Widespread and diverse neighborhood gentrification in Jerusalem

Gentrification in Jerusalem is much more complex than is often perceived or observed. It is not just an inner city process and has a substantial representation in the outer areas of the city, too. In the inner city gentrification was made possible by the growing willingness to upgrade old houses, formerly looked down upon by upwardly mobile individuals. In the outer areas gentrification was as result of a growing suburbanization of the Jewish middle-classes. Geopolitical circumstances played a substantial role in the spatial pattern of gentrification, especially along the former cease-fire line that has divided Jerusalem between 1949 and 1967. Once that line did not exist functionally gentrification was in motion, as a spontaneous process or an institutional one. What emerges from the study of gentrification is its diverse nature. Each particular neighborhood has its specific circumstances in terms of its physical layout, geopolitical setting and social composition, which in turn have an impact on the nature of gentrification.