Urban regeneration is a policy area that aims to address economic and social deterioration in urban areas by improving the physical fabric of the environment. Today, researchers claim that urban renewal should become a continuous and permanent activity in a healthy, durable and sustainable urbanism. In Israel, on the other hand, urban renewal relies on entrepreneurial investment, which in most cases leads to the demolition and rebuilding of houses and even entire neighborhoods. Experts estimate that about 500,000 housing units in Israel were built by the state in the first decades of its existence and need significant renewal.

In the existing policy, this means the demolition and rebuilding of tens of thousands of buildings. In light of the extreme unsustainability of the 'construction eviction' method and the need to establish a method that will be relevant for decades to come, this study seeks alternative frameworks for updating residences in Israel, focusing on the periphery and areas that are outside the demand areas. At the focus of the study is the motivation to find tools to adapt the residences to contemporary standards and characteristics and to strengthen Buildings against earthquakes.

The study will examine the feasibility of regeneration strategies tried in Israel and several European countries. We will conduct in-depth interviews with key figures from the world of urban renewal in Israel, investigate a number of test cases in which renewal was done without demolition and distribute a detailed questionnaire to the authorities for urban renewal, to city engineers and to managers of planning departments in the local authorities. The main product of the research will be a model and collection of tools for sustainable renewal, focused on social, economic and environmental goals and compatible with the Israeli planning and development systems.