April 14-20, 2005

cityspace

Overseas Design

by Cory Frolik

From an urban-design standpoint, the largest problem facing Israel today is a limited amount of space available for development thanks to a boom in population.

Facing that issue head-on is professor Naomi Carmon, the head of urban and regional studies at Technion, a university founded in 1924 that has become the so-called "M.I.T. of Israel." Continuing the institution's practice of hosting awareness-raising lectures throughout the U.S., Carmon visited Philadelphia last week.

"No university affects the state of Israel like that of Technion," says Carmon. Disciplines studied at Technion include microelectronics, aeronautics, computer sciences, nanotechnology, stem-cell research and just about anything related to advances in the science or medical field. (About 85 percent of its graduates go on to become chief technological officers at Nasdaq companies.)

In addressing the Philadelphia chapter of Technion's international fund-raising body (they depend on outside donations since they've had to cut staff salaries thanks to wage laws), Carmon said her duties go beyond academic matters. She often consults local government about development and land use.

The most pressing issue centers around population density, she says, thanks to soaring birth rates in Israel, where most families have at least 3 children. and immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Things have become serious enough for the government to deputize Carmon and other intellectuals to formulate a comprehensive plan for Israel by 2020. By that time, projections suggest that population density will reach 900 people per square kilometer (a high figure for Israel, though hardly Philly's 4,337 per kilometer).

Carmon champions a plan to reuse current buildings. That tactic is almost a necessity because under Israeli law, "You're not allowed to destroy the urban fabric, but you can add to it," she says.

Large development corporations usually prefer to build on new land which helps them evade the complications that come with obeying government restrictions and residents' wishes. But by working with planners and offering developers tax incentives and ease in obtaining green lights, developers have chosen to build up instead of out.

In a city facing different development issues — open space doesn't tend to be a problem in areas involved in Mayor Street's Neighborhood Transformation Initiative — Philadelphia supporters and others around the country have done their share, with 250 people contributing a total of more than $1 million to Technion's efforts.

People donate "for their love of Israel," says Zahava Bar-Nir, chapter president and member of the international fund-raising board, "for the love of technology, for the love of innovation."