Sustainability vs. Governance?

A review of new community

.planning principles in the Gaza Strip in the age of Globalization

Arch Maged Abu Rahma and Dr. Fernando Murillo

Head project division. Municipality of Gaza. Director research Unit. University of
Buenos Aires. Microenergia International Research Network. 00 972 8282 0653 /
00970599791479 mgaburahma@hotmail.com

Abstract
The paper address the question: What means a sustainable housing policy in the
context of the Gaza Strip? The hypothesis supported is that the main ideas applied
currently in the zone associated to high rise buildings, apartment typologies,
interpreted as sustainable urban policies, contradict basic social principles of
community planning. Taking into consideration the high population growth ratio,
scarcity of land and socio-economic problems of the refugees living in the camps, to
achieve sustainable habitat solutions appears as a priority in the short as well as in
the middle term of the political agenda. However, such habitat solutions explored in
the form of massive housing projects whose systematic assessment provide clues
regarding advantages and disadvantages of certain urban strategies, housing
typologies, etc. The comparison of two housing projects, representing different
approaches to massive housing planning and design seek to explore the dilemma
between sustainability and governance. Special attention is paid in how architecture
and urban planning affect the results of the whole housing operation. Some
preliminary remarks are presented related to the importance of diversification in the
creation of habitat alternatives to cope with the challenge of achieving sustainability,
.in environmental, social and economic terms and also governance simultaneously

Key words: Habitat, Sustainability; Governance

Paper to be presented at The Ninth Sharjah Urban Planning Symposium

April 2-4 2006, Sharjah, UAE

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 Sustainability and governance principles in the Palestinian context
Gaza Strip faces one of the highest densities and overcrowding ratio in the world
combine with a huge unsatisfied social demand igniting recurrent conflicts. Housing
policies seeks to cope with such harsh living conditions applying different community
design concepts: autonomous settlements with full social services facilities; social
integration strategies mixing different incomes groups, urban infill policies promoting
the concept of “compact city”. But such policies face big dilemmas related to the
application of governance and sustainability principles. Paradoxically the trends in
territorial reshaping in the western world as results of globalization, such as
gentrification and fragmentation, leading to the phenomena of "gated communities"
are also reckonable in the case of the Gaza Strip with the appearance of new
principles for design and planning related to "defensive spaces", instead of the long
.waited ideal of open communities, specially after the Israeli disengagement
High densities achieved through high rises and apartment buildings has been built
during the last years, especially encouraged by the master plan of the main cities, the
new public housing policies and market trends reacting to the land price increase by
its scarcity. But from a social perspective, different criticism has arise because
community problems and damage of familiar and tribal ties. More conservative
approaches had been applied by the government and donors, developing projects on
plots. This implies less density, considering that normally they are up to four or
maximum five stories. But the big advantage is the social control of the space and
.definitively the possibility for the people to get land ownership
After disengagement, Gaza faces big dilemmas regarding the use of the land
previously occupied by Israeli settlements. The big demographic pressure demands
more land for urbanization purposes, specially allowing the expansion of the refugee
camps. However, a more sensible approach proposes to protect such land for
agricultural uses and particularly to keep control of the quality of the aquifer easily
.contaminated by random urbanization
Such decision of preventing low density development is taken basically based in the
well respected principle of sustainability, leading to the construction of high rise
buildings as the only way to cope with the double demand of allocating high number
of housing units, while protecting the maximum area of land for agriculture and
environmental purposes. However, such high density is achieved through different
housing typologies. Two types are applied frequently in Gaza: The apartment
approach, sharing public services such as staircases and elevators, plus the
ownership of the land among the different neighbors; and what we can call as the
family building approach, up to five levels, in which the family owns the land.
Typically in the apartment approach lives people with urban backgrounds in which
they learn to share spaces taking responsibility in their maintenance and cleanness.
The family building approach imply that each member occupy different stories of the
building, designed and built per step, according to their economic possibilities. This
imply that the building itself allow flexibility for income generation activities in the
ground floor and more flexible design according to their extended family needs
essential for low income groups. On the other hand, the fact that the neighbors in one
street belongs to the same family or tribes, creates a sense of natural surveillance,
.key for security (Jabareen, 2003), certainly clue for governance

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The apartment approach, certainly logic and in line with regional macro trends
demands a population with stable jobs and a relatively modern social structure in
which individuals can have independent lives. This is the case just in minorities in the
Gaza Strip. However, the apartment approach is usually the typology applied in
social housing projects. The experience of applying this approach results in frequent
refusal of the beneficiaries to live in apartments showing that social issues are the
cornerstone for sustainability. Such beneficiaries prefer to live in the camps, even in
bad conditions, instead of apartments, because the camp provides the social and
.economic networks that they need to survive
The issue of sustainability, from this perspective; conceived logically at long time;
and governance, naturally associated with the short time, appear as naturally
divorced. People working in Ministries or academics naturally conceive scenarios of
sustainability in certain time; while those working in municipalities facing daily
problems use to work mostly based on principles of governance. This imply that the
first group will apply planning concepts targeted in minimizing the use of land for
urbanization purposes, such as the apartment approach; while the second group will
support approaches much more orientated to conciliate the needs and preferences of
the people, typically the familiar development on single plots. At the end, the status
quo of the camps and the growing random occupancy of the land is the worst
scenario from both perspective, sustainability and governance, because it low
density, without infrastructure affecting the natural ground water, environment as well
.as a dangerous increase of lawless
Reviewing community planning principles: Comparison of two case studies
Tal El hawa and Sheik Zaid constitute two paradigmatic cases of applying apartment
and single plot development approaches in the Gaza Strip. Both projects reach high
densities, but targeting different social incomes. While Tel El hawa (figure 1) focus on
middle income, typically public servants with a permanent salary; Sheik Zaid (figure
.2) was designed for low income people in general, and refugees in particular
Tal El hawa applied a principle of plot subdivision; while Sheik Zaid was organized on
the idea of communal land. Tal El Awa results successful in terms of the occupancy
ratio, practically completed with permanent residents, while Sheik Zaid fails initially in
its occupancy ratio, existing frequent cases of re-sell of units to third partied, leading
to the need to re orientate completely the social target, arising criticism on the
project. However, Sheik Zaid follows strictly good planning concepts: Optimum use of
spaces, shared places, cheap construction, environmental treatment, full supply of
.social services, etc

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 Figure 1 Figure 2

Source: Pictures from the authors

Some basic data comparing both projects explain the community planning principles
applied in each case presented in table 1. While in both cases urban standards has
been applied in order to achieve high densities with adequate comfort, the size,
.design details and social strategy in each project explain the differences
Table 1 Comparative analysis
Variables Tel El Hawa Sheik Zaid

Location Border of Gaza city Bet Hanoun, North Gaza

Strip

Area donums 405 donums 527

Population 18.800 23.700

Net density person/donum 46 persons/donum 45

Housing units 70 770

Number of buildings public & 70 private 80 public + 82 private 70

of roads % 25 28.7

public services & green % 32.6% 20%

Land subdivision parcels 80 Communal land

Average income levels Middle / high Low Refugees Social target

changed to reach upper
classes

Income generation Shops in the ground floor Not considered

components

Financial strategy Soft credit payable through Subsidy through a

fees deducted from salaries beneficiary system

Design/ implementation Building development per .Complex

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 strategy plot

The location in each project plays a major role in creating habitat beyond housing.
Tal El hawa is a neighborhood of Gaza city following the concept of “compact city”.
Sheik Zaid, on the contrary was conceived as a satellite town integrated to a regional
network system (figure 3). Such approach expects to generate incomes opportunities
for the inhabitants. But as this goal fails, it was necessary to re-orientate the project
transforming the satellite town approach in the concept of “gated communities”. Such
change results in the replacement of low income people by middle class, on one
hand; and in the other hand, the replacement of real income generation opportunities
.that create the sense of new town by a pure residential place
This dilemma between new towns transforming in gated communities results crucial to
understand in practical terms how the ideals of community governance and sustainability
results applicable in the case of the Gaza Strip. While unemployment reaches pick of 70% is
absolutely clear the need of territorial strategies supporting integrated approaches to
employment and housing; the issue of poverty and internal fighting call for urban plans that
provide practical tools to protect communities. Location, densities and building types play a
major role on governance. Both projects works as gated communities challenging the idea of
governance based in social integration. This issue of gated community certainly crucial in
Sheik Zaid, was not the case in Tal El hawa, mainly because its location in an already
urbanized zone, and in part because it was designed by a particular community, public
servants, who share common values, such as a fixed employment and identities, such as life
.styles, etc

Figure 3. Location of Tel El Awa and Sheik Zaid in the northern part of Gaza Strip

Source: Ministry of local planning. Gaza Strip. Palestinian Authority

But beyond such new trends in community planning principles, the design of both
projects affect very much their quality and social results. The design of the built up
area and the open space contribute to create attractive environments where people
feel attached and want to live. While Sheik Zaid, (figure 4) presents better standards
of green areas, sunshine and ventilation, basically because the application of block
buildings in the open field, the use of such spaces results not fully satisfactory
because social reasons related to Muslim traditions, as privacy restricting the use of

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open areas. Tel El Awa (figure 5), instead, offer very poor standards of green areas
resulting in also poor sunshine and ventilation, but succeed in creating small play
.ground and shops in the ground floor creating diversity and community attraction

Figure 4. Plan of Tel El hawa Figure 5. Plan of Sheik Zaid

Source :Source

Final remarks
Coming back to the initial question: What means a sustainable housing policy in
Gaza, it is clear that the answer is not simplistically high rises in the form of
apartment building. The opposite, familiar approach is either possible. A kind of
balance between both approach is needed, as well as a comprehensive review of
community planning principles in order to responds properly to the huge challenge of
creating habitat that really match the people’s needs. The clue seems to be
diversification of habitat options and flexibility in the design in order to adapt to
different housing scenarios. On the other hand, the priority for security facing all
social classes in Gaza, call for some form of gate community that can adopt the
traditional form of familiar compounds or more sophisticated systems of
neighborhood based on belonging to the same social class or groups of identification.
Finally, to responds to such crucial issue is to build governance that not necessarily
contradict the basic idea of sustainability, as it was seen, referring mainly to high
.densities, and protection of land for non urbanization purposes
Some lessons can be highlighted from the comparison developed between both
projects in the context of the general picture of sustainability and governance in the
.age of globalization in the particular context of the Palestinian people
First, the examples analyzed because its magnitude demonstrate the importance of
housing typologies in shaping habitat. The false assumption that most of the refugee
or low income population have similar needs that can be attended through a certain
building typology, without consideration of where, how and for whom, lead to
unrealistic housing and urban development policies. The principle of diversity seems
to be the clue to deal with such complex socio-economic process of allocating
populations without habitat facilities and at the same time foreseeing strategies
where they can develop income generation activities, so as to access to social
services facilities. That means that a sustainable habitat policy not consists in
applying a certain typology, such as high rises building or high density complexes,

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but in the combination of different approaches matching different social needs in a
.comprehensive view of the socio-economic complexities of territories
Second, in such combination, metropolitan networking shaping concepts of satellite
town with real social integration; or new neighborhood integrating different social
group results essential to create the framework to overcome fragmentation with its
terrible aftermaths. In fact metropolitan networking is the key for governance
expressed practically in terms of equal access to services and development
opportunities; as well it is the key for sustainability, understood as the appropriate
.occupancy of land to ensure living conditions for the coming generations
Third, regarding the specific design strategy to reach high densities applied in both
case studies, the results in socio-economic terms and urban-regional development
possibilities define their particular viability in the context of the Gaza Strip. Both
approaches had been applied with very different results. While apartment approach
has been identified as a “cheap” solution to accommodate low income people and
the high rise on one single “plot” as the typology of middle and upper class to create
a family compound, the reality shows exactly the opposite. The apartment approach
results more suitable for upper class, with education and incomes enough to
accommodate their needs in an apartment; while the one plot approach match better
the complex needs of low income groups needing to generate incomes. This
contradiction between the physical infrastructure created by governments and donors
and social expectations creates a vicious circle of funds supporting projects that
.never satisfied the basic needs of their social targets
From this perspective both cases studied provide valuable lessons. Tal El hawa
shows alternatives to build self organized communities. The key seems to relate to
the scheme of the project as a single plot high rise design, instead of an apartment
block. This idea of splitting the complex in pieces, with particular ownership per plot,
allow the sense of neighborhood based on respect for private ownership, completely
different to the approach of communal land applied in Sheik Zaid. So, the issue of
land ownership and subdivision can be considered as the key to understand the
social results achieved. On the other hand, Sheik Zaid introduce the issue of better
design standards, including green area, sunshine, ventilation, etc, that Tal El hawa
fail to provide. Such design details, added to the fact of uniformity contribute to the
lack of identity affecting the sense of community contrasting with the rich socio-
.economic synergies in the camps
The conceptual divorce between sustainability and governance principles has logical
relation with the short and long political planning in Palestine. However, recurrently
housing projects become the field for experiencing new approaches for community
planning. The search to solve the complex social problems through physical planning
approaches neglecting in some way, complex grid of social and economic
.components that defines development possibilities
Reference
JABAREEN, Yosef 2003.Muslim Culture, Sustainable Development and the Compact
City: The Housing Intensification and its Social and Cultural Effects in Gaza, The
.Sixth Sharjah Urban Planning Symposium. Sharjah. UAE