The Urban Seam

Urban Layers of Tel Aviv
This project offers a new interpretation of Tel Aviv’s urban space through a morphological lens that links physical form to social and cultural processes. Its starting point is the seam neighborhoods between Jaffa and Tel Aviv—Kerem HaTeimanim, Neve Tzedek, Florentin, Shapira, and Hatikva—presented here as a counter-narrative to the well-known “Ahuzat Bayit” story. These neighborhoods, which developed informally, historically served as spaces of transition, friction, and encounter, and carry unique social, cultural, and spatial values.
Through morphological analysis, the research identifies physical patterns and connects them to the softer qualities of space, aiming to lay a new foundation for urban planning. The process included historical research revealing how the seam strip between Jaffa and Tel Aviv acted as a driving force in shaping the city’s identity. This analysis led to the development of a parametric methodological tool that translates morphological qualities into numerical values, enabling dynamic and flexible action suited to the nature of living, complex fabrics.
The Seam Strip
The proposed intervention emerges from a reading of the existing urban fabric and develops a new framework for understanding the city through its spatial continuity. At its heart is the identification of buffer zones—urban “deserts” that break the existing continuity. By rethinking planning as a field-based system, the project defines an urban strip as part of a complete urban framework. This strip becomes the basis for a new spatial approach—an urban intervention strategy that connects the center to the south and the east to the west, seeking to balance old and new. The tool was applied at three scales: Strategic – defining a continuous urban strip based on historical continuity. Methodological – establishing a protocol for analysis and proposing interventions. Tactical – a detailed design demonstrating the tool’s principles in practice, maintaining local context while adapting to the city’s needs.
At the core of the project is the belief that urban planning must return to the human experience—the walk along the street, the local rhythm, and the life that happens between buildings. Beyond density, rights, or economic gain, the goal is to create urbanity—a sense of place, rhythm, and multiplicity of spaces and possibilities. The key conclusion is that “form-based planning” is not only a design approach but a comprehensive urban vision—one that positions form as the link between policy, society, economy, and culture. From the margins—the neighborhoods left outside the official narrative—an alternative form of planning can emerge: equitable, vibrant, and shared.