For several years lab members have been intrigued by a strong wave of urban protests that emerged around the world (Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, etc). The Lab’s new publication on the subject summarizes a two-year project designed to investigate whether social movements and urban protests make a difference. David Max, of the planning policy lab, notes: “As someone coming from outside Israel the process of writing this paper really opened my eyes on a few things and gave me a deeper understanding of the country’s history and why it is the way it is today. First, it gave me an understanding of the historical roots of the government’s economic philosophy – specifically, how the early days’ socialist roots that saw the government take responsibility for welfare and housing has given way to a neoliberal agenda where the markets are the guiding principle and the government retreats from the role of welfare provider. It certainly makes it easier to understand now during the pandemic why the government has done so little to provide an economic safety net for hundreds of thousands of unemployed people as compared to my home country and many others.
I was impressed by reading about how the protests started and the solidarity shown by Israeli society in rising up to protest a common problem. However I was disappointed to find out by looking at the bigger picture over the course of the research how the protests lost steam or the protesters’ demands were coopted by the government. It made me see that the protests perhaps did not go far enough and the Israeli public allowed itself to be soothed by insincere promises from the government to change things. In examining the various measures the government threw into place and seeing them expire after several years only to be replaced by another half-baked measure – it makes me realize they really haven’t gotten to the root of the problem and are just throwing any band-aid solution they can at it. A program to allow young couples to attain their first house by means of a lottery system is not a solution that can be taken seriously. I realized just how deeply-held the government’s neoliberal philosophy is; unwilling to alter the fundamental structure of the housing market or the pursuit of profit to make a real change for the benefit of their citizens. As someone who hopes in the future to buy a home here in Israel it was disheartening to realize that people my age stand no real chance of becoming homeowners without inheritance or parental help”.
To read more about our findings see here: https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2020.1853073
The preprint version of this publication was masterfully illustrated by Leo Atelman. We asked Leo to think about protests and how they are “translated” into regulations, policies, and reforms. We believe the cover photo encapsulates this process. We will be happy to hear your thoughts about it ! (Photo Credit: Leo Atelman for the Planning Policy Lab, Technion).
