Historic preservation or open space protection? Shifting civil society priorities in Western Jerusalem

Densification is often advanced in response to sprawl. Yet both sprawl and densification are often opposed by anti-growth coalitions prioritizing use and existence values over market values. In historic cities existence values focus on the historic fabric. Yet these anti-growth coalitions are neither monolithic nor immutable. Jerusalem is a focal point of these conflicts. In Jerusalem non-governmental organizations and grassroots activists concerned with open spaces protection and historical conservation waged campaigns against various development initiatives. However, we are witnessing rising internal dissention within the civil society. The organized environmental movement increasingly prioritizes protection of peripheral open space at the expense of inner open space and conservation of the historic fabric. This is a clear shift from the past when inner-city issues were at the heart of Jerusalem's planning discourse. Consequently, grassroots activists organize in order to protect the historical city and inner open spaces, challenging the organized environmental NGOs. By following the underlying storylines regarding eight urban confrontation areas we uncover the shifts and schisms within Western Jerusalem's civil society as an example of internal dynamics within anti-growth coalitions in the sprawl vs densification context. • Densification in historic cities raises new challenges for civil society. • Jerusalem civil society organizations' priorities shifted from historical conservation toward open space protection. • Grassroots activists dispute densification that threatens historic conservation and internal open spaces. • Local civil-society's schisms can be analyzed through Urban Confrontation Arenas (UCA). • Open space protection is prioritized due to power discrepencies within civil society.