THE ARCHITECTS WHO LAID THE FOUNDATIONS FOR URBAN DISCOURSE

In today's fast-paced world, where urban density is rising and public space is shrinking, the value of high-quality urbanism is undeniable. City planners increasingly understand that a well-designed city is not just an assembly of streets and buildings. It is a living, breathing ecosystem that creates connections between people, promotes local economy and gives residents a sense of belonging and security. The quality of life in any city depends on its capacity to meet human needs, from enjoyable walkability to access to services, opportunities, culture and nature.

Architects Irit Solzi and Dror Gershon spearhead this human-centered planning approach, which places people at the center and designs for them full, healthy living environments. They embraced this social and environmental mission early in their careers, taking their professional roles beyond mere construction. "Over time, we realized our true passion lies in the urban renewal of Israeli communities — not just building new structures but shaping public spaces and designing vibrant city and neighborhood centers," says Solzi.

Decades later, they continue to lead a planning approach that envisions urban life as both human and sustainable. They specialize in collaborative, sustainable planning, predominantly through charrette processes — intensive planning meetings with multidisciplinary teams — where residents, private developers, local authorities and government ministries converge to devise practical and speedy solutions for urban renewal, zoning and revitalizing public space.

From Theory to Practice: People-Centered Urban Planning
Solzi and Gershon met as architecture students at the Technion. Then, as today, architecture schools prioritized training stars in the Frank Lloyd Wright tradition and taught little about urban planning. A chance encounter a year after graduation rekindled their professional relationship and resulted in the collaboration that persists to this day. "We realized we shared the same vision and complemented one another's ideas," says Gershon.

In 1987, they established Irit and Dror Urban Architects and, from 1994 to 1999, Solzi was also a senior planner with Israel's Central District Planning & Building Committee. The firm began by designing buildings — offices, residences and interiors — but for the past two decades, its focus has been on urban planning at all scales, with Solzi and Gershon developing an identity as Renaissance architects who integrate architecture, urban planning and interior design with meticulous attention to detail.

Their professional breakthrough came in 2003 when they attended a Washington, DC, conference on New Urbanism. "In Israel at that time, suburban planning was uninspired and we felt somewhat despondent about it," says Gershon. "The conference changed everything. We saw that things could be done differently."
Inspired, the two founded MIU Movment for Israeli Urbanism, dedicated to creating human, dense, accessible and quality urban environments, and led it — Solzi as chair, Gershon as CEO — for the next 14 years. "Until then, Israeli planning discourse rarely addressed true urbanism or the importance of street and pedestrian life," notes Gershon.

What made the 2003 Conference so inspiring?
"At the conference, we encountered a completely different planning approach," recounts Gershon. "It advocated mixed-use neighborhoods with diverse populations, walkability, varied housing options, local businesses and accessible public spaces. This vision aligned perfectly with our goals of renewing neighborhoods and city centers, countering suburban sprawl and offering real solutions for quality living environments in Israel."
"It motivated us to challenge the status quo in Israel," says Irit Solzi. "Within two months, we had 80 professionals eager to push this vision forward with us. We promoted the MIU, in parallel with our work in the office on projects, fully volunteering., bringing in international experts, conducting research and organizing conferences.Many of today's Israeli planning guidelines originated with MIU."

"Without doubt, we pioneered this planning approach in Israel," adds Gershon. "Thanks to MIU, real urban discourse began, other organizations were formed and many once-marginal concepts entered mainstream planning. . In 2018, we passed the torch to the young generation

What are Israel's main urban planning challenges today?
Dror Gershon: "The big challenge is the suburbs - neighborhoods that are built on the edge of the city, on vacant land and completely dependent on private cars. I call them 'sleeping warehouses'. There are no jobs in them, no place to meet or drink coffee and see everyone, the schools are often at the edge of the neighborhood. The result is that the streets are lifeless, unpleasant to walk on, and we have to take the children/youth/from place to place.
Suburban sprawl is the greatest challenge, says Gershon.

"neighborhoods that are built on the edge of the city, on vacant land and completely dependent on private cars. I call them 'sleeping warehouses'. They lack workplaces, social hubs and even somewhere to meet for coffee. Schools are often on the outskirts. The result? Lifeless, uninviting streets and constant shuttling of children and youngsters

"We address these challenges by creating 'social peripheries' within cities," says Solzi. "When only a quarter of the households own two cars and 65 percent own one, such neighborhoods exclude entire populations, both economically and socially. They burden middle-class families with high loans that undermine work-life balance. In a country like Israel, with minimal open space per capita and one of the world's highest population growth rates, unchecked sprawl threatens to erase open spaces and irreparably harm the environment. Growth should be within cities, not at their edges."

How do you address these challenges?
"First, we can learn from other cities worldwide," continues Solzi. "After that first conference in DC, we attended many others, toured many European cities metting mayors and city planners, researched public transport and explored genuine multy-use planning. We learned that urban success depends on coordinated local authority actions. Take Tel Aviv as an example. In the mid-1980s, its city center was neglected and polluted, and young families fledout. The City then launched the Heart of Tel Aviv project, which brought younger people back to the area. Since then, everyone agrees that Tel Aviv is 'the' city in Israel, and all the planning efforts behind that transformation are forgotten."

How do you bring these principles to life in your projects?
"Good urbanism guides every project we undertake," explains Dror Gershon. "We study how youngsters move around neighborhoods and cities, and try to enhance social integration, convenience and accessibility for them."

Healthier living and reduced car dependency are encouraged by safe, shaded and interesting pedestrian paths and bikeways. With public transport central to successful urban renewal, the location of each transit station and the distance between them are carefully considered. Communal spaces that bring people together and foster meaningful experiences are key to the success of urban renewal. Housing diversity that integrates old and new gives everyone a unique and dignified sense of place.

"We carefully assess existing environments to preserve traditions when planning renewal of public and private spaces," says Gershon. "This is why government ministries, planners and private developers come to us. We prefer to lead a collaborative planning process with residents and stakeholders. We use the Charrette method — a week of intensive on-site workshops with quick feedback loops that produce plans truly informed by local knowledge."

Notable projects
One of the firm's notable projects is a Master Plan for the Renewal of Kiryat Malachi town Center . "Kiryat Malakhi is in need of revitalization," says Irit Solzi. "The project was initiated by the Israel's Construction & Housing Ministry and developed with the municipality, business owners and residents. It will renew commercial areas, adapt them to current needs, and add new housing, offices, streets and pedestrian zones."

Renewal of Rishon LeZion's old downtown is another major project. It includes guidelines for reconstruction and optimizing increased building heights. In Mitzpe Ramon, Irit and Dror Urban Architects have designed a neighborhood adjacent to the commercial center, jointly designed with residents, featuring flexible housing solutions that combine live&work areas with shared courtyards.

"We also undertake smaller but impactful projects, such as urban markets in Hadera and Netanya that have transformed neglected streets into lively social hubs," says Dror Gershon. "Our renewal of Jerusalem Street in Safed, initiated by the Ministry of Tourism and Safed municipality, preserves long-time traditions while adapting it to vibrant local life and integrating tourism. We've renewed streets and pedestrian areas in neighborhoods where densification is not possible, such as in Ofakim, and revitalized small centers like Katzrin. It doesn't matter to us whether it's a large urban plan or a small local market. The core focus is always to foster connections between people and create healthy, high-quality living environments."

collaboration with Irit and Dror Urban Architects