#0202_A_View_From_West_Jerusalem

"Jerusalem’s story exemplified by two figures:

Let’s take a moment to talk about the report of the Central Bureau of Statistics. The report is a hellish Excel file that requires a map, a compass and a statistician, to navigate. I won’t list all the details here, but there are two figures that summarize Jerusalem’s story:

Jerusalem’s socioeconomic rating is 3/10.
Jerusalem’s peripherality rating is 9/10.

So what does this actually mean?

The socioeconomic rating is based on the examination of 16 factors aspects of municipality residents, such as demographics, education, employment and quality of life. […] The peripherality rating measures the proximity of the municipality to centers of economic activity, and the accessibility […] of employment centers and public and social services. […] In comparison, other local authorities that share our socioeconomic rating only received scores of 3-5 on their peripherality rating.

The gap between these two figures tell Jerusalem’s story in its entirety. We are at the center of economic activity in Israel, and yet, we still maintain the economy and society of the third world, all in one city. This situation demands of us a different kind of preparation. True, it also means the state has to allocate funds to Jerusalem, but first and foremost, it requires us to think intelligently, creatively and effectively about: how we fight urban poverty, cope with weaker populations, invest smartly in education, encourage suitable employment for the city’s population, and about the cultural suitability of our educational, social, communal and economic work.

In about six months, there are going to be municipal elections.
My suggestion: check which of the candidates is throwing slogans around, and which truly sees the complexity of this city."

– Roni Lior, West Jerusalemite Activist

[Selected Comment:]
– "You wrote that this all happens within one city.
I guess what explains the figures is that this isn’t one city. There’s no connection between major populations in the city (ex. Haredis and Arabs), or accessibility to centers of economic activity.
The assumption on which the peripherality rating is based is that proximity to economic activity will be beneficial to the resident, but if the resident doesn’t want to benefit from it (Haredis), or physical proximity is irrelevant because of barriers that are not physical (Arabs), then talking about ratings based on proximity to economic activity is irrelevant to those residents."

#Economy #City_Life #Advancement #Elections #Change

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