Policy Studies Journal, Vol. 16, No. 2, Winter, 1987 A NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAM THAT WORKS: ISRAEL'S PROJECT RENEWAL Naomi Carmon Technion-israei Institute of Technoiogy Government-initiated neightx)rhood-targeted programs have fre- quentiy been tn the focus of pubttc attentton stnce Worid War Ii. Limiting our survey to the American experience, saiient iandmarks are Urban Renewai, Modei Cities and Block Grants for Community Deveiopment. Urban Renewat was sharpty criticized during tts ttme (Anderson, 1964; Gans, 1968). Even though thirty years iater, one can observe impressive deveiopments in what were once Urban Renewai areas, the soctai costs of evacuation, demolition, relocation, and a very long process of redevelopment are considered too high to justify its method. Modei Cities, wtth att tts good intentions, bareiy had a chance to prove its potentiai, and is generaiiy evaiuated as a non-success endeavor (Frieden and Kapian, 1975). The more recent CDBG program, which transferred decision-making power from Washtngton to iocai mayors and thetr staffs, aiso came under attack when the tatter were accused of not targettng grants to the probtems and poputattons wtth which the program was designed to deal (McFarland, 1978). The initiators of israei's Project Renewat tried to iearn some of the iessons of these nationat renewal programs. They first determined the order of priority of economic-urban goals vis-a-vis social-urban aims; the iatter prevatied, and, as a consequence, only reskJentiai areas (not commerctat or other) were setected for the Project, a dectston that excluded some central city locations. In order to avoid the major social errors of Urban Renewal, Project Renewat's baste gukJettne of operation was rehabiiitation without reiocation of residents and without demolition of buiidings. The "New Federaiism" concept reflected tn the CDBG approach was not accepted by the Israetts, who preferred Modet Ctttes tdeas, some of whtch were more tn tine with their own former approaches to proi}iems of disadvantaged populations. Hence, the other guideiines formuiated for Project Renewai were: to combine physicai and social rehabHitation, i.e., to operate simuitaneous programs in the areas of housing, physical infrastructure, education, heaith, weifare, empioyment, cuiturai and community services; to target public assistance by area need, thus making all the residents of a designated neighborhood eiigibie; and, iast but not least-an alien notion in the centralistic regime of Israel-to encourage citizen participation in planning and implementation (Carmon and Hill, 1984).