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Last update - 09:00 21/03/2008 MIT chooses winners of contest to forge a 'Just Jerusalem' By Reuters Tags: peace process, Jerusalem  Can academia step in to resolve a raging conflict in places where diplomacy lags? That's just what a team of urban planners and sociologists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has set out to discover, using the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a laboratory for a unique experiment. On Friday MIT, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced the winners of a global contest aimed at choosing the most innovative proposals for developing Jerusalem, a city at the heart of this Middle Eastern conflict. Advertisement They chose four teams of students and professors in architecture and international affairs from among some 1,100 entries to the contest dubbed "Just Jerusalem," set in motion last year. The winning proposals include a plan to collect rainwater runoff as a potential solution to water shortages in the arid region, and ideas for creating a network of services for Palestinian areas isolated from much of the city by the security fence Israel has built in the last decade. A third project envisages construction of a joint Israeli-Palestinian orphanage in Jerusalem, while a fourth calls for making the city a part of a Mediterranean belt that would include most key cities in Arab countries in the region. The winners, men and women from the United States, Austria, Malaysia and the West Bank and Gaza, will spend three months this fall on a 50,000 euro fellowship at MIT trying to turn their ideas into a workable blueprint, said project director Diane Davis, an author and sociologist at MIT. 'Gordian knot' A nine-member jury that chose the winners included a former Israeli deputy mayor of Jerusalem and a Palestinian scholar. Jerusalem, a city holy to Christians, Muslims and Jews, is a core issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel claims the entire city as its indivisible capital, though this is not recognized internationally. Palestinians want part of the city as the capital of a state they have been promised under a U.S.-backed peace plan. Israelis and Palestinians have, largely with European aid, launched several joint projects in recent years aimed at fostering greater grass-roots cooperation, though violence often gets in the way of applying some of their ideas. Whether MIT could fare any better at resolving conflict through joint communal work remains to be seen. Davis said the university's name might give it some impact, particularly if it focuses more on issues of urban development rather than the complex politics behind the border disputes and violence that fuel the conflict. She said she thought academics could roll up their sleeves and play a greater role in trying to get both sides to discuss solutions to the daily issues of running a city whose future has proven a huge stumbling block in Western-backed efforts to win a peaceful solution. Jerusalem, she told Reuters in an interview, "is kind of the Gordian knot around which Middle East peace revolves or gets entangled. We thought why not go straight to the heart of the matter. ... Let's think about the city and what would make peoples' lives better." Davis said she hopes that if the experiment works, something similar might be tried in other cities in conflict. Related articles: Envisioning a divided Jerusalem PA downgrades renewed talks to protest settlement construction The Jerusalem paradox Bookmark to del.icio.us   Good Avraham Hunting An ex-security guard solves a problem that has baffled mathematicians for decades. A better place Some 2,400 African refugees have entered Israel via Egypt since January.   1.   Jerusalem 11:41  |  Naim S. Mahlab 21/03/08   2.   tag the pals 13:00  |  Pete 21/03/08   3.   HELLOOOOOOO! 13:34  |  Nechama 21/03/08   4.   Why is the City of David up for discussion at all....is the Vatic 14:33  |  r 21/03/08   5.   Palestine would like it`s city back from Israeli land thieves 16:30  |  POP 21/03/08   6.   Kind of like MIT physics exams: "ignoring friction, calculate.." 16:34  |  Dr. L. Brnd 21/03/08   7.   re: tag the pals 16:38  |  elvis 21/03/08   8.   dr l byrnd #5 17:30  |  ka 21/03/08   9.   Who are the at editors Reuters 17:30  |  Rustam 21/03/08   10.   These `winning proposals` are failures 18:26  |  Haldrik 21/03/08   11.   Solution: declare MIT and all its property an "embassy" of Saudis 18:31  |  *roll eyes* 21/03/08   12.   There is one solution and one solution only 18:45  |  Joe 21/03/08   13.   Yet another blueprint to wipe ... up 18:45  |  msh 21/03/08   14.   Winners are international, not students 21:00  |  Jay 21/03/08

Today Online Bradley Burston: Macho U.S. Jews, pantywaist Israel Responses: 77 Jewish group seeks to purge YouTube of anti-Semitic videos Responses: 126 PM says worried Russian weapons will reach Hezbollah Responses: 83 Israel, Germany plan int'l summit to stop Iran nuke program Responses: 72 13-year-old boy wounded in terror attack near Hebron Responses: 71 Editorial: J'lem yeshiva massacre must not lead to boycott of Israeli Arabs Responses: 71 Rosner's Domain I've known my rabbi for more than 20 years... (WTR) Poll: Mideast summit in Moscow, a good idea? There's no need for American pressure on Israel Jewish connections in the NCAA (WTR) Rosner's Mailbox: Women in the pulpit? been there, done that More Headlines 20:56 Israel, Russia finalize deal on supply of armored vehicles to PA 21:24 Haniyeh to expand gov't in bid to strengthen Hamas hold on Gaza 16:05 IAF grounds all F-16I jets over carcinogenic material in cockpit 13:56 Hamas man dies in likely 'work accident' at Gaza training camp 21:35 Ch. 2 airs satellite footage after High Court rejects Ch. 10 appeal 16:08 Christian pilgrims flock to Jerusalem's Old City for Good Friday 10:53 Queen Vashti - from disobedient wife to religious feminist role model 13:19 Officials: Israel to begin outfitting airliners with anti-missile systems within weeks 18:55 German Jewish leader raps pope over prayer for conversion of Jews 18:53 T.A. court extends remand of parents suspected of seriously abusing baby 16:34 Investing in Fayyad 09:53 13-year-old boy wounded in terror attack near Hebron Previous Editions Select Day 20 mar 19 mar 18 mar 17 mar 16 mar 14 mar 13 mar 12 mar 11 mar 10 mar 09 mar 07 mar

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