Publisher: IPCC Jerusalem, 2003

ISBN: 965-7283-03-5

This volume is about the future of Jerusalem, the City and the District. It is a rare metropolis: over the ages, a complex interaction of geographical, historical, religious, cultural, political and spiritual factors have produced a unique city; and the causes and conse-quences of the current long-running conflict between Palestinians and Israelis adds to its singularity. Together, these forces require that Palestinians assert their legitimate interest in the city and lay out their perception of its future. That task brought together an IPCC team of Palestinian and international planners whose goal was to envision the future of Jerusalem. They employed the Strategic Action Structural Planning method, a multidimensional approach that analyzes Jerusalem's political, social, urban and economic processes from four perspectives: its past, its present, and its short term and long term futures.

The IPCC team looked at the city as a living museum, given its religious, historical, and cultural significance, and as a city in transition, a city which must empower itself to become a City of Peace, the Capital of the Future Palestinian State (with East Jerusalem as its capital and West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel), and a World Center.

The harsh reality of Jerusalem under the Israeli occupation-more and more military check points, hideous walls of separation, the with-holding of infrastructure services and tax revenues, and the restric-tive policies on Palestinian development which are applied every day-has not deterred us from thinking about the future of the city and envisioning what we Palestinians want Jerusalem to become. Nor has it deterred us from thinking about how the vision can be achieved, and that question inevitably led to another-How will Palestinians and Israelis live side-by-side? Envisioning the Future of Jerusalem is the second volume in an IPCC Strategic Planning Series on the city. It presents a futuristic urban planning strategy and a conceptual model developed by the IPCC team.

The first chapter, "Vision 21 -Ahlan Wa Sahlan" offers a broad, exciting Palestinian plan for the City of Jerusalem and its District. It is a vision which is the result of an intensive, scientific and creative process of strategic thinking involving many Palestinian stakeholders.