Reclaim – Planning for the Wadi Ayalon Area as an Opportunity for Sustainable Urban Renewal

Over the years, urban planning has been adapted to cars instead of pedestrians, as reflected in wide roads at the expense of sidewalks, long crosswalks, and the entry of highways into built-up cities. Given the progress of transportation infrastructure projects, therefore, mobility alternatives will rely on public transportation. Considering this, the project proposes a re-examination of the urban function and spatial potential of the Ayalon area – as a multi-functional urban space that is a symbol of sustainable urban renewal. The project aims to connect the east to the west of the city, while strengthening the urban network with the pedestrian at the center of the planning. In addition, the project sees Wadi Ayalon as an urban-historical asset that must be returned to the city and restored as a green strip that connects the Yarkon Park to the north and the Ayalon South Park.

 To realize the project’s vision, the planning focuses on three guiding principles: (A) Creating a hierarchical traffic system adapted to human flow that feeds the urban space, from the quiet residential streets to the urban street that faces Ayalon Park, while maximizing public transportation and bridging east and west through the park and bridge system. (B) Construction along the park’s edges and on the main streets that feed into the space will combine housing, commerce, employment and tourism. (C) The Ayalon River will be rehabilitated, with the reinstatement of its twists and turns and adjustment of the seasonal flow in accordance with run-off collection projects in the basin around the river. Such urban renewal around the Ayalon would constitute a symbolic and educational project that is compatible with the future planning alternative for the metropolitan areas and aims to connect the city, the person, and the river.