Residential integration and its constructed reflection: An Israeli case study

The paper presents a socially mixed neighborhood in Tel Aviv, Israel. Despite its heterogeneity, the neighborhood, which started out with unpretenteous public housing, became a prestigious area and eventually the epitome of success and prosperity. The paper describes the development of the neighborhood and the strategies adopted by the residents of lesser means in order not to be excluded from the emerging local world. The main strategies were a collective, monolithic expansion of the smaller apartments (as many as 250 units at once) and a high standard of routine maintenance, which provided the renovated buildings with a facade that was quite similar to the neighboring affluent buildings. It is suggested that a national ideology, which glorifies and promotes social integration, and a common denominator of middle-class culture were translated into a mutual interest of the more and less affluent residents in this socially mixed/integrated neighborhood.