Between Cities and Fields

Israel is facing critical problems due to being a small country with a rapidly growing population. By 2050, the country’s population is projected to nearly double, which will make it one of the world’s most densely populated countries. This population growth necessitates a substantial increase in housing supply. Moreover, there is a corresponding need for Israeli agriculture to ramp up production to meet the demands of this expanding population. The country’s land resources are limited, and there is a need to preserve open lands. Therefore, to address the housing demand, urban areas must be densified. This also applies to agricultural land, which must produce more food with the same amount of land resources. However, the reality is that, though housing stock is expanding, agricultural output remains modest. In response to the rapidly growing population, the nation’s planning policy has created spatial separation between urban areas and surrounding open landscapes. This separation is physically manifested through highways and railways.

The project examines opportunities to share the urban fabric with agricultural land, instead of separating them from each other. The project suggests that cities can benefit from sharing such agricultural land, and vice versa. The research question guiding this project is: How can sharing land between cities and agriculture contribute to the quality of life of the city’s residents, and to increasing agricultural productivity? The planning proposal principles are based on research into spaces where land sharing already exists. These principles are implemented in Kfar Saba, due to its location within the densely populated Tel Aviv metropolis, and the agricultural lands that surround Kfar Saba. The proposal encompasses both urban and building scales.