Kiryat Shmona Residents Plan New City Center

December 8, 2007

Last week, an exciting initiative took place in Kiryat Shmona, led by MIU the Movement for Israel Urbanism. MIU led an intensive five-day international charrette, an interactive process that involves the citizens of Kiryat Shmona in decisions regarding the rehabilitation of the city center.  It was the first time a full charette was implemented in Israel. SHATIL guided MIU in its fundraising efforts for the event.

MIU volunteered to assist Kiryat Shmona after a tour of the deserted town just after the second Lebanon War. An MIU spokesperson said: “We asked ourselves, what would bring back the local families this time and next time? What will make citizens want to continue living in a distant and unpredictable place?” A charrette was the answer.

Thirty planners, architects, economists and other professionals along with 80 residents participated in the intensive process. A SHATIL staffer familiar with the event called it “civil society at its best - an egalitarian process that directly involves the citizens and lets everyone have a say in the decisions. It is not merely recommendations that come out of this process, but decisions that the city is committed to carrying out.  It is a process that has applications to other areas besides urban planning.”

MIU founder Dror Gerson adds: “Everyone who was involved in this process said that every municipal planning process in Israel should be done this way. Each of the people involved felt the final plan answered real needs – that it was his/her plan.”

The term charrette originated from the École des Beaux Arts in Paris during the 19th century, where proctors circulated a cart, or charrette, to collect final drawings while architecture students frantically put finishing touches on their work.