The book addresses critically the question: "What is the societal impact of urban and regional planning?." It begins with a theoretical discussion and then analyses, through a series of case studies, the intentions, contents, struggles and consequences of urban and regional planning. It shows that plans and policies often defy the commonly perceived role of advancing equality, justice, development and amenity, by causing social problems, marginalisation and inequalities. The book looks at planning from a critical distance, without a priori belief in its necessity or usefulness. The 12 chapters, written by renowned international scholars, demonstrate the multiplicity of social and political struggles over the contested terrain of spatial policies. The book focuses on four key areas where the impact of planning is explored: the community power, gender relations, ethnic tensions, and social polarisation, while comparing three societies: Australia, Israel and England.

Audience: This volume is mainly intended for faculty and students of academia, but also for urban professionals and policy-makers. The book is relevant to fields such as urban and regional planning, geography, political science, urban studies, urban sociology, urban anthropology, ethnic and gender relations.

This book explores the evolution of ethnic spaces and interactions within a modern "nation-state," focusing on the territorial, economic, cultural, and political frontiers and peripheries. It examines the Israeli case by focusing on the country's main ethnic and national cleavages and margins.

"The idea for editing this book originated during an international conference titled ""Regional Development: The Challenge of the Frontier,"" held in December 1993 at the Dead Sea and which was organized by the Negev Center for Regional Development at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. In this conference we noticed that little has been said about the impact of Israel's complex mosaic of ethnic groups on the shaping of the country's social and spatial frontiers. We have therefore endeavored to bring together a number of perspectives on the evolution of ethnic frontiers in Israel and the role they play in shaping the cultural landscape of this country. Yet we later realized that ""frontier"" is too limited a term, and that it may through various processes have turned into a mosaic of spatial, social, economic, and political peripheries. More specifically we attempted to present the process of frontier development as perceived by Israel's ethnic and national minorities. We therefore invited contributions from various other Israeli experts on these issues: geographers, sociologists, anthropologists, and political scientists, which have now become the main body of chapters in this book. We trust that they are representative of the main dimensions of the subject."

Ethnocracy Land and Identity Politics in Israel/Palestine Oren Yiftachel "An important book that adds the often neglected angle of political geography to the growing body of critical research on the Israeli state and society, and on the Jewish-Arab conflict."--Baruch Kimmerling, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem "A thoughtful, humane, and arresting book. . . . It ranges widely, contributing to a number of discussions in political geography, political sociology, and planning."--"Planning Theory" For Oren Yiftachel, the notion of ethnocracy suggests a political regime that facilitates expansion and control by a dominant ethnicity in contested lands. It is neither democratic nor authoritarian, with rights and capabilities depending primarily on ethnic origin and geographic location. In "Ethnocracy: Land and Identity Politics in Israel/Palestine," he presents a new critical theory and comparative framework to account for the political geography of ethnocratic societies. According to Yiftachel, the primary manifestation of ethnocracy in Israel/Palestine has been a concerted strategy by the state of "Judaization." Yiftachel's book argues that ethnic relations--both between Jews and Palestinians, and among ethno-classes within each nation--have been shaped by the diverse aspects of the Judaization project and by resistance to that dynamic. Special place is devoted to the analysis of ethnically mixed cities and to the impact of Jewish immigration and settlement on collective identities. Tracing the dynamics of territorial and ethnic conflicts between Jews and Palestinians, Yiftachel examines the consequences of settlement, land, development, and planning policies. He assesses Israel's recent partial liberalization and the emergence of what he deems a "creeping apartheid" whereby increasingly impregnable ethnic, geographic, and economic barriers develop between groups vying for recognition, power, and resources. The book ends with an exploration of future scenarios, including the introduction of new agendas, such as binationalism and multiculturalism. Oren Yiftachel is Professor of Geography and Urban Studies at Ben-Gurion University in Israel. 2006 368 pages 6 1/8 x 9 1/4 35 maps ISBN 978-0-8122-3927-0 Cloth $69.95s 45.50 World Rights Political Science Short copy: "An important book which adds the often neglected angle of political geography to the growing body of critical research on the Israeli state and society, and on the Jewish-Arab conflict."--Baruch Kimmerling, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The book addresses critically the question: "What is the societal impact of urban and regional planning?." It begins with a theoretical discussion and then analyses, through a series of case studies, the intentions, contents, struggles and consequences of urban and regional planning. It shows that plans and policies often defy the commonly perceived role of advancing equality, justice, development and amenity, by causing social problems, marginalisation and inequalities. The book differs from most texts in the field by looking at planning from a critical distance, without a priori belief in its necessity or usefulness. The 12 chapters, written by renowned international scholars, demonstrate the multiplicity of social and political struggles over the contested terrain of spatial policies. The book focuses on four key areas where the impact of planning is explored: the community power, gender relations, ethnic tensions, and social polarisation, while comparing three societies: Australia, Israel and England. Audience: This volume is mainly intended for faculty and students of academia, but also for urban professionals and policy-makers. The book is relevant to fields such as urban and regional planning, geography, political science, urban studies, urban sociology, urban anthropology, ethnic and gender relations.

Emptied Lands investigates the protracted legal, planning, and territorial conflict between the settler Israeli state and indigenous Bedouin citizens over traditional lands in southern Israel/Palestine. The authors place this dispute in historical, legal, geographical, and international-comparative perspectives, providing the first legal geographic analysis of the "dead Negev doctrine" used by Israel to dispossess and forcefully displace Bedouin inhabitants in order to Judaize the region. The authors reveal that through manipulative use of Ottoman, British and Israeli laws, the state has constructed its own version ofterra nullius. Yet, the indigenous property and settlement system still functions, creating an ongoing resistance to the Jewish state.Emptied Lands critically examines several key land claims, court rulings, planning policies, and development strategies, offering alternative local, regional, and international routes for justice.

Hundreds of Palestinian villages were left empty across Israel when their residents became refugees after the 1948 war, their lands and property confiscated. Most of the villages were razed by the new State of Israel, but in dozens of others, communities of Jews were settled-many refugees in their own right. The state embarked on a systematic effort of renaming and remaking the landscape, and the Arab presence was all but erased from official maps and histories. Israelis are familiar with the ruins, terraces, and orchards that mark these sites today-almost half are located within tourist areas or national parks-but public descriptions rarely acknowledge that Arab communities existed there within living memory or describe how they came to be depopulated. Using official archives, kibbutz publications, and visits to the former village sites, Noga Kadman has reconstructed this history of erasure for all 418 depopulated villages.

Hundreds of Palestinian villages were left empty across Israel when their residents became refugees after the 1948 war, their lands and property confiscated. Most of the villages were razed by the new State of Israel, but in dozens of others, communities of Jews were settled—many refugees in their own right. The state embarked on a systematic effort of renaming and remaking the landscape, and the Arab presence was all but erased from official maps and histories. Israelis are familiar with the ruins, terraces, and orchards that mark these sites today—almost half are located within tourist areas or national parks—but public descriptions rarely acknowledge that Arab communities existed there within living memory or describe how they came to be depopulated. Using official archives, kibbutz publications, and visits to the former village sites, Noga Kadman has reconstructed this history of erasure for all 418 depopulated villages.