Ashdod Coast Line

In 2009, the Municipality of Ashdod held an architectural competition for the development of a promenade along the city’s coastline.
While other groups presented promenade designs, as requested by the city, Moria Architects won the competition, in collaboration with P & M Palterre-Madri Architects (Florence, Italy) and Mr. Yishai Shechter Strategic Consultant (Tel Aviv), with a comprehensive urban plan for the coastal area.

In the process of mapping the coastal strip, we demarcated a waterfront territory of circa 6 km from the Ashdod port to the south of the city’s municipal area, with varying widths ranging from 100 m to 500 m from the waterfront to the city’s built fabric. Mostly continuous, with a beautiful coastline while and at the same time characterized by desolation, especially given Ashdod’s rapid development and growth in the last decade.

Looking at the city’s history, an entrenched development pattern emerged. On the one hand, reliance on the sea as a source of livelihood; and on the other hand, a total disconnect between the city and the sea. How can Ashdod engage its key asset – the sea? How can we foster a vibrant seafront culture? Planning the coastal strip is not about choosing between one promenade design or another but about forging new relationships with the beach and the sea for residents and tourists, alike.

The proposal includes a series of strategic operations aimed at interconnecting the city – and the beach – to strengthen Ashdod’s identity as a ‘seaside city’.

The program was developed over a three-year period, in collaboration between a wide planning team, municipal departments and the city administration, accompanied by a working and steering committee that met regularly. The plan was approved in April 2016 by the local committee as a comprehensive policy plan for the development of the coastal area.

Temporary and immediate projects, play a significant role in the development of waterfront projects, as a means of generating change, encouraging use and branding at the local and national levels including events, marketing ventures, educational, physical improvements among others.

Projects currently under development include the renewal of Lido beach, which includes an urban promenade, beach promenade and coastal pocket parks, the construction of a new market that will serve as an urban icon and other projects.

Along the Ashdod coast, there is a clear, morphological and physical distinction between the northern and southern coasts. The plan includes a strategy for employing this distinction to create a variety of spaces, linked by an urban “sea road” and a beach promenade running from north to south.

The North Beach: An Urban Beach
Leisure, sports, recreation, sports; A meeting place; A multi-generational space;

The Sea Boundary: City to Sea Views
Sea Square; The Civil Civic Center and the Sea Cistern of the City;
Southern coast: natural beach

Ecological coastal park; A nature preserve combined with archeology; Seaside Eco-Tourism

A landscape access road that serves the seaside sites; Establishes access and orientation along the coastal and marine areas

The plan was formulated into a policy book and guidelines, including implementation measures in six main areas:
Accessibility and Mobility – changes in the road system, public transport, light traffic and accessibility from city to sea.

Open spaces – defining a variety of spaces and planning guidelines for each, recommendations for fauna, plants and the marine environment,and more.

Construction and development – recommendations for statutory changes, adaptive reuse of existing buildings, principles of design and construction in the marine environment, while creating differentiation between the northern and southern coasts. Waterfront construction – recommendations for an urban pool, piers, a competitive surf beach and a feasibility study for a fishing anchorage, with the aim of strengthening the connection with the sea, marine sports activities and increasing the number of days of open beaches. Programs – deployment of new uses on the sea front, guidelines for the development of the beaches and the creation of various types of hotel accommodations to attract a variety of visitors and tourists in the city. Management and maintenance – enabling sustainability in the coastal and marine environment.