The linear city: Linearity without a city

Similar to linear cities of the early 1960s, especially that of the British town of Hook (which was not built), two linear towns were planned in Israel during the years 1960-1962: Arad (completed) and Ir HaBesor (remained on paper). The two Israeli towns highly resembled the British town, at least regarding the basic linear scheme of traffic separation, phased town growth and planning based on walking distances. However, a more thorough examination reveals an essential difference between the British linear cities and the Israeli ones, especially concerning their technological components, which were absent from the Israeli planning. This paper examines the difference between town planning models in passing from one culture to another, while focusing on the desire to impart an 'urban character' to the new cities. The paper claims that ideological contents negating urbanism as a concept stood behind the Israeli linear town model, and that this fact surprisingly preserved the town's vitality for many years.