Jerusalem has an extraordinarily long and varied history, but the urban fabric of the old city is threatened by overcrowding, lack of maintenance and poor services.

The Old City of Jerusalem Revitalization Programme aims to rehabilitate the city, to preserve its heritage and to create a better quality of life for its inhabitants.

It is a comprehensive project aimed at every aspect of human life, with several components, including restoration, training, education and raising public awareness.

All these components are tied together to achieve an integrated and enduring revitalization.

The body of completed works to date includes over 160 projects, all undertaken in close collaboration with local institutions, international organizations and funding agencies.

The urban fabric has suffered from neglect, inappropriate use and inadequate services, with many people living in dilapidated buildings in unsanitary conditions.

To address these issues the Welfare Association – a Geneva-based non-governmental organization established in 1983 to support Palestinians in all development areas – set up a technical office in Jerusalem in 1995.

The office is composed of professionals from different fields: architecture, engineering, planning, economics and history. Its main aim is to implement a comprehensive programme for the rehabilitation of the old city, comprising a number of complementary components: a revitalization plan; emergency restoration; total restoration; training in conservation; a community outreach programme; and an information centre.

The Old City Revitalization Plan forms the basis of the programme’s work.

A broad survey was carried out to identify the buildings most in danger and make proposals for their rehabilitation.