Above the Clal Building on Jaffa Road in the center of Jerusalem, a few stories up from the hustle and bustle of some of the city’s heaviest automobile and foot traffic, a handful of people sit in a lush, manicured garden, drinking tea and socializing in what feels like a different world from the urban jungle below. Inside, a small art exhibition graces the walls, while outside, visitors can wander the terraces housing an urban camping area, a meditation room, agriculture, and even beehives.

“This rooftop is a laboratory exploring different models of urban sustainability,” said Matan Israeli, founder of Muslala, a Jerusalem-based community dedicated to making the city’s urban spaces more livable. “City life feels like it is always a race, a battle for space, but if you use limited areas wisely, it can create very deep change in how we live.”

As Jerusalem and other cities around the country build at record rates, and urban areas become more congested, Israelis are increasingly looking for ways to create more green areas in public spaces.

Community gardens have been growing in popularity around Israel for decades, with a variety of communal models, but as Israelis confront the collective trauma of two years of war with Hamas in Gaza, and navigate a world where it seems like there is construction everywhere, many feel a new urgency to find places where they can easily escape to nature.

Construction in Israel has increased aggressively in recent years, driven by sky-high prices and strong demand. There were a record 183,000 buildings under active construction around the country at the end of 2024, according to Bank of Israel data. Tel Aviv has also been ranked as one of the most congested cities in the world for traffic by the TomTom Traffic Index. Municipal development projects, like the light rail network in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv’s Metro, have added to the sense of urban congestion that many feel.

In Jerusalem, Muslala is looking to teach people how to find more peace by creating green spaces in their own buildings. According to........

© The Times of Israel