Architecture by the People, for the People

Image by David Bachar

By Esther Zandberg February 17, 2011

Crossposted from Haaretz

The city of Holon invested $17 million of its own funds in the Design Museum. But for the Jesse Cohen project — a biennial program of community-based art and architecture in its most run-down neighborhood — it budgeted only NIS 800,000. That covers only half the cost of the project, which the city itself initiated.

Image by David Bachar

So, the rest of the funds will have to be raised by its partner, the Israeli Center for Digital Art, which effectively runs the project.

The continuation of this project is not guaranteed, and two years is too short an amount of time to change a situation created over 60 troubled years. But it provides a good case study of municipal priorities and social justice, especially given the huge efforts and energies Holon has invested in making itself a brand name.

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