Geography and Human Environment

This research examines the Environmental aspects of the urban plan of Tel-Aviv, which was written by Scottish Professor, Sir Patrick Geddes. Tel-Aviv (established in 1909) was characterized by rapid growth, especially after the British occupation during the First World War. Between 1918 and 1924, Tel-Aviv grew from 2,000 to 25,000 inhabitants.
The task of planning the future city of Tel-Aviv was given Geddes, who came to the city in 1925 after a long career in Scotland, India and France. Following his outlook and theories, Geddes tried to plan a sustainable Mediterranean city. The plan was authorized in 1929 and implemented during the 1930s, determining the structure of large parts of the city till nowadays.
The research tries to describe Geddes' environmental perspective on the one hand and his local environmental solutions for urban development on the other hand. The environmental perspective of the research includes several parameters. One of those is the climatic effect of street orientation on thermal comfort. To examine this issue a new method was put in use, taken and modified to historical geographical needs from the climatology discipline.
The research also checks Geddes' attitude towards issues of noise, dust, sewage disposal, waste disposal, urban green areas, plants etc. Additionally the research examines the relations between the city, the landscape and the sea. The presentation will focus on Geddes' environmental planning in Tel-Aviv as well as on the historical geographical methods of the research.

The city of Tel Aviv was established in 1909. During the first decades of its existence, the city was characterized by rapid urban and demographic development. Within thirty years, Tel Aviv grew from a small neighbourhood of Jaffa, to the largest city in Palestine, populated by over 150,000 inhabitants. This growth resulted in several environmental problems in the city and its surroundings. One of the main problems was that of sewage disposal.

During the early stages of the city's development, sewage disposal was based on cesspools; from which the sludge was transported to the Mediterranean according to a municipal law. The construction of a municipal sewage system, which started at the late 1920s, increased the relative amount of sewage poured directly into the sea. In 1949 Tel Aviv's seashore was declared polluted and bathing was alternately prohibited. This situation lasted for three decades.

The quick deterioration of the beach area resulted in a project aiming at sea purification and reuse of the sewage for agriculture purposes. The project held several stages, including the purification of local rivers and reuse of the sewage for agricultural purposes. Despite the fact that Tel Aviv's Mayor, Mordechai Namir, announced in 1965 that the seashore had been purified, the purification project continued in fact until 1982. This research examines three issues: the ways in which Tel Aviv municipality dealt with the need of sewage disposal along the years, the environmental influence of the sewage on sea pollution, and the spatial development of the city's sewage system.

The city of Tel-Aviv was established in 1909. During the first decades of its existence, the city was characterized by rapid urban and demographic development. Within thirty years, Tel-Aviv grew from a small neighbourhood of Jaffa, to the largest city in Palestine, populated by over 150,000 inhabitants. This growth resulted in several environmental problems in the city and its surroundings. This paper deals with the environmental cost of water pollution, caused by urban development. It refers to issues including drinking water, the sea, the river and sewage disposal.

During the early stages of the city's development, sewage disposal was based on cesspits; from which the sludge was transported to the Mediterranean according to a municipal law. The construction of a municipal sewage system, which started at the late 1920s, indicates municipal serious concern that the wells will be polluted by the cesspits. The construction of a sewage system worsened the pollution of the seashore. In 1949 Tel-Aviv's seashore was declared polluted and bathing was alternately prohibited for decades.

An interesting phenomenon was that despite the fact that there was a serious concern about aquifer pollution, more and more water were drawn from Tel-Aviv's wells. This was not only due to the demographic growth, but also resulted from an attempt to create modern European life style in the warm Middle East. The results of the intensive utilization of the aquifer water occurred in the 1940s, when municipal wells were overused and began to be salted by sea water.   

This paper examines Tel-Aviv water pollution from two perspectives. One is the historical process of sewage disposal and water uses of the city, and their results during the years 1909-1949. The other is the development of environmental thought of the municipal leaders of the city, as inferred from their approach to issues of water management.

The city of Tel-Aviv was established as a suburb of Jaffa in 1909. Although Tel-Aviv's origins were in the late Ottoman period, the town developed mostly under the British Mandate of Palestine which existed from 1920 to 1948. During these years, Tel-Aviv grew rapidly to be the largest city in Palestine, populated by over 150,000 inhabitants. The urban growth was followed by urban by-products such as sewage and waste disposal, and resulted in several environmental hazards. Although the municipality dealt daily with those issues, the British Government of Palestine as well as the British Colonial Office were also involved in them by legislation, planning, authorisation and funding. However, British involvement was not equal on all environmental issues; in some cases the government set the policy while in others it refused to be involved. This presentation discusses the environmental implications of Tel-Aviv's urban development under the British Mandate, focussing on water and land pollutions. It deals with issues including drinking water, sewage disposal, waste disposal, sea pollution and more. The paper examines the British involvement in environmental issues, the tension between municipal and governmental attitudes to these issues and the implications of the Jewish-Arab conflict for the above.

During the first decades of its existence, Tel Aviv was characterized by rapid urban and demographic development. This growth resulted in a sharp rise of urban by-products, including vast increase in the volume of sewage that was mainly disposed of in the Mediterranean. The constructing of a municipal sewage system, which started at the late 1920s, increased the relative volume of sewage which was poured directly into the sea. In 1949 Tel Aviv's sea shore was declared polluted and bathing was prohibited. This situation lasted alternately for three decades. The deterioration of the beach area from its previous status as "Tel Aviv's Riviera" during the early 1940s into a malodorous urban back yard only a decade later, resulted in a project aiming at sea purification and reuse of the sewage for agriculture purposes. This article examines the ways in which Tel Aviv municipality dealt with the need of sewage disposal, including the environmental influence of the sewage on sea pollution, as well as the spatial development of the city's sewage system.

The declaration of the State of Israel brought the city of Tel Aviv to a turning point. Since the late 1940s the landscape of Ever Ha'Yarkon has started to change. One neighborhood after the other was established in that environment, which was characterized as a rural area during the British mandate era. These neighborhoods were built with various characteristics for different populations. Examination of the first years of these neighborhoods shows two types of urban development in the region. The first is regional– the existence of fundamental differences between the development of the eastern part of the Ever Ha'Yarkon and the western part. The second relates to the types of building constructions which can be divided into public construction, private construction and the formation of poverty areas. This article deals with the first decade of the development of Ever Ha'Yarkon neighborhoods, the circumstances of their founding, their regional development, their population and the urban relations between them and the city and between the neighborhoods themselves. This analysis helps understand the process in whicha third of the area of Tel Aviv-Jaffa today changed from a rural periphery into an urban space.

Course description:
The course examines the foundations of historical-geographical research. In the course we shall discuss the development of the historical-geographical discipline in Israel and the world, the relations between this discipline and the science of geography, the effect of historical events and processes on landscape development, and the ways to conduct an historical-geographical research in the digital era. For this purpose, different historical-geographical tools will be discussed, such as vertical and horizontal cross-sections, the advantages and disadvantages of historical sources etc. The course is based on lessons in class and field excursions.
Main topics: the nature of historical-geography, the development of the historical-geographical thought, different research attitudes, vertical and horizontal cross-sections, historical-geographical sources, credibility of historical sources, use of advanced tools in historical-geographical research, historical-geography in Israel, historical-geography in the 21st century.
Teaching methods: the course is based on lessons in the class and excursions in Tel Aviv-Jaffa during class time. The lessons are based on lectures, reading and discussions. The excursions are "field lessons", where the materials which have been taught in class will be demonstrated through the historical-geography of the city.

"Course description:
The course examines the foundations of environmental-history and its spatial expressions. This discipline deals with the relations of humans with their surroundings across space and time. The course follows the development of Western environmental research, and the issues that are currently at the forefront of the field in Israel and the world. Additionally, an emphasis is put on central events in the environmental-history of Israel and their influence on the human and physical landscape. The course combines two excursions during class time, which will demonstrate the impact of the physical environment of the 19th century on the urban development of Tel Aviv until nowadays.
Main topics: What is environmental-history?, the roots and development of Western environmental thought, European and Northern-American environmental-history, colonial environmental-history, the influence of the British Mandate in Palestine on the landscape, Zionist environmental perspectives, the environmental influence of the beginning of modern urbanism in Israel, environmental thought in Tel Aviv during the British Mandate, environmental issues during the first decade of the State of Israel.
Teaching methods: lessons, reading, discussions and excursions."

"The city of Tel-Aviv was established as a suburb of Jaffa in 1909. During the first decades of its existence, it was characterized by rapid urban and demographic development. Within thirty years, Tel-Aviv grew to be the largest city under the British Mandate of Palestine, populated by over 150,000 inhabitants. My presentation focuses on the general planning of the city and the seashore during the 1920s-1930s, as well as the different approaches to municipal planning of natural sites in the city.

In 1925, when Tel Aviv numbered about 25,000 residents, the first general plan of the city was prepared by the Scottish professor Patrick Geddes. This plan was implemented during the 1930s, determining the structure of large parts of the city until nowadays. During planning, Geddes considered the physical conditions of the area, and created a modern pedestrian-friendly city, fitting the plan to the city's topography and climate. The plan also considered the sea as the main natural resource, defining that it should be kept clear of buildings.

In the early 1930s, Mayor Meir Dizengoff attempted to promote a new plan for the city's seashore, known as the Grunblatt Scheme. The idea was to dry a strip of the sea along the main shore of Tel Aviv, and build on the former beach and the dried area hotels, entrainment facilities and a promenade. The authorization of the Grunblatt Scheme by the local council aroused a vivid public debate, under the claim that the plan will eliminate the main bathing beach and destroy the natural beaches of the city. After a long debate, the project was canceled, and the sandy beaches were protected by a promenade parallel to the sea, thus remaining a prominent feature of the city to this day."

The city of Tel-Aviv was established as a suburb of Jaffa in 1909. Although Tel-Aviv's origins were in the late Ottoman period, the town developed mostly under the British Mandate of Palestine which existed from 1920 to 1948. During these years, Tel-Aviv grew rapidly to be the largest city in Palestine, populated by over 150,000 inhabitants. The urban growth was followed by urban by-products such as sewage and waste disposal, and resulted in several environmental hazards. Although the municipality dealt daily with those issues, the British Government of Palestine as well as the British Colonial Office were also involved in them by legislation, planning, authorisation and funding. However, British involvement was not equal on all environmental issues; in some cases the government set the policy while in others it refused to be involved. This presentation discusses the environmental implications of Tel-Aviv's urban development under the British Mandate, focussing on water and land pollutions. It deals with issues including drinking water, sewage disposal, waste disposal, sea pollution and more. The paper examines the British involvement in environmental issues, the tension between municipal and governmental attitudes to these issues and the implications of the Jewish-Arab conflict for the above.

Environmental history is an emerging field in Israel. The Israeli Forum for Environmental History (IFEH) was founded on July 2013. The Forum includes 55 senior scholars as well as Ph.D. candidates from 5 universities. IFEH brings together researchers from different disciplines such as Middle Eastern history, European history, legal history, historical geography, architecture and more. By conducting interdisciplinary discussions on environmental issues in different historical periods and places, we hope to enrich our research, challenge our way of thought and create new collaborations. By doing so, we aim to create an academic community in Israel for environmental historians.