The Garden City in Zionist Planning

Jesse Roseman

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the accession of the British Mandate, plans for Palestine increasingly reflected the ideals associated with Ebenezer Howard's influential concept of the "Garden City." This was partially because visiting British planners who would be intimately involved in early plan developments, such as Patrick Geddes, had been influenced by these ideals. Also, early Zionist planners were trained in leading European architecture schools, further spreading the concept's influence. The utility of the Garden City in accomplishing the central Zionist goal of settling Jewish people in the land of Israel through agricultural and building pursuits, however, is presented as the main reason for the concept's thorough application in planning efforts. Althought the direct application of a theory developed in Europe ultimately proved limited in the Middle Eastern context, its impact on the region's people, landscape, and urban form remains as a guide for future development.

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