Commuters’ and Localists’ Styles of Socio-Spatial Segregation in Three Types of Arab Communities in Israel

Izhak Schnell, Ilan Shdema

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This article examines integration vs. segregation of Arabs in Israel’s social sphere. Most geo-spatial studies regarding inter-ethnic relations are single dimensional, focusing on residential segregation assuming its association to the social domain. We argue that in the globalizing world daily activity spaces, social networks and influences on everyday life conditions are rooted in growing horizons around residential location weakening the power of residential location to dictate life conditions. Hence we suggest employing a multi-dimensional approach. Specifically, we explore the associations among residential spaces (relating to Arab residents of: purely Arab localities; mixed-Jewish-Arab cities, and Jewish cities); main activity spaces (commuters to Jewish areas and localists—people staying mostly in the Arab localities) and social integration (social networks; repertoire of identities; attitudes toward integration and knowledge of Hebrew). The data incorporate tracking the movements of 177 responders for a week (using a GPS logger) and in-depth interviews, which were analyzed quantitatively. Core findings suggest that both residential place and activity spaces affect social integration, however, the locality type has a greater affect. In addition, we identified four integration sorts according to kinds of municipality, activity spaces, and integration measures: (1) segregated localists living in Arab municipalities; (2) commuters living in Arab localities characterized by limited integration; (3) Arabs residing in Jewish cities that succeeded economically but are characterized by limited social integration, and (4) those living in mixed cities which enjoy the highest, yet limited integration level.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)651-666
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Earth Science and Engineering
Volume4
Issue number11
StatePublished - 2014

Keywords

  • Ethnic differences
  • Integration/segregation
  • Municipal
  • Jews
  • Arabs

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