{"id":6147,"date":"2025-05-15T09:24:17","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T07:24:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adamteva.org.il\/?post_type=news_and_updates&p=6147"},"modified":"2025-05-21T10:48:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T08:48:49","slug":"making-the-city-work-for-families-and-the-future","status":"publish","type":"news_and_updates","link":"https:\/\/adamteva.org.il\/en\/news_and_updates\/making-the-city-work-for-families-and-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Making the city work for families \u2013 and the future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Blog post by Rachel Smith-Savaya, Director of International Partnerships<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
Ah, Israel. Beautiful, chaotic, and never dull. Last week, alongside the daily juggling of life post-October 7, a teachers’ strike meant my kids were home. So I brought them with me to a Jane\u2019s Walk in Tel Aviv – led by my colleagues at Adam Teva V\u2019Din.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inspired by urbanist Jane Jacobs, these walks celebrate cities built for people. Experiencing one with three young children was a vivid reminder of what matters most: safe, accessible public space that works for real families.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Tel Aviv: where streets meet the sea \u2013 or not<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We started at Atarim Square, an outdated, overbuilt plaza that has become an empty shell awaiting redevelopment. No bathrooms, no shade \u2013 and to reach the beach? Three separate staircases. Try doing that with a stroller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Worse still, there are plans to replace the square with two high-rise luxury towers, turning what little remains of the public corridor into a privatized zone. Instead of stairs, families would face multi-lane traffic, fumes, and long waits at crossings \u2013 just to get to the public beach that has served the neighborhood since the days when David Ben Gurion would regularly perform a head-stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For me, as a parent, the \u2018development plan\u2019 is no improvement…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beaches aren\u2019t optional<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We crossed the promenade and reached the sand \u2013 where my girls could finally run free. Our guides, Attorney Ortal Sanker and Urban Planner Yael Dori, took the opportunity to share information about planned breakwaters at locations like Tzuk Beach. These structures might protect the promenade, but they disrupt natural sand movement, and are slowly shrinking our beaches. With just 1.5 cm – that\u2019s a little over half an inch! – of beach per person in Israel (if everyone went at once), we can\u2019t afford to lose more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Yael Dori explained to our group: \u201cIsrael needs smarter coastal planning \u2013 not quick fixes that cause long-term damage.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Climate Reality in a Child\u2019s Voice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
By the time we reached the Tel Aviv Port, my children were hot, cranky, and asking the obvious: \u201cWhy isn\u2019t there more shade?\u201d The answer? Trees don\u2019t grow well by the sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cArtificial shading is essential,\u201d Dori told us, \u201cespecially in an era of rising temperatures and longer summers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cities that welcome us all<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
By the end of the walk, it was clear: urban planning is a parenting issue. Whether it\u2019s beach access, shaded walkways, or climate resilience, cities must be designed for the people who use them – especially children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I came to this walk to balance work and family. I left reminded that our work is our future \u2013 and our children deserve a city they can grow up in, not just get through.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOur group huddled under the minimal shade at the Tel Aviv port<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Whether it\u2019s beach access, shaded walkways, or climate resilience, cities must be designed for the people who use them – especially children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6148,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categories":[127],"tags":[114,118,108],"class_list":["post-6147","news_and_updates","type-news_and_updates","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-blog","tag-climate-crisis","tag-planning"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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