Fourteenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

Planning vertically holds promises and challenges. As cities grow up, their urban public spaces expand upwards, with cities now planning schools, libraries, parks and hospitals in multi-level towers, midrise and highrise buildings. Mixing private and public land uses on the same site, let alone in a vertical environment, poses various challenges. This type of mixed-use development is incredibly challenging to construct, finance, and run. This paper reviews the advantages and challenges of this type of development. We examine the nature and scale of this phenomenon during the last two decades, as well as its prospects and consequences. While focusing on Tel Aviv as a case study, we review public-private partnerships that enabled the city to co-locate public amenities next to residential, commercial, and office space. This trend has benefitted both developers and city administrators, yet it brings to the fore questions about possible tensions between land uses, the ways in which the public is consulted and the long term impacts of such development on city denizens.

Presenters

Nir Mualam
Associate Professor and Head of the Planning Policy Lab, Architecture and Town Planning, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Israel