Living together apart: residential segregation in mixed Arab–Jewish cities

Summary. This paper exam ines features of residential segrega tion in ® ve mixed Arab ± Jew ish cities in Israel; the role of ideology and state politics among the charter groupÐ i.e. the Jew ish populationÐ is considered to be a dominant factor in this social process. Utilising availab le Israeli census data supplemented by the author ’ s own ® eld survey, the study indicates that all ® ve cities have experienced a continuous trend of high indices of segrega tion and hypersegreg ation. The spatial manifestatio n of this trend is a classic display of sectoral (but not concentric) pattern s of residency. Concomitantly, the scope of both social and economic interactions between the two communities sharing the same urban space remains underdeveloped. The city has effectiv ely provided a sense of local identity: both groups live in and are part of the same place, yet this space is not a locus for genuine integration. A situation of neighbours without neighbourly relation s marks the residential reality of Israeli mixed cities