ABSTRACT
Signals of inclusion are subtle, temporal representations of material and non-material elements that mark the ability of different social groups to sustain multiplicity in space and time. A lot of urban research focuses heavily on the spatial dimension of inclusion but under-emphasizes the role of time. This chapter focuses on the idea of signals of inclusion through the prism of time-space, addressing the following questions: How does temporal-spatial analysis assist in tracing the genealogy of signals related to inclusion in a particular place? Are signals of inclusion and their varied manifestations diachronic or synchronic? Are they temporary, and if so, what forces influence their appearance and disappearance? These questions are explored through a site located at the intersection between Tel Aviv and Jaffa, an area adjacent to the beach promenade, at the interface between several neighborhoods. It is an area where Arabs and Jews lived next to one another before 1948. In 1948, it became a war zone and was later annexed to the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality in the 1950s. The area has been subject to significant architectural and planning development projects ever since. In short, the site: 1) has changed dramatically over the last century, with different planning approaches (some contested) re-shaping its spatiality; 2) has a multilayered character, bringing together different social groups: Israelis, Arabs, foreign workers, tourists, Muslims, Christians, and Jews (secular and Orthodox), forming a complex social and ethnic mosaic; and 3) hosts various activities, and is marked by several different, conflicting historical narratives manifested by monuments, place names, and buildings.
