Dynamic boundaries: a forensic mapping exercise

Surprisingly, choosing a site for this project was relatively easy. This literal no-man's land in the heart of the city begs for redevelopment that bridges the gap between East and West Jerusalem. The area around my site and Jerusalem as a whole is a truly dynamic urban space. Its maps and the rhetoric in identifying the boundaries within them fluctuated significantly in the last 2,000 years (let alone the last 60 years) and will no doubt continue to do so. The following maps and supporting text in this post delve into a very small sampling of the last 150 years of maps related to Jerusalem, and give me better understanding of the past and current boundaries of the site and determine how they impact the project.

With better historical background, the question that arises is, what should be done on my site with these artificial realities? I would make the case for their acknowledgment, yet subtle dissolution. Entering from Nablus Road or Shmuel Ha'Navi, a person should be taken by surprise. They will wonder, what is this place I have entered? Who does it belong to? The answer is of course: everyone.

Existing site plan with project boundaries in a dash-dot line

At the lower right of the above map are the Olive Tree and Grand Court hotels. A yeshiva sits at the lower left with two- to four-story homes directly north. East of the site are one-story, dilapidated homes and the four-story Comite International Geneva (International Committee of the Red Cross). The site has a total slope of 40 feet from the northeast to the southwest.

(Pieced together using the Jerusalem municipality GIS website and
elevation points I took personally on-site using a Kestrel 4000 Pocket Weather Tracker)

The next five partial maps of Jerusalem highlight the common features in all maps I found from 1850 to today, the Sheikh Jarrah mosque (red crescent), Nablus Road (Derech Shechem: Hebrew) terminating in Damascus Gate (Bab Al-Amud: Arabic), and St. George Road. My site is blocked out in the upper left corner.

1865 Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem by Wilson

A pond, trees, and ruins are located on the site. An unpaved street running diagonally northwest-southeast provides the first clues for boundaries that influenced the 1949 Armistice Line that have since disappeared. A critical turning point to American and European zionist involvement in Ottoman-ruled Palestine, this map was initiated for philanthropic purposes (particularly in addressing the dearth of potable water) and is part of a greater 70-page document spearheaded by the British that led to the creation of the Palestine Exploration Fund.

(http://www.jnul.huji.ac.il/dl/maps/jer/html/jer201.htm accessed 2/25/09)

1926 Jerusalem by Survey of Palestine

Expansion outside of the Old City in the 40 years between maps is significant. Development around the mosque and immediately east of the project site can be seen. The pond still exists and caves on the west portion are clearly demarcated. The curving street on the southeast side appears for the first time.

(American Geographical Library, Golda Meir Library, UWM)

1945 Jerusalem by Survey of Palestine

Houses are shown at the northwest and southwest of the site. The solid-stone house at the southwest end still exists today and has been expanded with lesser materials such as stucco and corrugated metal roofing.

(American Geographical Library, Golda Meir Library, UWM)

1981 Yerushalayim by Survey of Israel

This less detailed map was made on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism, but it was the best one I could find. It is interesting because it clearly illustrates Jerusalem's geopolitical reality as a newly "Judaized" city. For example, Bab Al-Amud is renamed Herod's Gate literally reclaiming the Jew's biblical territory . It is not uncommon that a dominant party whether it is ethno-religious or otherwise will rename streets in order to reinforce its urban identity.

(American Geographical Library, Golda Meir Library, UWM)

2009 Untitled by Google Maps

Since the first satellite image of the earth was introduced to the general public in the 1970s, humans gained the knowledge that our total ecosystem is a finite resource. Merely thirty years later, the click of a mouse leads to satellite maps of cities halfway across the world. This 2009 map demonstrates the role corporations such as Google play in territorial disputes.

(www.maps.google.com accessed 2/25/09)