Glocal Annual Magazine 2020 Cities and International Development Perspectives from the Field Glocal International Development The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1 Above: Antribo, Madagascar Front Cover: Luanda, Angola Back Cover: Antananarivo, Madagascar Photos By: Roni Rushansky Editors: Liel Maghen and Shaya Bonstein Graphic Design: Amit Ben-Haim 2 Table of Contents 4 Cities and Development from a Glocal Perspective Dr. Reut Barak-Weekes 6 Note from the Editors Liel Maghen and Shaya Bonstein Climate Change, Urban Migration, and Tribal 9 Communities: a Cycle of Marginalization Jacob Sztokman and Rachel Gerber Participation in Public Space: 14 a Model for Urban Development and Social Justice Kali Silverman Slums and Informal Settlements: By the People and for 19 the People: A New Approach for Slum Upgrading Alon Cohen Lifshitz Bet Shemesh as a Model for 25 Rapid Urban Development and Sustainability Gilan Miller-Gertz Designing for Childhood: 29 What’s Good for the Children is Good for All Deborah Rahmane 33 Reclaiming Space in a Divided City Tariq S. Nassar and Liel Maghen What it Means to Learn Hebrew and Arabic in Jerusalem 38 Elianne Kremer Urban Development in Ramallah: Between Now and 42 Then, a Vanishing Childhood Memory Ahmed Yasin 3 Cities and Development from a Glocal Perspective Dr. Reut Barak-Weekes Academic Head, Glocal International Development Program In recent decades, human development provision of housing and services to all parts of has advanced together with the process of the population. urbanization in most countries around the world. In addition to national and regional plans to Since 2007, more people globally live in cities improve housing conditions, transport routes rather than rural areas.1 City life offers economic or sewage systems in the urban centers, many opportunities, social networks, innovation, and countries invest in improving living conditions hope for social mobility. Urban dwellers can and opportunities in the rural areas, in order to often achieve improved health and education reduce residents’ incentives to migrate to cities. services compared with rural residents; enjoy a While most municipalities aim to find structured, rich and diverse cultural life; and can build new long-term solutions and a path for urban upgrading social networks and skills. and renewal, oftentimes their capacities to act However, the process of urbanization also puts depend on the wider institutional framework in enormous pressures on urban infrastructure the country, the degree of inequality and diversity and many city migrants suffer from unsafe living in the city, and the resources available. Some conditions, lack of secure and decent work, or solutions are developed from the bottom–up, access to services and the socio–economic by residents and entrepreneurs who answer to mobility they planned to reach. local needs. These range from informal education With increasingly congested urban centers new initiatives to informal public transportation, or development challenges arise in the areas of: the use of waste for construction or art and living conditions, legal status, waste management, others. At the same time as these solutions can creation of new employment opportunities, and improve the living conditions of the public, they keeping good hygiene and sanitation conditions; should not replace structured answers by local to mention a few. governments, which need to take responsibility With the adoption of the SDGs (Sustainable over the wellbeing of their populations. In Development Goals), significant attention was some cases the real challenge is to design and put on the need to build inclusive, safe and construct solutions which incorporate the benefits resilient urban centers. Countries around the of bottom–up initiatives, and give them the world have understood the need for inter– structured, institutional support. sectoral collaboration, public participation and Interestingly, in addition to providing services 4 and opportunities for improvement of livelihoods, planning processes and the promotion of various cities offer channels of linkages and connections initiatives. They urge us to continue to look at between diverse communities. Living side by side the people themselves, and ask if all parts of and using the same resources forces communities the population succeed to benefit from city life. to overcome suspicion and prejudice and allows Clearly, much advancement has been made in the development of new joint initiatives. Joint this direction, but much more is left to be done. activities increase the sense of similarity over I am deeply grateful to the editors of this the fear of the “other”. Both government and magazine, Ms. Shaya Bonstein and Mr. Liel non–government entities should take active Maghen, for their great investment in editing steps to strengthen these activities, which can this publication. I wish to also thank the authors reduce tension and conflicts. themselves, who were willing to share their This 2020 edition of the Glocal Magazine focuses knowledge and experience, and work together on the relationship between development and with the editors to improve their text and adjust the urban space. Glocal alumni and students it to the needs of the publication. I wish you an investigate the impact of urbanization, urban enjoyable and thought–provoking read. renewal and development on people’s lives and relationships. The analysis presented in this magazine shows that cities are much more than buildings and streets. Choices in the design and planning of cities have the power to join communities, overcome social and political barriers, and contribute to adult and child wellbeing. The writers in this magazine offer a critical look at the process of urbanization, 1 World Bank. (2007). More Than Half the World Is Now Urban, UN Report Says. Retrieved from: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2007/07/11/more-than-half-the-world-is- now-urban-un-report-says 5 Note from the Editors More than half the population of the world and should be at the center of analysis in the live in urban areas. By 2050, the proportion development field. Already, cities are the hub will have risen to two–thirds, and will include for mobilization and civil unrest movements three–quarters of the developed world. Even across the world. Cities are at the heart of the though urban settings are relatively a new ongoing civil movements against authoritarian phenomenon in human history, they have already regimes across the Middle East, and the sites transformed the way we live, work, travel, and for continuing protests against racial and police build social networks.1 violence in the United States. However, this urban development trend is But, cities can also be ecosystems for social and unequal. Today, a third of all urban dwellers live economic entrepreneurship and a potential vehicle in informal areas (“slum households”)2, created for confronting the climate crisis: sustainable by the rapid migration to cities. This migration urban living, water conservation, urban food is pushed by diverse factors, including climate production, and sustainable development of change, ethnic conflict and the desire to improve housing are all at the focal point of plans for living conditions. The high density levels in new achieving sustainable international development. mega cities exacerbate these social challenges, Especially in the current era, defined by the impacting on quality–of–life expectations. This global coronavirus pandemic and strict quarantine cycle puts immense pressure on infrastructure, regulations, there is an increasingly relevant health services, and other social amenities — in question about the future of our cities: will they turn contributing to rising levels of air and water manifest the inequality of the global economic pollution, and deteriorating health conditions in systems and thus become centers of tension, local communities.3 discrimination, alienation, and solitude; or will they Thus, cities can become the extreme manifestation offer a modern version of community living, thus of economic inequality and systemic discrimination, becoming the necessary alternative for living, particularly through the expansion of informal where sustainability will be achieved? areas. As home to more than half the world's We started work on this edition of the magazine, population, city economies generate more than which looks at urbanization from an international 80% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). development perspective, with these questions In some countries, the differential is immense: in mind. Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, generates In the magazine, you can find different 20% of the country’s GDP even though it is perspectives on cities and development, drawn home to just 9% of the country's population.4 from the experiences around the world of Glocal As the urbanization trend intensifies, it is clear alumni. How sustainable development in the city that cities will be key in determining our future of Bet Shemesh (Israel) can inspire other cities 6 willing to explore this route; how designing for expressing ideas in the world of development. cities for children can meet the needs of many It is now time for me to move on, and to pass other populations, and promote equality; the the torch to my fellow Glocal alumni, Ms. Shaya importance of public participation processes in Bonstein. I am certain that she will continue this city planning, and the ways that this can benefit important project in the best