New urban master plan for Tel Aviv approved

The new urban master plan for Tel Aviv-Jaffa was approved earlier this month by the city’s local planning council by a 16-10 vote. The plan lays out, for the first time, what developers can build in the city, where, and how high. It allows for extensive construction of hi-rises and office buildings over the next couple of decades, which will ensure the city a solid tax base in the future.

Many have complained that very little was done to address public transportation issues beyond the existing light rail project and that affordable housing had just not been taken seriously by the city planners. Still any long term vision is better than no vision at all.

The master plan will now go to the district planning committee, where it is expected to undergo further changes. By law, it will then be deposited for formal objections by the public for a period of 60 days, before eventually being approved by the Interior Minister.

For more on the project motivations, here is a presentation from the city council made in 2011.