THE PLACE

Hadar neighborhood was founded in 1909 as Haifa’s first Jewish neighborhood. From the start, it served as the cultural, commercial, and administrative center of the City. The civic institutions built in Hadar – the Technion, the Hebrew Reali School, the municipal theater, the public library, the courts, and city hall – turned it into a thriving urban hub that served the entire north of Israel.

Urban center

In the 1970’s, the neighborhood began to decline. Migration to the Carmel intensified, leaving Hadar to a process of aging and obsolescence. Those who could afford to move did so, and Hadar began to deteriorate. Through age and neglect, Hadar became a hotbed of crime, drug traffic, violence, and vandalism. It served as a transitional neighborhood, the only remaining residents of which were those unable to leave.

Deterioration

Over the past decade, a broad, roots-deep process of urban renewal has begun, touching on education, culture, welfare, commerce, the sense of security, and more. The intentional and mission-driven communities living in Hadar, with support from the neighborhood administration and the Shahaf Foundation, have greatly contributed to these trends and to instilling them among the entire population of Hadar, with its various ethnicities, sectors, and cultures.

Within the Hadar neighborhood, the Hadarim project has chosen to focus on the Talpiot maket area, which has yet to enjoy an encompassing municipal renovation.