Benjamin Netanyahu's Land Reform Provokes Student Protest

Amid the backdrop of Mahmoud Abbas' application for Palestinian statehood, Jesse Fox critiques the Israeli premier for his antiquated plan to fast track sprawling suburban developments into Israel's rapidly diminishing open spaces.

1 minute read

September 28, 2011, 8:00 AM PDT

By George Haugh


Sustainable Cities attacks Benjamin Netanyahu's persistence with free market economics, privatization of public land, and desire for affordable single use, suburban sprawl. Israeli students responded to Netanyahu's privatization based planning reforms in July with mass protests and the construction of a "tent city," in the center of Tel Aviv. There they called for "social justice," and "revolution to end privatization."

Jesse Fox claims that Netanyahu has presided over an increasingly "kleptocratic," government that has slowed social change by keeping the focus on external boogeymen, whose ranks have been reduced by the Arab Spring. He writes that "Bibi's grand vision will drag us backward, accelerating massive, uncontrolled (sub)urbanization while degrading the country's standard of living."

"As for the claim that flooding the market with tens of thousands of units will lower prices, most serious economists and planning experts are not buying it."

Thursday, July 21, 2011 in Sustainable City blog

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6, 2026 - Grist

People walking in downtown St. Louis, walking past shops.

Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment

The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.

November 1, 2026 - Smart Cities Dive

construction near Boston, with machinery digging at large pit.

Mass. votes against statewide minimum lot size for single-family homes

Over 2 million residents voted on Question 7; it was decided by just over 30,000 votes.

November 10 - GBH

A bridge over the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

Maryland’s $15 billion bridge project gains key approval

The Maryland Transit Authority said the project will create over 60,000 jobs and add $23 billion to the local economy.

November 10 - WTOP News

A crowd of people cheering for an unseen performer.

‘No clear next steps’ for Chicago's permanent festival grounds

Eleventh Ward Ald. Nicole Lee has suggested Soldier Field as a possible location for the permanent event space.

November 10 - Chicago Sun Times

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.