The purpose of this project is to support Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem in securing concrete development and building opportunities and rights, through appropriate spatial planning activities.
The project focuses on the issues of informality, inequality, regularization and building rights, in addition to enabling the provision of public spaces and public services.
The Palestinian communities and the individual families will benefit directly from freezing the demolition orders, the improvement of living conditions and easing the displacement pressures, while securing growth opportunities for these communities in East Jerusalem. Developing plans for the neighborhoods will help the residents when they apply to obtain buildings permits. Moreover, the awareness campaign will help the residents to understand their rights and the legal base to support obtaining building permits and stopping homes demolition.
The project aims at supporting the Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem in securing concrete development and building opportunities and rights through planning, moreover it looks for advanced solutions to address critical dysfunctionalities in the planning and development of Palestinian neighborhoods, and works on enhancing urban awareness and integration among the residents and professionals and increase the Palestinian capacity to plan.
The project's main activity is developing outline plans and detailed plans. These plans will help the community first in freezing the demolition orders which is an immediate benefit, then will enable them to legalize their buildings status, obtaining building permits, having plans for their future expansion and designated areas for services and public space. Developing the plans is based on a community participatory approach which help in raising the awareness of the community about their rights, as well as their sense of belonging and ownership towards their neighborhood.
The main partners who will help implementing the project are IPCC, BIMKOM, and CAPI which have extended highly valuable support services ranging from information/advocacy to legal aid to planning advice for affected communities. In addition the local residents in each neighborhood are key partners and their cooperation is crucial for the success of the planning process. The project's activities will be coordinated with the prime ministers office.
UN-Habitat is the lead partner in this project, that provides the technical support as well as high-level advisory services. UN-Habitat also coordinate with the donors and the partners and ensures that the project accomplishes its goals.
