In recent decades a rich literature has emerged on grey and informal space. We are dealing here with roads as spatial entities within grey space, an issue that has eluded scholarly discussion. Our focus is on HW 31, a central artery in the northern Negev, as a social-cultural space. Jewish residents live beyond its edges, but along the road itself there are dozens of unrecognized Bedouin settlements with about 70,000 residents. This space, within metropolitan Beersheba, meets the definition of grey space. Our two propositions are: (1) Discriminatory spatial policy that excludes an indigenous minority group may a generate pressure on the planning establishment to produce a grey planning mechanism from 'above'; (2) This mechanism may serve the minority group by encouraging its steadfast position on land, thus perpetuating greying of space from 'below'. Since Bedouin space is viewed as illegal from above, and produces civil insurgence from below, there emerged the need for mid-level planning assisted by grey mediation to legitimate the present situation for both the Bedouin and the state. Displacement of Bedouin from the highway's margins perpetuates and even intensifies grey space. Spatial separation produced by upgrading the road furthers Bedouin segregation from Jewish space and supports Bedouin desire for full control of their space, weakening state power in this space.

A backyard is an actual place in a city, located in the hidden part of the building's plot, away from the eyes of passersby. This article presents a study evaluating the backyards of Tel-Aviv, an area in the urban landscape that despite its scope remains mostly hidden (backyards occupy over 25% of the average urban block). The article has two main objectives. Firstly, to locate the various backyard types in the city and to categorize them according to their morphological structure and their function. Secondly, to examine the circumstances that led to the backyard formation and the process of its change throughout the years. The research was in two phases: 1) Developing a typology mapping the backyards in the entire urban area, weighing the correlation between built up and available space in the urban blocks. 2) Particular reference to the backyards of multiple dwelling buildings in Tel-Aviv was based on a survey of land-uses found in 150 different backyards, examining their uses and their morphological connection to the building and its surroundings. The research shows the vast range of uses in the backyards: besides neglect, the backyard space enables diverse possible uses, e.g. appropriation, parking and gardening. This variety of uses is not evenly spread through the urban landscape: different neighborhoods have a unique distribution of backyard land-uses. The specific land-use mix for each neighborhood expresses the reciprocal relations between the residents' needs and the specific mix of surrounding open spaces. The study's findings express the backyard's adaptive capability, its significance in creating a vital and active urban fabric, and its contribution to the urban evolution process.

A backyard is an actual place in a city, located in the hidden part of the building's plot, away from the eyes of passersby. This article presents a study evaluating the backyards of Tel-Aviv, an area in the urban landscape that despite its scope remains mostly hidden (backyards occupy over 25% of the average urban block). The article has two main objectives. Firstly, to locate the various backyard types in the city and to categorize them according to their morphological structure and their function. Secondly, to examine the circumstances that led to the backyard formation and the process of its change throughout the years. The research was in two phases: 1) Developing a typology mapping the backyards in the entire urban area, weighing the correlation between built up and available space in the urban blocks. 2) Particular reference to the backyards of multiple dwelling buildings in Tel-Aviv was based on a survey of land-uses found in 150 different backyards, examining their uses and their morphological connection to the building and its surroundings. The research shows the vast range of uses in the backyards: besides neglect, the backyard space enables diverse possible uses, e.g. appropriation, parking and gardening. This variety of uses is not evenly spread through the urban landscape: different neighborhoods have a unique distribution of backyard land-uses. The specific land-use mix for each neighborhood expresses the reciprocal relations between the residents' needs and the specific mix of surrounding open spaces. The study's findings express the backyard's adaptive capability, its significance in creating a vital and active urban fabric, and its contribution to the urban evolution process.