Tel Aviv is the most inclusive city in Israel and in the whole Middle East, with large Pride Parades every summer. Many Israelis view Tel Aviv today as a city with its own "bubble." In an exhibition at the Liebling Haus that is considered to be the White City Center, the urbanists Paul Kearns and Moti Ruimy are trying to answer through numbers and stories the question “what is the White City?” and reply with another question - isn't it simply “A great place to live?” (fig. 15-16). The urbanists indicate that “the White City is at times described, exalted or critiqued as an architectural wonderland, a planning paradigm, a real estate marketing tool, a historical legacy, a conservation challenge, an imaginary space, a colonial enterprise, and a constructed myth.” These are all valid characteristics that true architects and urban planners’ question. “So just how livable is the White City?” The White City density is comparable to Manhattan and close to three times that of Tel Aviv-Yafo as a whole. The White City has a "Green Canopy Cover" and is leafier than most metropolis' and includes twice as many streets trees as Tel Aviv. The White City is the most connected urban part of Israel, allows walkability and many walk to work. Yet, more people drive than use public transportation or bikes, and many walk to work. The White City is overcrowded, with many homes having just one or two rooms. “‘a great place to live?’ begs an inevitable further critical question, ‘a great place to live for whom?’ and just how affordable is the White City? perhaps more importantly, how accessible is the White City?” Most of the residents in the White City have managerial and professional jobs rather than manual jobs. Similarly to many metropolises around the world, the high real estate prices make Tel Aviv less affordable. This is due to Tel Aviv being a model of livable urbanism, as many people want to live in a liberal and accepting city. The White City is the center of the Tel Avivian "Bubble." The term ‘livable urbanism’ “promote[s] and rank[s] the livability of urban places across the world. ‘Livable urbanism’ has traditionally promoted public transit, bicycle lanes, human-scale architecture, and mixed-use urban fabric that includes public spaces for outdoor cafes and community life.” The DNA of Tel Aviv is a constant idea of change in the design, scale, plot size, history, density, urbanism. The importance of green space became essential, making the plan of Patrick Geddes come to life, but in the way of a story of modern Zionism, making Tel Aviv - A Great Place to Live. The argument on whether or not the vision of Patrick Geddes of Tel Aviv as a Garden City materialize itself after about 100 years is complicated and includes many components. I believe that modern Tel Aviv echoes Patrick Geddes's ideas and intention for Tel Aviv as a Garden City. Even though around 100 years passed since Geddes planned Tel Aviv, many components of his plan became prominent parts of modern Tel Aviv. Albeit Tel Aviv developed differently than he planned, but it did become a modern Garden City, which includes walkable green boulevards, small parks, green roofs, bike and scooter paths at the expense of roads and cars emitting pollutions. This modern Garden City is the result of more than 100 years of history in Tel Aviv. The First Hebrew City was planned, as a concept, by the British Mandate to create the ideal habitat for the New Jew. The British Mandate was unsuccessful with their engineer of a perfect city because great cities become great after many years of history. The people make the place, not the concept. The Zionist pioneers, the young architects that created the Chug, brought a Zionist dream and made the story of Tel Aviv. Their story translated many years later into a modern vision of Zionism: a modern Garden City that is all-inclusive is the new reality of Tel Aviv, and its development and success will be seen in the future years.
Student Architecture Portfolio Michal Koutamonov
