Optimum versus reality in Israel's town system

Israel's town system consists of 37 towns of different size, 28 development towns, and 24 semi-urban Jewish and Arab settlements, most of them consisting of 5,000–10,000 inhabitants. In the existing town system there is an exaggerated concentration of large towns in the Tel Aviv region; an excessive number of development towns; slow urban growth in the Negev and the Galilee; failure of semi-urban settlements to attain urban status; and the absence of urban settlements in many regions where they would be needed.A proposal to outline an optimal system of Israel's town development is discussed. It was found that the existing urban system in Israel shows a distortion which is four times bigger than the optimal one. A comparison between the optimal lay-out of towns and the real one uncovers the gaps where new towns should be established in the future, and points out the locations where no further urban development should be encouraged.