Organic relations of rural villages : Northwest of Jerusalem

Urban design network to revive organic life in the countryside of Jerusalem, offering multiple nodes with a main one as an industrial park, dealing with cultural values of the Palestinian communities in jerusalem regarding materials, land, social connections and the concept of productivity in the village
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Designer(s) : Mustafa Saleem , Maha Mustafa

University : Birzeit University

Tutor(s) : Mohammad Abulrob

Project Description

Colonial and occupation policies in the countryside of northwest Jerusalem led to creating a state of placelessness for the population by separating them from the  capital Jerusalem and turning them into rural enclaves as a result of the geopolitical goals that were applied, which led to the creation of an imposed environment on them and the disappearance of organic relationships between these villages, transforming them into communities consuming other cities like Ramallah and slowly becoming its backyard, which stripped it of its identity and productivity, and led to its lack of development and its ability to keep up with its needs, causing problems in agricultural, economic and environmental state of the countryside of Jerusalem and for them to emerge from the limitations of the coercive occupation policies imposed on them

Our vision aims to exploit the resources of these various communities at all social, economic, cultural and other levels, and to benefit from the expertise and craftsmanship that the countryside in northwest Jerusalem is known for, creating new opportunities in the community centers, thus generating a new network of organic relationships between the communities themselves and its surroundings, the Jerusalem countryside is reviving itself with the restoration of the productive identity of the countryside as a production centre and an independent entity, within the framework of an environmental solution to the problems of solid waste in the region across the five villages that constitute an input to the resources of land revitalization and its consequences.

The project design contains 3 main categories :
Recycling and Repair
As a solution for the construction waste problem of the area which is dealt with as a backyard, the recycling facility offers an outlet for the waste and using it in back to the good of the community, mainly dealing with waste of decor waste, and specific types of soils that can be used to revive pottery crafts, create alternative building materials and revive deserted lands

Local market
Being on the frontage of the main street , it reflects the produtivity of the countryside and dismisses the image of a “Backyard” for other cities waste, the market offers organic palestinian style and a social space within an informal yet working environment, for food,pottery,exibitions and more

Communal spaces
As we design for the community, we include spaces the deliver the needs on different levels, that contains a Park, community center, agricultural hub working with revived land and nature paths