Jerusalem 5800 English

The Metropolitan Jerusalem Master Plan

so many tourists.

As of today, there are many plans in

various areas for changing the face of

Jerusalem and bringing it up to date with

the 21st century. These were created in

various government ministries: those of

Tourism, Transportation, Interior, and

Treasury, by the Jerusalem Municipality, by

private sector firms, and others. Yet, each

of these plans deals almost exclusively

with one aspect of the city’s future and

are largely geared for the short-term – or,

at best, slightly longer than short-term

development. They do not present a

comprehensive view of the problems nor a

comprehensive view of possible solutions

for gradual development and growth of

metropolitan Jerusalem with the aim of

moving the city forward from its current

state to the desired state within the next

half a century. This is a is a deeply most

problematic reality given that only a broad-

minded, all-inclusive policy, which takes

into account the entirety of the developing

city’s needs, will be able to respond to

the challenge and ensure Jerusalem’s place

on the international tourism map in a

manner competitive with other leading

global tourist centers.

Due to this situation, the Jerusalem

5800 Plan proposes principles for planning

and development of the metropolitan

Jerusalem area in a long-term, sustainable

process through the year 2050. The full

plan deals with all aspects of metropolitan

planning and development – including

the municipal region of Jerusalem and

the greater area of influence – but also

Jerusalem’s uniqueness

as a city holy to the three

monotheistic religions is

expected to bring millions

of tourists. Crowds at the

Western Wall Plaza on

the festival of Succoth

(Tabernacles). Behind,

Muslim Mosques visible

on the Temple Mount.

2011

Jerusalem

a city holy to the

three monotheistic religions, is one of the

premier tourist destinations in the world

today. The historic and spiritual legacy of

the city makes it unique, almost unrivaled

throughout the world. Considering the

expected growth in world tourism over

the coming decades, the potential for

tourists in Jerusalem is huge. Already

today, tourism makes up a large percentage

of the city's economy, and in the future,

it may become the driving force of the

city’s development, both in logistical

construction terms and in societal impact.

However, Jerusalem as it exists

today, cannot realize this potential. In

order to take in the millions of tourists

expected to arrive, tens of thousands

of new hotel rooms must be built, the

city's transportation system must be

upgraded substantially, and urban spaces

must be designed to meet the needs of

both tourists and local residents. Such

dramatic change requires comprehensive,

integrated planning: the intra-city and

inter-city transportation systems need

to be routed to the locations of hotel,

tourist attractions, and pilgrimage sites,

as well as to residential neighborhoods.

Not only does this planned infrastructure

not yet exist, unfortunately, it stands at

odds with the current situation. Over the

past few decades, there have been large

uncontrolled strides taken towards creation

of a bi-national greater metropolitan

Jerusalem. This uncontrolled process

negates all of the principles of sustainable

development.

If a planned vision is not realized –

one that integrates the various aspects of

development in the city of Jerusalem – the

potential for tourism, and the economic

boon that comes with it, will be lost.

This plan was born of a present

necessity and the sense that the main

potential in Jerusalem - that of the place

itself and the diverse society therein,

has been unrealized. The name of this

project – Jerusalem 5800 – is taken for the

plan's target year, the Hebrew year 5800,

but before the year 2050 on Gregorian

calendar.

Three decades from today is a realistic

timeframe for implementation and

realization of such a vision for the future

of the city of Jerusalem.

Public representatives, government

ministers, decision makers and those in

municipal positions relevant to urban

planning of the greater metropolitan

Jerusalem region can adopt the plan in

its entirety, or parts thereof. Because it is

based on the foundations of existing plans

in government offices and ministries as

well as those of Jerusalem municipality, it

brings together past plans while integrating

additional ones created by the Jerusalem

5800 Planning Committee. Thus, the plan

proposed here offers a vision that includes

thinking for the economic optimization of

metropolitan Jerusalem.

The goal of the plan is to improve the

economic and social impact of the region’s

diverse population by increasing tourism to

a far greater extent than which exists today,

numbers in line with the growth forecasts

for regional and international tourism. As

demonstrated herein, the realistic tourism

forecast for metropolitan Jerusalem for

the year 2050 is 10 million annual tourists

from abroad and 2 million local tourists.

Such numbers could allow for Jerusalem’s

economy to thrive based mainly on

tourism and related industries, presuming

that the infrastructure is created to house

The historic and spiritual

legacy of the city make

it unique, unrivaled

throughout the world.

The vision