ment of an Israeli "shikun", and the extent to which dans leurs decisions dans le prgsent et dans le futur. these needs are satisfied. Findings indicate a number of deficiencies in the de- sign and functionality of both the flat and the neigh- Introduction bourhood. The most frequent objects of complaint re- Sociological research in Israel has ta date largely garding the flat were inadequate storage space and poor centred on differences between individuals, groups, construction quality; those regarding the neighbourhood - classes and cultures - to the actual detriment of the poor sanitation, lack of children's playgrounds and aspect of human needs in general and in the housing con- lawns, road safety, noise, air pollution, etc. text in particular. Earlier work on construction qual- The findings, summarised in tables for each of the ity and flat functionality, carried out by the author "shikunim", are expected to prove useful to architects, at public housing projects throughout the country be- urban planners and policymakers in the construction-and tween 1961 and 1977, constantly brought out problems housing sectors in Israel in their short- and long-term which, although not directly related to the theme of decision-making processes. the study, were regarded by the interviewees as ex- Sommaire tremely important. It transpired that flats were poor- ~'6tudequi enqugte sur les besoins humains dans le ly designed from the functional and social points of domaine de l'habitat public ("shikunim") en ~sragl,a view, and that the needs of the individual occupant it6 executg en 5 complexes: 1 5 Jerusalem, 1 2 Beer- (for whom the housing was, in fact, intended) were fre- Sheva, 1 2 Kiryat Ono et 2 2 Yavn6. quently overlooked in the design process. In these Dans le cadre de cette enque^te, 115 locataires orlt 6t6 circumstances purely technological considerations nc interrog6s par questionnaires, dont les questions in- longer suffice, but must be supplemented by qualitative clues: l'gvaluation de leur appartement (qualit& de ones based on sociological research in the construction- 11am6nagement (design), standard de construction, and housing sectors. articles qui B llopinion des locataires manquent dans The question posed in the present study was: "E llappartement, et leur quartier (degrg de are human needs in the environment of an Israeli hous- pollution de l'air, ~roblsmeacoustique, parc public, ing project, and to what degree are they satisfied?". The study was carried out at five projects ("shikunim") constructed by the Israel Ministry of Construction and Housing at Yavneh, Jerusalem, Kiryat Ono and Beer-sheva in the late 60's and early 70's. Within its framework, a questionnaire was administered to 115 inhabitants, who were requested to evaluate their flats in general terms and to point out the relevant advantages, limi- tations and drawbacks, as well as such items as should have been - but were not - provided by the contractor (albeit at increased initial cost). Further questions concerned the neighbourhood, including the aspects of sanitation, air pollution, noise, children's playgrounds, public parks, road safety in the neighbourhood and near -FIG. I ScnMnTc PLRN OF TWS FLnTS (IT it, public transporation, health-, education- and cul- KIR3aT ON0 (8s sq. m.). tural facilities, social contacts, efficiency of the services provided by the local authority, etc. The point of departure in constructing the questionn- aire was a comprehensive literature survey which covered British, German, American, Danish, Swedish and Norwe- gian sources. In it, housing-relevant needs were cla- ssified under three categories: physiology, safety, and psychology, and the opinions of well-known specialists in housing sociology were compiled on the following subjects: - The impact of the "living environment" on social contacts. - Factors promoting friendships within the neighbourhood. - The impact of physical and functional distance on social contacts. - The impact of the "living environment" on privacy, and causes for lack of privacy (e.g. noise, etc.). - Services and social functions which a neighbourhood -FlG.2 SCHHRTIC PLlN OF THE FLRTS &T SAVHE (65 sq. m.) should provide, etc. . Milieu of study. The Hebrew term "shikun" (pl. "shi- kuniml') refers to a neighbourhood comprising from 100 Results and Conclusion to 2000 dwelling units of standard size, plan and qua- The findings of the study indicate as follows: lity - with communal, service and business facilities Laygut grouped together to form a local centre. The interior layout of the flat is a matter of im- The "shikunim" of the present study were built by portance to the occupants, most of whom referred to it prefabricated methods. Statistical data on their popu- even when not explicitly asked to. The majority were lations are listed in Table 1. Of the differences high- satisfied with the existing layout, except for such as- lighted by the table, none is more dramatic than that pects as difficulties in arranging the furniture in in density, between the smallest and poorest "shikun" the smallest flats (65 sq.m.1, inadequate storage space, and the largest and richest one. and unsatisfactory provision for garbage disposal.

,Table 1: Statistical data OIL the populations of the "~hikunim" (per cent)

Floor Density Duration of occupancy Sojourn in Israel Age group Area (persons per flat) Years in flat: Locality in sq.m. 1-4 5-6 7-9 1-2 3-5 6+ Native <5 ,6 <30 31-50 51+ - - born - --FYavneh 40 32 28 -- 24 7'6 - - 100 -- 4 64 32 Yavneh 88 12 -- 12 50 39 8 98 -- 54 27 19 1 75 Beer Sheva 80 20 -- 19 82 76 6 19 44 51 5 1 79 Jerusalem 82 70 20 -- 39 61 43 18 39 39 31 30 Kiryat Ono 85 94 6 -- 41 23 37 -- 64 36 10 41 49 Items listed as lacking were a bathtub, a window in the pied by families with many children. The needs listed bathroom, laundry installations (incl. drying) carpet- as unsatisfied were, in order of priority: playgrounds cleaning facilities, cupboard niches, interior comuni- and day-nurseries, community centres, parks, etc. The cating doors, lofts, etc. lack of playgrounds and outdoor recreation facilities Pkr sisal-e~vironmelt was the most frequent complaint in four of the locali- Among the important needs related to the physical en- ties. (The fifth, at which there was no reference to vironment, the following were most often mentioned: it, is surrounded by spacious lawn areas, but there are sanitation, respite from noise, road safety (especially very few children.) for the children), and finally fresh air, attractive ------Social contacts/friction scenery, lawns, trees and plants. The findings lead to the conclusion that social con------Sanitation tacts within the "shikun" were generally satisfactory. The poor level of sanitation was the most urgent Typical quotations on this subject are: problem: in some of the localities 80% - 94X of the - "Normal social intercourse between neighbours. . . . " interviewees referred to it as "poor" or "very poor". - "NO feeling of social isolation.. . ." This state of affairs is due to three principal factors: - "No friction worth mentioning ...." the inhabitants themselves; malfunctioning of the sani- What sources of friction there are, fall under four tary services; and faulty design. The first factor was categories: noise made by children; noise made by actually admitted by about one-half of the interviewees, neighbours; problems of maintenance and central heating; and the author concludes that at present the neighbour- cleaning of carpets on upper floors. hood communities are unable to cope with the problem. Services A positive example has, however, been provided at one Local-autho_?2t~ locality, where the inhabitants set up a voluntary main- The pritlcipal services expected by-the shikun in- tenance assocation with encouraging results; similar habitant from the local authority are: organisations could also be set up by an external - Improved sanitation. author ity. - Improved maintenance of roads, playgrounds and parks. Nois_e - Provision of community centres and other leisure Noise was not a dominant in the "shikunim" facilities. in question, but where it was mentioned, its sources - Provision of sidewalks. were : - Effective snow-clearance measures (specific to - Children playing in the street (in the absence of Jerusalem). suitable playgrounds). Public------transportation - Road traffic. The efficiency of public transportation from and to - In one of the localities, situated close to Air- the city centre was usually in accordance with expecta- port, there was also noise from aircraft. tions. Only in one locality were there complaints of

Ro_ad_-safety low frequency and slowness of the bus service - apparen- At some of the localities, parents refused to allow tly due to the constant traffic jams characteristic of their children to attend a school on the other side of the Tel-Aviv area. a main highway because of fear of accidents which, Urge- - -to - -move -- - - according to them, occurred almost every week; even A family's degree of satisfaction with their present adults wishing to cross the highway had sometimes to housing conditions can be measured by their urge to wait 10 to 20 minutes at the pedestrian crossing. move elsewhere. Only 5% of the interviewees admitted (Traffic lights were only installed four years after such an urge due to dissatisfaction with the locality. the occupants had moved in.) Complaints about the low At the same time, only 80% of those who were staying degree of safety were voiced at all localities, and on replied an unqualified "yes" to the question. The interviewees pointed out that for them satisfactory others added reservations: solution of the safety problem took precedence over all - "So long as my job is here.. . .It others. - "Provided I am allowed to add a room to the flat. ...It

------Social environment - "Having no other option.. . .It, etc. Needs related to the social environment were found to The above findings may prove useful to architects, be better satisfied at localities with larger flats and town-planners and policymakers in the construction- lower density, than in those with smaller flats occu- and housing sectors in their short- and long-term de------cision-making processes. *~hefactor determining whether noise is or is not a nuisance, are: the type and intensity of the noise, the personality of the subject and the activity he (or she) is engaged in at the relevant moment.