When first creating their master-zoning plan, the Palestinian villagers of Susiya envisioned a sustainable future on the land they own in the West Bank's Area C. Community & conservation are key, so they when their plan was denied for spurious reasons, they appealed. Now, the villagers ask your help to launch a design competition, inviting architects to help them transform Susiya's master plan into drawings and a 3D model of their future eco-village in the barren desert of the South Hebron Hills
In the 62% of the West Bank considered Area C, illegal Israeli settlements continue to expand onto private Palestinian land while the Israeli Civil Administration systematically denies Palestinian communities' master plans, instead issuing demolition orders. A WashPost article called Susiya "a ramshackle village with squalid tents" - but that's not their choice. They need a way to bring forward their land use strategies, that builds understanding, and respect for indigenous rights.
With participation by all members of the village, a two-tiered design competition is being guided by distinguished Palestinian architects. Susiya's villagers will select the winning design, which will be crafted into a 3D model. This model, along with drawings by the four runners-up, will tour universities worldwide, providing a visual of the collective dreams of the indigenous community. With your help, Susiya's eco-design will include homes, school, and space for farm animals and crops.
Oxford Professor Nabil Hamdi said, 'To do something big - to think globally and act globally - one starts with something small and one starts where it counts.' This design competition will harness the world's creativity to help the villagers of Susiya share their vision for the future. Their creativity will advance the growing advocacy movement to press elected officials to recognize Susiya's planning rights, and the planning rights of all Palestinian villages in the West Bank's Area C.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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