Building walls of brick and breaching walls of separation

The significance of a physical separation in housing between socioeconomically different populations as subjectively evaluated by the residents involved was examined in three housing developments built in neglected neighborhoods in Ramat Gan, Israel. Each development consists of five to seven modern new condominium buildings, very different in appearance and status from the adjacent old buildings. One hundred twenty women were interviewed from the new and old buildings. The everyday encounter between them takes place in the common public services, on the street, and through the view from their windows. A clear physical boundary was important to the groups of widely differing status and affected their attitudes and behavior. Physical separation between the new and the old buildings improved satisfaction with their housing among both population groups. In the absence of physical separation, dissatisfaction, disengagement, and indications of ethnic tension were more likely to be found.