Design Meets Diplomacy

Doug Suisman's Arc project isn't a roadmap to peace in the Middle East—it's a blueprint of what a peaceful Palestinian state would look like

by Stacy Perman

Over the past three years, while teams of politicians, lawyers, and international negotiators have attempted to hammer out a sovereign Palestinian state—and, more importantly, an eventual peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians—Los Angeles architect and urban planner Doug Suisman has quietly focused on a largely overlooked aspect of the conflict-ridden issue: What might Palestine look like after a peace accord is signed?

His answer is the Arc, a proposed urban blueprint of a Palestinian state that enables fluid movement between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip; high-speed trains whisking businessmen and tourists to the Gaza airport and eventually connecting to cities in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.

The idea to draft a formal urban plan came about in 2003, after President George W. Bush publicly endorsed a two-state solution. But for all the talk of establishing a Palestinian state, there had been no discussion of what it would look like.

AFTER THE WAR.

So Rand, a Santa Monica (Calif.)-based, independent, non-profit think tank, commenced a $2 million study, "Building a Successful Palestinian State," intended to establish a set of conditions under which a sovereign Palestine could succeed. The study addressed issues of economic development, health, civil society, and demographics, and estimated its recommendations would cost roughly $33 billion over the first 10 years.

Rand then hired Suisman to design a vision and develop a physical concept of the state based on Rand's conclusions. "This was not about how to get to peace," says Suisman, "this is about the day after." It's also an opportunity to avoid the problems evident in post-conflict nation building such as in Iraq.

Suisman approached Palestine not as a politically charged hot potato but rather as a densely populated urban space. He had been to the region just once, in 1972, but had more than a passing familiarity with congestion and urban sprawl, having designed transit systems and public spaces in Los Angeles.

BASIC MOBILITY.

In designing the Arc, the first issue he had to address was rapid population growth. According to Rand's estimates, within 15 years the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza would double to 6.6 million. The project also had to take into account the possibility of tens of thousands of returning Palestinian refugees. So housing was the first priority.

He then considered how future Palestinians could sustain growth and preserve parkland, and what kind of transit network would be needed to move people between their jobs and houses.

The system posed myriad challenges. For starters, the Rand study cited corruption and authoritarian practices on the part of the Palestinian ruling authority, not to mention the weight of the Israeli occupation. Logistically, the West Bank and Gaza are non-contiguous entities separated by Israel. While the fluid movement of people and goods between them is essential, mobility between the Palestinian territories and Israel has been hampered by Israel's security-related road closures.

MAKING CONNECTIONS.

"Previous diplomatic accords all had safe passage between Gaza and the West Bank but never made it operational," says Suisman. "We envisioned a continuous mobility. You can get on a train in Gaza and get off in 33 minutes in Hebron [West Bank]. Seamlessly, this would unite the two pieces physically, economically, socially, and psychologically."

Suisman describes the Arc as a "backbone": an infrastructure corridor, including a rapid rail line, a highway, a national aqueduct, telecommunications, and an energy and fiber optic network, that can accommodate population growth and new urban development. The curving north/west line links the West Bank and the Gaza strip, with east/west lateral branches connecting other cities and towns.

In addition to enabling movement, the Arc offers a strategy for sustainable urban growth.