In their drive to revitalize the ancient city of Jerusalem, grassroots NGO New Spirit (Ruach Hadasha in Hebrew) launched the Jerusalem Challenge this past April. With an emphasis on empowering the "creative class," the challenge offered a top prize of $5000 for ideas on how to improve the city so that young, modern Israelis would be encouraged to stay.
On May 17th, the $5000 award for the most original idea that would have a viable impact on the social, cultural, artistic and economic life of the city went to Eli Shai - a doctor and resident of Jerusalem who proposed the "Rooftop Eden Program."
Shai's idea calls for the repurposing of the city's many rooftop spaces. These spaces, according to Shai, could be turned into places for community interaction, with vegetable and herb gardens, studios for yoga and sunbathing, cultural events, sports and more. Shai's idea was selected for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the unique and implementable nature of it.
For starters, it took into account a serious problem in Jerusalem, which is the lack of public space. With 890,000 residents crammed into an area measuring only 125km2 (48.323 sq mi), Jerusalem has a population density that is even greater than that of major metropolises like Tokyo and Mexico City. As such, every meter of free space counts.
The rooftops of Jerusalem, according to Eli Shai, are an ideal place to start sprucing up the city. Credit: Barry D. Kass/imagesofanthropology.com
At the same time, it was felt that Shai's idea presented the opportunity for improving the general appearance of the buildings and neighborhoods in which it was implemented. In a city where rooftops are spaced closely together and are usually adorned with little more than satellite dishes, some color and activity would go a long way towards beautifying the landscape. And last, but not least, using rooftop spaces for communal activities - such as agriculture and cultural activities - is something that other major cities have done in the past, and with positive results.
With this winning idea in hand, they are now moving into the implementation phase. As New Spirit's Ariel Markose said in an email, "The idea has been allocated to the responsibility of our Building a Neighborhood community director (a specific New Spirit Program), who is in touch with the relevant bodies in the local community centers, and we are in discussions as to which neighborhood is the most appropriate for a pilot Rooftop Eden Program."
Beyond the challenge itself, New Spirit remains committed to expanding its reach across the city and partnering with other organizations to make positive changes. Intrinsic to this is the development of sustainable living, which is another major concern for the city of Jerusalem and its many residents.
"New Spirit builds different communities in Jerusalem," Markose added, "one of them being a sustainable community - basically consisting of people who work to promote sustainable lifestyles in the city. They are going to take on the project. The community hasn't officially formed yet, but we are expecting them to become more active in the fall. Things move a little slowly here in the holy land!"
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