Takhayali • Arabic, verb, feminine, means 'imagine' 

The Takhayali project was executed as part of the multisite comparative research project “Urbanization, Gender, and the Global South: a transformative knowledge network” (GenUrb), 2017–2024, which was conducted in seven neighborhoods in middle- and low-income countries: Cairo (Egypt), Ibadan (Nigeria), Cochabamba (Bolivia), Georgetown (Guyana), Mumbai (India), Shanghai (China), and Ramallah (Palestine). It was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of the Government of Canada (SSHRC) and contributions by the implementing partners. 

The GenUrb project aimed to enhance understanding of the transformations in the relationship between poverty and inequality, with a focus on how gender relations and women’s rights in the city are being transformed. The specific objectives of the partnership included conducting and disseminating research that engaged with: (i) the everyday lives of grassroots urban women to explore how gendered inequality is experienced through the economic, social and environmental dimensions of insecurity; and (ii) urban policy makers and the application of SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

The central theme for the work of the Takhayali team was gendered infrastructural violence. Investigations utilized the space of the research to collectivize questions about potential and desired spatial refiguration and reconfiguration through a two-legged approach: (1) Small-scale immediate activities (themed workshops and interventions), and (2) Futuristic explorations of ideas and production of artifacts to provoke public debate on what constitutes “public interest” in terms of regulations in areas administered by the Palestinian Authority.

In 2018, the Takhayali research set off with a training workshop and a public roundtable titled “Women are city makers: how to centralize their visions and strengthen their roles” at Khalil alSakakini Cultural Center (speakers included researchers, activists, NGO workers, and a representative from Ramallah Municipality). This activity was followed by in-depth ethnographic interviews with 25 women in Ein Qiniya and themed workshops (first aid, baking, short film screenings and discussion on women cooperatives) over the period of a year.

In the following year, in parallel with analyzing the data collected through the aforementioned interviews and carrying-out desk research, the team proceeded through the interactive exercise of research by design, where we conducted one-on-one imagination sessions with 20 women in Ein Qiniya (click here for more). Later, to expand our understanding of the policies and practices concerned with the implementation of SDG 5 and SDG 11, we conducted extensive interviews with twelve policy shapers (public servants at ministerial and municipal levels, academics, NGO workers, journalists) and had several consultation meetings (including with the Joint Coordination Committee, Lands Authority, alMarsad Social and Economic Policies Monitor).

The main outcomes of the project included the collaborative production of 20 Imaginary Masterplans for Ein Qiniya that were accompanied by personalized watercolor illustrations of the interlocutors; the “Takhayal/i alWadi” short film; two journalistic articles; short and long analytical texts; and, acquiring third party resources and establishing a Resources Room (space for supporting children in learning) at Ein Qiniya’s only school after two interlocutors envisioned it in their imaginary masterplans of their village.

The interconnectedness of Ramallah and Ein Qiniya

Initially, the Palestine team selected the city of Ramallah as the main site of investigation. Early in the process of implementation, we concluded that Ramallah’s rapid expansion patterns towards the north-west will eventually integrate the liminal village of Ein Qiniya into it. Combined with other factors, namely, the easier access to a social sample, the fact that the ecosystem (particularly the issue of water) and land ownership are interconnected, the presence of a collective (Sakiya) the work of which intersects with the core ideas of the research project, and since the project aspired to impact the future patterns of development not solely report on the present; therefore, we decided to incorporate Ein Qiniya as a main site of our work.

Ein Qiniya is a village of about 850 inhabitants (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2025). Most of its lands are owned by Ramallites. In Ramallah (part of the “Jerusalem-North district” until 1948), vulture capitalism is on full display, not the least through opulent real estate developments. In the de facto administrative capital of the autocratic PA, speculation and money laundering through real estate is trampling the threatened ecological systems and social needs and relations, and it is engendering vulnerability to both, threats by the colonialists as well as those related to climate change.

Noteworthy, the illegal Dolev Israeli colony occupies over one thousand square kilometers of lands confiscated from Ein Qiniya’s, alJaniya’s, and Deir Ibzi’s rich cascading cultural landscapes in the 1970s. It is positioned strategically to extend the frontier drawn by the Talmon block of colonies, which cuts off the cities of Ramallah and Beitunya from their rural extensions. The Dolev watchtowers over Ein Qiniya are meters away from the latter’s west-most house. Ein Qiniya’s core is classified as Area B and its agricultural fields as Area C i.e. under full Israeli control, the PA plays a very negligible role. It is regularly raided by the Israeli army and colonists that vandalize properties, terrorize residents, and try to confiscate more of the monuments and cultural landscapes.

Further team members: (during parts of the project)

Wala’ L’malah, Ala’ Fayyaleh, Amal Juma

Contributors: 

Basel Nasr, Sahar Qawasmi, Yara Bamieh, Basil Farraj, and 20 women residents of Ein Qiniya named in the masterplans gallery on this site.

In collaboration with: 

alMasna’, collaborative animation studio 

Sakiya, progressive academy for art, agriculture, science 

Nasr L’malah, Ein Qiniya Village Council Member

Many friends and peers informed, helped better-orient and supported the implementation of Takhayali, to whom we are indebted and extend our deep gratitude!

The Takhayali project was financed through a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of the Government of Canada, Sakiya co-shouldered some items, and about a third of the costs were borne by the implementing partner of the GenUrb project in Palestine, UR°bana.