Browsing by Author "AbuHafeetha, Maha"

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    The Impacts of Urbanization on Agricultural Sustainability in Palestine after the Construction of the Separation Wall: The Case of the City of Tulkarem
    (2014-09-15) AbuHafeetha, Maha; Keough, Noel
    Agricultural land use in the urban environment is a hot topic in global urban sustainable development. However, most cities are losing agricultural areas to urbanization. Cities in Palestine and especially the city of Tulkarem have experienced rapid urbanization that is responsible for an increased demand for land. At the same time, city expansion is restricted due to the political situation and existence of the Separation Wall along the city’s west side. The squeeze of urban land results in loss of arable land for agriculture, degradation of ecosystems, and social changes within urban populations. A study to document the impacts of urbanization on agricultural land use with the existence of the Separation Wall and unstable political conditions is needed, and that was the purpose of this research. The study presented views of the urban planners, decision makers and farmers. Quantitative and qualitative case study methods were employed where interviews were conducted with the study participants. At the same time, land use maps for the city of Tulkarem before and after creation of the Separation Wall were compared using the GIS software package. The GIS analysis and maps were compatible with the information shared by the interview participants concluding that the study area has been subjected to land use change, especially urban expansion, which have caused serious threats to available agricultural land. Political instability, poor economic situation of the farmers, lack of support and guidance, land fragmentation and lack of laws and bylaws and interest in protecting agricultural lands were found to be the main factors that lead to agricultural land loss for urban uses in the city of Tulkarem. Further, the study found from the interviews that most of the land owners who sell for urban uses are expatriates, who live outside the country, and cannot come back or stay in Palestine due to the political and economical situation in Palestine. The impact of political factors, such as the Separation Wall and Oslo division of land to area A, B, and C, on this change in the Tulkarem area was clear. The political factors have direct and indirect impacts on Palestinian life conditions. The direct impact includes conversion of the land into Israeli structures, namely Separation Wall and C area as well as alienation of, or inaccessibility to, part or all of land, crops, water resources, and business assets, which caused wealth; income-generating and market access losses. The indirect impact is on the existing and future urban expansion, which will lead to losing more of the agricultural lands as there is no Palestinian control on the urban expansion directions and process.