Jerusalem cannot prosper and become a just, peaceful and sustainable city until the Arab, Israeli, Palestinian conflict is resolved; which cannot happen until we design two completely separate countries, with no internal enclaves and with both countries bordering Jerusalem; a design problem which I solved; it’s the basis for my Just Jerusalem:
Sea level canals from Mediterranean Sea and Gulf of Aqaba flood the Dead Sea Depression (except for Galilee, Jericho and Mas’ada, protected by dams) to form an international waterway (180x10 miles):
The Gulf of Peace
Economic activity of desert to waterfront development defuses hatreds. My Solar Water Power plant provides fresh water and power with zero fuel for irrigation of plants, animals, humans and industry. Jerusalem extends its borders down to the Gulf of Peace so the entire World has unfettered access by sea. Divide the West Bank along its ridge line – lands draining west cede to Israel; lands draining east, north of Jerusalem, to Palestine; south to Jordan; all three countries border Sacred Jerusalem; all with equal access.
Israel cedes all land north of Haifa Canal to Palestine in exchange for Gaza Strip, west West Bank, Jerusalem except sacred sites and the Sinai Peninsula to lands that drain to Gulf of Suez, room to grow forever. Palestine inhabits the best land to jump-start its economy; Israel obtains the poorest land, which it has proven capable of developing.
Syria and Jordan cede land to Palestine to equalize its land area with Israel; Syria is returned Golan Heights, annexes part of Syrian Desert, exchanges land south and north with Lebanon so each controls an entire ecosystem; both lose Israel as neighbor. Jordan extends to the Red Sea to completely separate Saudi Arabia from Israel.
The City of Jerusalem is developed along both the east and west banks of the Gulf of Peace as a World class city competing with London, New York or Tokyo; its historic Earth-center location providing the natural marketplace for the World’s goods and services. A spectacular gently sloping 3000ft deep valley with a bed of water, it will stretch the length of the Gulf of Peace attaining the size of Los Angeles by 2050.
The city is divided into four separate governmental segments; Israel, Palestine, Jordan and the Port Authority of Jerusalem which will control the entire port, bridges, dams and canals and the Sacred ancient city; all bridges are designed as linear cities; Jericho and a matching Dead Sea tourist area are protected by circular linear cities acting as dams, as is archaeological preserves Mas’ada and Galilee.
The southeast portion of the city has a spectacular double canyon; the United Nations is invited to establish their headquarters on the central tongue and circle surrounding the canyons.
Since the Just Jerusalem competition Jerome Morley Larson has continued his mid east study and authored "ENOUGH ALREADY" which can now be viewed in the Vision Resources section of this page.
