Refereed Journal Papers

Abstract: Issues of justice and inequality are among the most compelling themes in spatial studies. And yet, the field lacks a normative approach to justice in measurements of inequality in spatial scales, either in the regional, or alternatively, in the urban. In a paper by Israel and Frenkel (2018), the authors offer a theoretical framework that advances the study of social justice in space. It utilizes concepts of Pierre Bourdieu’s theory on social class, while using Amartya Sen’s ‘capabilities’ approach to justice to define the metrics of this concept. We take their proposed framework and examine it empirically by means of a regional case study in Israel. Data were collected on a central region in Israel and a field survey was conducted on more than 1,000 households. The concept of justice and the socio-spatial structures under which justice is created were converted into measurable values. By using Explanatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling, the conceptual framework was quantitatively estimated. In accordance with the inspected theory, we show that the interrelationship between a person’s location in the social space and living environment influences his or her life-chances. The empirical results demonstrate how the proposed theory can be operationalized-that is, binding a normative idea with an empirically based scrutinization of the social and cultural constraints that affect freedom of choice. The framework’s operationalization allows for applying it in future endeavors that strive to understand what normative implications spatial development carry when relating to the social space and built environment of a place.

Abstract: Migration studies emphasize the role of economic, social and cultural capital in shaping out-migration decisions. Yet, little attention is paid to the effect of capital endowment on return migration, particularly among the highly educated. This article examines the extent to which different forms of capital determine return decisions of early-career researchers (ECRs). We hypothesized that individuals from more privileged backgrounds would repatriate at higher rates, due to the benefits that their capital stock might offer them upon homeland re-integration at home. Drawing on a sample of 223 early career Israeli scholars in STEM (Sci-ence, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines, we used logistic regressions to analyze the effects of material wealth, social ties, and family-oriented cultural capital on their return propensities. No significant differences were found between repatriating and non-repatriating scholars with respect to cultural capital. However, accumulating social and economic capital was positively correlated with the decision to repatriate as was marrying into academic families.

Abstract: Justice has recently been deliberated in different spatial disciplines. Still, the question of its metrics remains unresolved. Accordingly, this article introduces a conceptual framework in which a metric notion of justice can be employed in different spatial contexts, drawing upon the theoretical conceptualization of Amartya Sen’s ‘capabilities’ and Pierre Bourdieu’s ‘field’, capital forms and ‘habitus’. The main hypothesis assumes that capital resources, which are formed in an individual’s living environment, determine their life chances, thus influencing spatial equality of opportunity (i.e. social justice).

Abstract: Suburbanization has been accused of imposing a significant cost on spatial equity. The study examined suburbanization (as a form of urban sprawl), not necessarily as the primary driver of fundamental social inequalities, but as an important vehicle by which inequalities might be extended over time and as an important product of fundamental social inequalities. It suggests an innovative measurement that relies upon Amartya Sen and Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical conceptions. The current study suggests that economic, cultural and social forms of capital, formed in an individual’s living environment, determine a space’s equality of opportunity.
The paper examines this theory by means of a case study that includes a medium sized city and eight of its suburbs located within Israel’s central metropolitan region. By using diverse statistical methods, data from 1063 sampled households is analyzed in new indices that measure spatial inequality. The results reveal that suburbanization is related positively to highly unequal patterns of social stratification. Social groups in the suburbs were found to benefit from better life-chances than their urban counterparts. This inequality is positively related to the accumulation of capital forms and the formation of the physical environment. We conclude that urban residents would not be able to fulfill their freedoms to do and to be, a situation that could hurt the distribution of real equal opportunities in space.

Abstract: We conducted an in-depth analysis of an Israeli startup, RAD Bynet, founded in 1981, that has intentionally, through the vision of its founder, given rise to 129 other startups employing some 15,000 workers, and created a unique “cloud”. Through a survey of the existing firms, we sought to explore the nature of this ecosystem and to quantify the relationships that exist between the mother company and the enterprises that emerge from it. Our main findings were: (a) social and technological proximity encourages the tendency of the companies to maintain business relationships that probably contribute to knowledge exchange, while technological diversity drives innovation and startup formation; and (b) firms will choose to cooperate on the basis of a shared past and personal proximity relations, as well as technological proximity at a certain level; “viral clouds” of startups like the one we studied can thus intentionally be designed and developed.

Abstract: Many sustainable urban development approaches are based on mass public transportation ventures, especially railway development, which has been considered a panacea for the unfavorable effects of suburban development. But rail transit also improves accessibility to the fringes, thus encouraging an exodus to the suburbs. This paper explores suburbanization and sprawling effect of commuter rail transit on the rural exurbia of the Tel Aviv metropolis by analyzing its effect on residential location decisions. The findings indicate that the suburban rail system was a determinant factor in the location choice of households which migrated from the inner parts of the Tel Aviv metropolis, since it allowed them to maintain strong commuting connections to their residential origin. This suggests that rail transit, along with its potential to strengthen the inner cities, also accelerates suburbanization and counter urbanization.

Abstract: In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of the literature on demand-driven innovation, using a generic national innovation ecosystem map as a unifying framework. We organize the literature review around four key innovation dimensions and seven related demand-driven processes. Our review reveals that business networking which accelerates access to new markets and technologies is vital for free markets. But classical competition alone cannot sustain the creation of new technologies or innovation paths. Rather, national policy is essential in creating lead markets. On the other hand the private sector has a crucial task in leading R&D activity. We found that the relationship between R&D stock and productivity is mostly positive. With regard to cluster strategies our literature review suggests that increased variety of innovative activities strengthens regional economic growth through \spillover e®ects” between products and industries. Based on the literature, we found that universities are evolving to play a major role in the research of innovation. The enormous innovative potential of universities therefore should be directed toward shaping more e®ective tools for public–private cooperation. But innovation, whether its origin is in academe or elsewhere, must follow a standardization process in order to converge into a well-de¯ned technology. Our paper highlights a fundamental paradox underlying pro-innovation policies: while innovators often express the desire for a liberal, open and °exible market system with minimal bureaucracy and governmental interference, to allow market-driven innovation to °ourish, they often bene¯t greatly from a variety of governmental interventions that include direct or indirect ¯nancial support (such as tax credits).

Abstract: Questions of justice have been raised in recent years when contending with the social costs of urban sprawl. But this field of inquiry suffers from the difficulty of translating the abstract notion of justice into measurable spatial indices. The aim of this paper is to empirically measure the liberal notion of justice in the metropolitan region of Tel Aviv by adopting Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of three forms of capital. Under this theory, the formation of economic, cultural, and social capital in the individual’s living environment determines the person’s exposure to different sets of life-chances (i.e., capabilities), thus influencing equality of opportunity (i.e., social justice) in space. The analysis reveals that suburban inhabitants benefit from a larger accumulation of the three forms of capital than do urban inhabitants. Accumulation of these capitals has a positive effect on exposure to life-chances, thus enhancing spatial segregation between cities and suburbs.