Spatial planning is considered by the Arab population as reflecting the attitude of the State and its discriminatory policies towards it. Spatial planning incorporates land-use policies, policies of expanding municipal boundaries, land allocation for development, allocation of land and planning resources, granting or denying development rights – a symptom of discrimination in allocating land for development, authorizing settlements or expanding built-up areas, unauthorized building and their demolition. Moreover, spatial planning does not only reflect past and present day development policies, but also the normative, political and socio-economic approach of the state towards the Arab population and the spatial and resource allocation in the future. Spatial planning and the population's involvement in it are therefore a test gauge and an important criterion of the state and the Jewish majority's goals with regard to the Arab population. To date no comprehensive research has been carried out on the representation of Arabs in the planning institutions or their participation in the planning process. The external and internal barriers to their participation have not been examined, neither has the systematic institutional failure to fulfill its obligation to include their representation in these institutions nor its impact on their relationship with the state. Policy recommendations to advance their representation have not been formulated, nor have measures been taken to include Arab planners in the planning process and in shaping the public space in Israel.

The issue of fair representation was raised on the public agenda within the framework of new legislative regulations which stipulate their inclusion in the public sector; namely, government offices, and government companies and corporations. The issue was discussed in papers and studies carried out by philanthropic organizations such as Siccui, Bimkom, The Abraham Fund, Adala (The Center for Arab Minority Rights) and in a Parliamentary committee chaired by MK Dr. Ahmed Tibi, which embarked upon a systematic examination of the Arab rate of representation in the public sector.

The aim of the current study is to address this lacuna by mapping and examining Arab participation in public planning institutions since the legislation of the Planning and Construction law-1965. The study will evaluate planning participation in various levels and will try and expose the barriers impeding such participation. As a viable policy study, one of its objectives will be to identify policy measures and tools which can eliminate these barriers or at the very least reduce their negative impact. Thus it will complete various attempts aimed at advancing planning rights in the Arab sector and found the Arab population's demand for representation in the public sector. The study will attempt to lay the scientific infrastructure for including minorities in public administration and propose policy measures to address this issue.

The issue of representation for the Arab population and their participation in the planning process is not merely a technical question. It is a principle which affects the very essence of the state's identity and not only its structural socio-political and cultural circumstances. On an individual level part of the Jewish public has come to terms with entrusting the public space in Arab professional hands. But in general, planning and shaping the public space has been entrusted to Jewish citizens and a certain taboo exists on including Arab planners. This claim requires some founding. If indeed it is so, the question is why? Another question is whether this can altogether be changed and how? Alternatives must be examined to allow Arab planners to participate in the planning process and to grant them some status in the planning institutions.

As planning policy and land allocation policies are comprised of sub-policies and divided among several government ministries and semi-public organizations, the issue of representation deficit must be addressed not only on a statutory level (The Ministry of the Interior), but all planning levels and land administration mechanisms.