The effect of housing construction on population migrations in Israel

Population migrations in Israel simultaneously move in two opposite directions: while the initial distribution of new immigrants is primarily focused on big cities of the country's central core, the existing population of these centres tends to move outward, to small settlements where housing is more readily available. The effect of housing construction on population migrations appears to be delayed and tends to become visible with the passage of time. The initial low attractiveness of urban settlements in peripheral districts of the country to the new immigrants is mainly caused by small size of the population in the settlements and an inferior state of urban development rather than by a lack of new housing or the harsh climatic conditions of these areas.