Between friends and strangers: Schelling-like residential dynamics in a haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem

This study examines how non-economic inter- and intra-group relationships are reflected in residential pattern of the area. Our case, the Haredi community, is composed of sects, and residential preferences of the Haredi sect members are highly affected by the need to live among friends - other members of the same sect. Based on the residential records at resolution of single family and apartment that cover the period of 25 years we study residential dynamics in Sanhedria, an old yet attractive neighborhood in the inner core of Jerusalem. We reveal and analyze powerful Schelling-like mechanisms of residential segregation at the apartment building and the near neighborhood level. Taken together, these mechanisms are candidates for explaining the dynamics of residential segregation in Sanhedria during 1983-2008.