...was a relaxed day. We met with our professor, Julie, in the morning to discuss our projects. Then, after an early lunch, we set out to walk to the Jerusalem City Municipality building. At the Municipality we met with the Chief Architect of Jerusalem, Ofer Manor. Ofer gave a presentation about the current challenges in urban planning and design for the city of Jerusalem. One of the main issues concerning his career within the last decade has been the establishment/enlargement of the 'city center', a section of new Jerusalem. Specifically, he has been concerned with the rejuvenation of a group of streets, transforming them into a network of pedestrian streets to form the 'city center'. Recently, the attitude of the city planners has changed towards the Old City and they now are beginning to incorporate the Old City into the enlargement and rejuvenation of the 'city center'.
One of the main initiatives of the 'city center' rejuvenation is to incorporate a light rail system into the streetscape of the main artery street (in America we like the catchy term 'Mainstreet'). The light rail mass transit system is being utilized all over Europe. It is a pedestrian-friendly method to incorporate fast, reliable and attractive mass transit to a streetscape.
I include a picture of the light rail system in Houston, Texas as an example for those who are uncertain what I am talking about. The light rail in Jerusalem will be similar.
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