This year (2007) the state of Israel has celebrated 40 years of a “United Jerusalem” (after the 1967 war).
This year Jerusalem is separated by road.
The old city of Jerusalem. A complex space, of differ religion, mixed along the formal commerce border.
I hope that by the year 2050 there will be total peace. Yet, I think that the conflict will go on. It does not necessarily mean that, when the Palestinians will have a formal territory in Jerusalem. Israel and palatine will stop fighting. There will probably be other issues to be solved, before total peace can be achieved.
I think that today & in the future more and more people in Israel, realize that separation between the populations is necessary. My guess is that, a new formal border, influenced mostly by the placement of existing population, is eventually going to be defined.
By the year 2050, Jerusalem city is going to include 2 states in it (formally). The “United Jerusalem” project, is a plan to define the urbane border in this city? A border that will be able to sustain times of war and peace, as a separator and/or a connector at the same time.
Commerce and religious places are Negative situations from which the border is created in the old city of Jerusalem. A religious space is a territory declared, for a certain population. A commercial space is for the use of all nationalities in the same time and place.
As a whole, the old city, is a border space. A concentration of nationalities with a commerce border, as a meeting place. Defined by placement of religious monuments, territories change, by creation and re creations of the monuments. The formal border line is a commerce border. This border, allows exploitations of strange populations meeting, through times of peace and some times war.
How ever, out side the old city’s walls (modern Jerusalem) there is a “road border” as a barrier line between the two populations. The new “Israeli Jerusalem”, does not define the old city as its center? It is trying to develop a new commerce modern city center (located else where). If “Jerusalem is the center of the world” why can’t it be defined as the center of the Israeli modern Jerusalem city?
Jerusalem has the power to bring people from all over the world just to kiss a stone. Not using this as an asset for further development of the city, does not seem to be correct. Therefore I think, that the new modern Jerusalem is missing the whole point of its existence.
The “United Jerusalem – Border with in a city” is a religious commerce border, Based on the scheme of the old city of Jerusalem. It is an alternate border plane for the current rode border. A commerce border street, as a formal border line between the Arabic Jewish population’s. Commercial paths, leading to existing and new religious monuments.
This project scenario is a new connection barrier, between the Jewish, Arabic and visiting population.
