Two major design characteristics typify these neighborhoods. The first is their urban architectural layout. The second characteristic is the profuse use of Jewish national, religious and ethnic design features, which are embedded on the façades and interiors of many buildings. These features and motifs reveal the variety of Jewish beliefs, traditions and ways of life.
The second period of Jewish contribution to the city’s urban scene began in the 1920s with the introduction, mainly by Jewish architects and artists, of modern design trends, fashionable at the time all over the world. These are local Jerusalem versions of modern styles and features of Art-Nouveau, Art-Deco, Bauhaus, the International Style, Neo-Orientalism and Brutalism – all of which are described and shown in detail in the fourth section of the Guide “Modern 20th Century Design Identities”.