Urban parks are vital recreational and scenic assets that contribute to public health, well-being and sense of community. IUED works to protect free public access to town parks and presses for development of neighborhood parks on land designated as public open spaces.

 

Green refuges

 

In densely populated central Israel, an individual has access to only 9.5 square meters of open space at the metropolitan level; the international standard for city-wide recreational space is 22.5 square meters. Read more about IUED's recommendations for open spaces allocation.

 

Parks for the people

 

Equally worrying are local authorities who adopt a narrow vision that sees town parks as the exclusive property of local tax-payers. This trend was sparked by the 2001 decision of the City of Ra'anana to fence in its highly popular town park and to begin charging entrance fees on weekends and holidays to non-residents.

 

Effectively, Ra'anana's policy limits access on weekends and holidays to citizens from other towns, neighboring Arab villages and from low-income neighborhoods adjacent to the park that come under the jurisdiction of other municipalities.

 

IUED's legal intervention reached the Supreme Court and resulted in a new policy that obliges local authorities to seek special permission if they want to charge for entry to town parks.

 

In the meantime, IUED drafted and successfully brought into law in February 2007 an amendment to the Municipal Orders that prohibits local authorities from charging admission fees to urban parks.

 

In Ra'anana's case, the Municipal Order will come into force on July 24, 2007.

 

 

 

 

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