Do social protests affect housing and land-use policies? The case of the Israeli social protests of 2011 and their impact on statutory reforms

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of social protests on planning and housing policies by looking at the case of Israel’s 2011 J14 social protests and subsequent governmental policy reforms. We investigate whether there is a link between the demands of the protesters and reforms put in place in between 2011 and 2017. We also examine whether the policy reforms met the demands of protesters, and to what degree the protests influenced policy changes. We establish a strong connection between the protesters’ demands and the measures the government adopted following the protests. The policies put in place did reflect the government’s willingness to adopt the protesters’ demands, even going so far as to absorb financial losses. However, the government only entertained these demands up to a certain degree. It was not prepared to radically alter its neoliberal, pro-free market outlook in the long term, nor revert to its former role as a social welfare provider.

Keywords:

• Social movements
• non-violent campaigns
• urban protest
• Israel
• land use policies
• housing

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nir Yona Mualam

Nir Mualam is a senior lecturer of urban planning at the Faculty of Architecture & Town Planning, in the Technion: Israel Institute of Technology. He is also an experienced attorney and an urban planner. Currently he heads the Planning Policy Research Lab which studies statutory tools and policies in land use planning. His research interests include housing, urban renewal, high-rise construction, heritage, urban design, legal aspects of planning, and property law.

David Max

David Max studied history at York University in Toronto and urban planning at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. He works as an urban planner and design coordinator in a project management company in Jerusalem. His research interests include: historic preservation, social aspects of planning and urban design.