Stage 2
In 1925, official in Tel Aviv began to recognize that their city was in need of a serious master plan for the future. They recognized that they could not prevent the ever-increasing population from building up the Tel Aviv residences, so they brought in a recognized British planner, Sir Patrick Geddes.
Geddes left the existing colonial street and land allocation structure of what is now southern Tel Aviv alone. He instead concentrated on expanding the city and developing functioning commercial and business sections to the north. His most important contribution to the current structure of Tel Aviv was the idea of economically functional city squares. These squares, such as Dizengoff Square, were constructed to house residential and commercial functions as well as provide a space for entertainment in the center.
The Geddes Plan also provided for a Central Business District (CBD) to the north of the existing city and a few main roads running north to the river. The picture illustrates the construction of one of the most important roads in Tel Aviv today: King George Street.
One controversial measure of the Geddes Plan was the enforcement of one standard form of architecture. This style, called "Bauhaus" is very apparent in many middle-eastern cities. The buildings are mostly multi-level, flat-roofed and boxy, with small slit windows. Today, many observers question the aesthetics of such a system and are promoting more classic forms of architecture.
The Geddes Plan went into effect after its conception in 1925, but lost
steam in the 1930's with world-wide economic recessions threatening growth.
From the mid-1930's until the end of World War II, no new planning guildelines
were laid out in Tel Aviv. Hence, much of the land allocation from this
time period represents the same system of haphazard land purchasing that
existed before the Geddes Plan.