Location and site

Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 and developed under the British Mandate (1920-1948). The White City was constructed from the early 1930s till 1948, based on the urban plan by Sir Patrick Geddes, reflecting modern organic planning principles. The buildings were designed by architects who were trained in Europe where they practiced their profession before emigrating to Palestine. They created an outstanding architectural ensemble of the modern movement in a new cultural context.

Urban morphology

The property in series is made up of three distinct areas: the White City at the centre of the metropolis; Lev Hair and Rothschild Avenue; the Bialik district. The whole is surrounded by a common buffer zone.

The White City of Tel Aviv may be considered as an outstanding and large-scale example of the new designs of urbanism in the first part of the XXth century. The architecture is a synthesis of the main trends of the Modern Movement, which was developed in Europe. The While City is also an exceptional example of the application of these trends, taking into account the cultural traditions and the local climatic conditions.

The buildings of Tel Aviv are enriched by the local traditions; the architecture was adapted to the specific climatic conditions of the places, conferring a specific trait to the buildings and the ensemble.

Registration criteria

Criterion (ii): The White City of Tel Aviv is the synthesis of an outstanding value of the various trends of the Modern Movement in matter of architecture and urban planning at the beginning of the XXth century. These influences were adapted to the cultural and climatic conditions of the place, and integrated in the local traditions.

Criterion (iv): The White City of Tel-Aviv is an outstanding example of urban planning and architecture of the new cities of the beginning of the XXth century, adapted to the requirements of a particular cultural and geographic context.

Historical reference

• The city of Tel Aviv was founded 1909, to the north of the fortified port of Jaffa, on the hills adjacent to eastern shores of the Mediterranean. Under the British mandate in Palestine (1917-1948), it became a booming urban centre, the largest economic and urban centre of Israel.
• The city of Tel Aviv has grown rapidly under the British mandate in Palestine. The White City, which is its central part, was built according to the urban plan of Sir Patrick Geddes (1925-27), one of the major theorists of the beginning of the modern age. Tel Aviv is his only large-scale urban achievement; it is not a “garden city”, but an urban entity of physical, economic, social and human needs, based on an environmental approach.

Source : https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1096/