Functional change and the settlement structure in Israel: a study of political control, response and adaptation

The changing nature of settlement structures in Israel are described in the context of the response offered by the highly centralised and bureaucratised planning establishment. The study notes the tension that exists between the establishment with its strong rural ideological bias on the one hand, and the need to adapt to the reality of an ever-increasing urbanised rural landscape. The system of managerial and manipulated development of the landscape is discussed, these processes giving rise to a specific form of socio-political space. The political and ideological interests of the institutional authorities also result in a sectoral system of inter-settlement relationships rather than the theorised regional interaction patterns.