Conference | Urban Thinkers Campus - Day 2

The School of Architecture at Bezalel invites to the Urban Thinkers Campus Conference - Livable Neighborhoods in the Metropolis, The garden city in the 21st century. The conference is a collaboration of Bezalel, Liebling Haus and the Ministry of Construction and Housing, and takes place as part of UN Habitat's Urban Thinkers Campus events, to promote sustainable environmental and social settlement.

This two-day conference, part of the global UN-Habitat Urban Thinkers Campus, will be held in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It aims to explore landscape heritage conservation principles in urban and metropolitan settings. The event will highlight cities’ cultural and natural heritage as key elements in sustainable public space development, emphasizing their contribution to community wellbeing and environmental health.

Like many nations, Israel faces population growth challenges, necessitating innovative housing solutions, urban density, and renewal. In the face of these needs, guidelines for preserving and developing open spaces in metropolitan and residential areas must be established urgently. The conference will focus on the heritage of garden cities, particularly the Geddes master plan for Tel Aviv and the Kaufman Garden Suburbs in Jeruslaem. Both plans connect human activity with nature in urban environments, and offer vital strategies for addressing climate change challenges in modern cities. Participants will examine conceptual, design and infrastructural approaches to create high-quality green spaces in Israeli urban landscapes.

Day 2:
Wednesday | 13.11.24 | 9:30-18:00
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Campus, 1 Zmora St., Jerusalem

Pre-registration required - Register here for Day 2.

Jerusalem’s garden neighborhoods, which were planned by Kaufmann and endorsed by the British regime, left a mark on the fabric of the city outside the walls. We will explore the concept of landscape heritage values in a 21st-century metropolis through the lens of My Neighborhood principles. This exploration will involve studying Geddes's contribution to the planning of Jerusalem and in broader contexts, both local and international. We will also hold a meeting of the Metropolitan Heritage Forum, as the opening event of Bezalel's National Urban Lab, with the support of the Ministry of Housing. 

Schedule:
09:30-10:00 Gathering and Registration 
10:00-10:20 Opening Session and Greetings, Urban Thinkers Campus (in English)
10:20-11:00 Densification and Localisation, Keynote Lecture (in English)​​​​​​​
11:00-13:00 Densification and Localisation in a Biospheric Urban Space Panel – Learning from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem (in English)
13:00-14:00 Lunch Break (self-arranged) 
14:00-17:00 The Garden City Legacy in the Metropolis: Values and Interfaces – International Workshop of the Metropolitan Heritage Forum, Launch of the Bezalel Urban Lab by UN-Habitat 
17:00-18:00 Closing Session – Conclusions and Insights for the International Field 
18:30 The Urban Parliament UTC Lecture at the MA Colloquium in Urban Design, Bezalel (in English)

The first day of the conference will be held on Wednesday, 30.10.24, at Liebling Haus. For more information.