Affordable Housing Structure

A private sector initiative designed to build affordable housing for new communities and neighbourhoods across the West Bank.

In 2007, The Portland Trust, working closely with the Palestinian private sector and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), designed a programme to build affordable housing units in new communities across the West Bank. The Portland Trust analysed the demand, the affordability of new housing projects and the wider economic benefits locally, and shared the results with the PNA. In addition, methods of financing were suggested, private sector developers with land for development were identified and an international firm of architects were instructed to develop a generic masterplan for a new Palestinian town which led to the development of Rawabi. The first planned city for Palestinians, and the largest private sector undertaking in Palestinian history, Rawabi is located near Birzeit and Ramallah in the West Bank. The city has 5,000 housing units across 23 neighbourhoods, and welcomed its first residents in 2015.

The Portland Trust worked with Birzeit University (BZU) in 2014 to develop a student housing proposal that would utilise their land and generate immediate income to cover the university’s financial shortages. The aim was to position BZU as a cultural centre by providing high quality housing, activity, and service facilities for students to create a new dynamic university environment.