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10
The Metropolitan Jerusalem Master Plan
The Metropolitan Jerusalem Master Plan
11
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