Intra-city migration

Population statistics around Jerusalem

By YAIR ASSAF-SHAPIRA
jerusalem shuk 521 (photo credit: MIRIAM ALSTER / FLASH 90)
jerusalem shuk 521
(photo credit: MIRIAM ALSTER / FLASH 90)
On the occasion of Jerusalem Day, celebrated this week, we look at figures from the new Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, published annually by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies. The figures on intra-city migration, or migration from place to place within the capital, are often good indicators of the appeal of individual neighborhoods to incoming migrants, and also indicate which areas are experiencing negative in-city migration.
When we look at the map, showing only in-city migration balance for 2011, we see a few trends. First, we can see the negative migration from the city center and its adjacent neighborhoods.
The city center as a whole was left by 870 of its residents in 2011, of which 500 went to other places in Jerusalem, and the rest left the city. Incoming migrants to the same area numbered 710 people, of whom 400 came from within Jerusalem, resulting in an overall negative balance of 160 and an intra-city balance of -100.
Using the same method, we find that Romema has a negative intra-city balance of -200 and Har Nof of -180. Outer neighborhoods are characterized by inter-city migration flows, so for example, compared to an inter-city balance of -930 and -650 for Ramot and Pisgat Ze’ev respectively, their intra-city balances of +60 and +70 respectively are negligible. This means that these neighborhoods, being far from the centers of activity, have a weaker connection to the city. Migration from Ramot to Modi’in is a smaller decision than migrating from Rehavia to Modi’in.
Positive intra-city migration can be identified for Har Homa , although it was not as high as in previous years, standing at +208 in 2011. The Katamonim, being in a gentrification process, also saw a positive intra-city balance of +120, with 1,370 outbound migrants, and 1,490 incoming migrants. Other neighborhoods with meaningful positive intra-city balance were Beit Hakerem, Geula, Ramat Sharett and Talpiot.
In the Arab sector, the strongest trend is outward migration from the Old City, mainly from the Muslim quarter, which had an intra-city balance of -1,243. Apparently, these migrants moved mainly to northern neighborhoods such as Kafr Akab, Beit Hanina and Shuafat.