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Research Articles

Vol. 19 No. 3

Academy–Community Partnerships: Challenges and Changes in Urban Regeneration Projects

Submitted
September 16, 2015
Published
2015-09-16

Abstract

Students worked with low-income Jaffa residents on a 3-year building renewal project as part of a multidisciplinary clinic operated through the collaboration of the Faculty of Law, the Department of Geography at the Faculty of Humanities, and the Faculty of Management at Tel-Aviv University. Alternative models in the legal and planning literature inspired clinic participants to seek more equal power relations between the actors in this project, thus serving as social change agents. In light of the clinic’s primary task—teaching and training—the authors analyzed its potentials and limitations as an agent of social change, focusing on how to cultivate (a) an intimate relationship between students and residents, (b) constructive collaborations between disciplines, and (c) linkage between academic theoretical material and fieldwork. These measures are key for enabling students to develop an empowering approach toward residents and a critical, self-conscious professional identity.