New Delhi: A train station packed with people. Coming soon? (Photo: ShutterStock)
Towards 10 million residents, Israel on the verge of a population explosion: An international conference of experts on overcrowding will be held tomorrow (Tuesday) for the first time in Israel, at Bezalel, the Jerusalem Academy of Art and Design.
This is the first emergency conference of its kind and will be attended by senior international figures from Israel and around the world in the field of architecture, including: experts from UN Habitat (the UN Programme for Urbanization and Settlement), Minister of Housing and Construction Yitzhak Goldknopf, representatives from the JDA and researchers in the fields of urban construction and architects from the world's leading universities.
The conference will bring together for the first time the public, private, academic and practical sectors in order to put on the agenda the problem of increasing overcrowding in Israel, which numbers more than 10,000 people, and in the entire planet, which numbers about 8 billion people, and will present about fifty works by researchers from leading universities and academic institutions, including MIT in the US, UCL in London and the University of Milan.
The conference was initiated by the School of Architecture at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem and led by Prof. Arch. Els Verbakel, Head of the School of Architecture at Bezalel.
The main question on the agenda: How do we deal with overcrowding?
Unless something extraordinary happens, in the coming year Israel will number about 10 million people, while in the past 80 years Israel's population has grown more than 10-fold and today its growth rate is among the highest in the OECD countries.
According to forecasts, Israel will double its population every 35 years. The percentage of population growth becomes worrisome in light of the fact that the gap between the pace and number of building completions and the demand for housing units is widening – as of 2021, the gap stands at about 30%, and according to the forecast of housing needs between 2021 and 2025, the state will require an addition of about 55,13 housing units each year.
The gap, which is widening, significantly reduces the amount of space allocated per capita and directly harms the quality of life in the city and leads to a spike in real estate prices.Over the past year, an international study has been conducted analyzing and comparing the density between Israel, the Netherlands, Rwanda and South Korea.
Preliminary data reveal that of the 8 cities that participated in the study, including capital cities and major cities such as Amsterdam, Tel Aviv is the second most densely populated city, with a ratio of 500,20 persons per square kilometer.
The study also shows that in the coming decades, Israel's population is expected to grow to about 420 million people, and from a density of <> people per square kilometer to the highest density in the Western world. The study also addresses issues of agriculture and ecology, and already at this stage indicates that agricultural land is running out too quickly.
Tel Aviv: One of the most densely populated cities in Europe, with a ratio of 8,500 persons per square kilometer. (Photo: ShutterStock, Shutterstock)
Prof. Verbuckle explains: "One of the conclusions that emerged from the study is the need to formulate a new position regarding urbanism and the central question within it: How will we live together? At the conference, we urge us to consider this fleeting moment in time and space as a case study and platform for understanding larger trends around density, ecosystems and the infrastructure that connects them."
Prof. Verbuckle adds: "The works and research that will be presented at the conference held at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem reveal various forms of 'urbanism' that spill over beyond the city limits, sometimes transient and different from the familiar definitions of what is called 'urban.' Today's dynamic lifestyle requires a rethinking and transition to a flexible and responsive urbanism – one that can transform the late capitalist tendencies of eternity into an ever-expanding conception of the 'urban' and its mechanisms for sustainable growth. To this end, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design Jerusalem brings together researchers, policy makers, practitioners, students and teachers to share their experiences and join us in an attempt to challenge the familiar perception of concepts such as 'city,' 'metropolis,' 'village,' and 'suburb,' and to formulate an innovative alternative."
- Real Estate
Tags
- Real Estate
