Israel Weighs Smart Growth

"Israel has reached a tipping point where, if plans for higher-density cities are not created within the next two to five years, cities throughout the country will face financial problems in social and municipal services and there will be a loss of open agricultural lands, Irit Solzi, chairwoman of the board and founder of the Movement for Israeli Urbanism said Monday.

The State of Israel currently has 7.3 million people and is predicted to naturally grow to 11.5 million by 2030, Solzi said. It is currently listed as the ninth-densest country in the world - between India and Belgium - with the highest densities found in the central cities of Bnei Brak, Bat Yam and Givatayim, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Although Jerusalem and Tel Aviv have the highest number of residents, the statistics showed that the cities are only about half as dense as Bnei Brak and Bat Yam.

"After 60 years of spreading out all over the country, it is now the time to think about it in a different way and to see how to make our cities better, and how to keep our land and agriculture open," Solzi told The Jerusalem Post ahead of its third annual International Conference on New Urbanism."