The role of social institutions in informal self-organizing urbanism: The case of Palestinian towns in Israel

Through an investigation of the socio-spatial development of the Palestinian town of Sakhnin in Israel, this research examines the role of social institutions in shaping informal spatial organization. It investigates how spatial ordering emerges and evolves through the adaptive capacities of social institutions in response to shifts in top-down planning policies and social transformations. Drawing on spatial analysis of the built environment alongside in-depth interviews with residents and professionals from formal planning institutions, the findings reveal the spontaneous forms of communal organization that serve to establish essential urban infrastructures, preserve intergenerational spatial knowledge and enforce social norms under informal conditions. These institutions also operate as collective resistance responses to formalized planning on marginalized communities. The article highlights the enduring interplay between individuals, communities and the state, and underscores the significance of organizational practices in self-organizing informal urbanism.