Abstract
Urban renewal initiatives require the involvement of various parties with differing interests, and their success is dependent on the management processes of the overall stakeholder system, as well as collaboration between the parties involved. The stakeholder system is constantly evolving, and the objectives and roles of the actors may change over time. To promote consent and decision-making, effective action strategies require the dissemination of knowledge to homeowners and other relevant stakeholders. The collective knowledge of all parties involved is crucial to the success of the project. There are various methods of knowledge transfer available. Several companies in Israel and around the word have developed technological platforms to facilitate urban renewal processes and promote knowledge sharing among stakeholders. Their objective is to redefine the relationships between the parties involved and enhance the flow of information. The chapter highlights the complexity of managing the multiplayer system involved in urban renewal projects and presents a case study of a large-scale urban renewal initiative in a disadvantaged neighborhood of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. The project was initiated by the Clinic for Housing Rights and Urban Renewal at the Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University—an academic-professional body, with a social and pedagogical vision, that sought to give legal assistance to residents in the neighborhood, addressing safety issues caused by structural defects in their buildings.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Urban renewal usually involves renovation redevelopment of multiowner apartment buildings. In this chapter, the terms owners, apartment owners, and homeowners all refer to the owners of apartments in such buildings.
- 2.
De Winter (2001, pp. 108, 111).
- 3.
Ibid., at p. 110. This form of rhetoric aligns well with the increasing trend of State transfer of its traditional powers and functions to commercial corporations, which are supposed to provide market-based social welfare solutions, subject to State regulation. Ibid. on p. 112.
- 4.
French (1979, p. 207).
- 5.
Ibid. at pp. 211, 213.
- 6.
Ibid. at p. 215.
- 7.
Flint Ashery (2020)
- 8.
Callon (1986).
- 9.
The Israeli urban renewal administrations were established in 2016 through the Governmental Authority for Urban Renewal Law 2016. The administrations have been operating within the local authorities since 2016. The duties of the administrations include making accessible and publishing information and promotional materials to residents, developers, and professionals, including through conferences; providing assistance to apartment owners in selecting a representative of their interests; providing assistance to the owners in applying to developers and determining their parameters for choosing a developer.
- 10.
For more on this topic see Kennedy (2002).
- 11.
According to the Vacate and Build Law, when the required rate of consent is reached, the developer or apartment owners may apply to the relevant legal court against the holdouts, in order to force those remaining apartment owners to agree to the project. An application of this type can be a tort claim in which the holdouts are sued for the amount of damage caused to the other apartment owners as a result of their refusal, or an application for an injunction, where the court may compel the holdouts to give their consent for the project. The legal process includes hearing the holdouts’ arguments, and examining whether or not their objection to the project is based on one of the grounds that justify a refusal. If the holdouts’ objections do not fall within the scope of the grounds set out as justified by law, the court will rule that their objection is not justified and oblige them to pay compensation to the other owners or order the project to proceed against their objections.
- 12.
See: Explanatory Notes to the Vacate and Build (Compensation) Bill, 2005, Knesset 88, 198 (hereafter: the Bill).
- 13.
See Judge Danziger’s ruling in Civil Appeal 3511/13 Regina Schwarzberger v. Shalom Marin et al. [Hebrew].
- 14.
In Israel, there is no formal requirement that local authorities involve the public in the decision-making process, apart from in the Planning and Construction Law 1965, which contains a specific procedure for public participation. The law requires the planning and construction authorities to provide information to the public when they prepare a plan and provides the right to object to those affected by the plan. See Carmon and Alterman (2011).
- 15.
The literature written on the subject mainly deals with theories of public choice and collective action and focuses on the relationship between local governments and residents.
- 16.
For a discussion on this topic, see Nagid (2015, p. 18).
- 17.
Section 1A, Amendment No. 6 to the Vacate and Build Law (Promoting Vacate and Build Projects), 2006.
- 18.
- 19.
The orders issued (known as Order 3) are a legal tool utilized by Tel Aviv Municipality in order to maintain the resident safety and the maintenance of old buildings. Their role is to encourage apartment owners to act together to manage the hazard. The orders oblige the owners to repair the buildings’ defects within a limited timeframe of 90 days, at the end of which indictments are filed if the repairs are not made. The uniqueness of orders 3 is that they comprise a form of collective punishment.
- 20.
National Outline Plan (NOP/“TAMA”) 38 grants additional building rights to apartment owners whose buildings undergo reinforcement. The owners transfer these rights to a real-estate developer in exchange for the reinforcement, renovation, and upgrades (sometimes expansion) of their apartments. The State also foregoes the homeowners’ purchase tax and capital gain tax, and the local municipality pitches in by foregoing the betterment levy it is entitled to charge when tenants obtain additional building rights. The homeowners get a reinforced, improved building that is more resistant to earthquakes, overall renovation including both the building’s interior and exterior, and sometimes significant expansion of each apartment. An elevator is also added since the developer constructs extra floors on the rooftop. It is common for storerooms to be built, as well as parking solutions, all according to the physical and economic conditions of respective projects. Each project is examined individually: its economic potential must be well explored in order to ensure, on the one hand, that the developer stands to gain rather than lose from it, and, on the other hand, that apartment owners receive maximum benefits.
- 21.
From Galia Rattner’s thesis, “Attempting to find solutions to the problem of dangerous buildings: sociology of ‘partnership’ at the Yaffo Gimmel project.” Rattner accompanied the clinic as part of her practicum in the framework of her master’s degree and documented all the meetings that took place over an entire year.
- 22.
Rattner, Ibid.
- 23.
Rattner, Ibid.
- 24.
Rattner, Ibid.
- 25.
It is quite common in Israel, particularly in older buildings, to hang laundry from clotheslines suspended on external walls. Often these clotheslines are concealed with metal or concrete latticework.
- 26.
Rattner, Ibid.
- 27.
Rattner, Ibid.
- 28.
Rattner, Ibid.
- 29.
Rattner, Ibid.
References
Callon M (1986) Some elements of a sociology of translation: domestication of the scallops and the fishermen of St Brieuc Bay. In: Law J (ed) Power, action and belief: a new sociology of knowledge. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, pp 196–233
Carmon D, Alterman R (2011) Will my voice be heard? Public participation and the right to be heard in planning procedures in Israel. Center for Urban and Regional Studies, Technion [Hebrew]
De Winter R (2001) The anti-sweatshop movement: constructing corporate moral agency in the global apparel industry. Ethics Int Aff 15(2):99–115
Flint Ashery S (2020) Spatial Behavior in Haredi Jewish Communities in Great Britain. Springer, Cham. ISBN 978-3-030-25857-3; 978-3-030-25858-0
French P (1979) The corporation as a moral person. Am Philos Q 16(3):207–215
Kennedy D (2002) The limited equity coop as a vehicle for affordable housing in a race and class divided society. Harv Law J 46:85–125
Nagid M (2015) Public participation in local government: practical experience and lessons learned. Policy paper 110. The Israeli Institute for Democracy, pp 1–129 [Hebrew]
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bloom, O. (2024). Collective Action in Urban Renewal Projects. In: Flint Ashery, S. (eds) Geodesigning Our Future. The Urban Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52235-2_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52235-2_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-52234-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-52235-2
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)