Moshe Schwartz

In the 1960s, France built large high-rise developments to house poor and immigrant populations. This policy led to the rise of crime and violent unrest in those developments. Responding to that failure, France has tried, especially since the eighties, to promote a social mix policy in its new housing developments. In the first decade of the twenty first century, France elaborated an eco-district (eco-quartier) program whose guidelines emphasize the goals of this social mix policy together with affordability in public social housing. In light of these developments, this paper focuses on the socio-economic aspects of French eco-districts, especially with respect to low-income populations. The eco-quartier housing distribution has shown that social mix goals are barely reached. In affluent cities, where property prices are high (such as Paris, its middle-class suburbs and some large cities), the municipalities build eco-quartiers in substandard neighborhoods, to attract middle class f...

ABSTRACT Energy and Buildings j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / e n b u i l d a b s t r a c t Are green buildings costlier to build than conventional ones? If yes, by how much? How can we find out? Those questions have been asked for years, but answers have been of limited applicability, since specific solutions tend to be location-bound, and green buildings—few. This paper addresses the questions by developing a cost-benefit model based on the voluntary Green Building Standard (Israel Standard IS 5281) launched in 2005, and focusing on office buildings of different sizes and finish standards. Each building type was matched against IS 5281. Cost of compliance with the standard was evaluated for every item, alongside the benefit for both the entrepreneur and the public, for a 20-year period. We estimated the optimum alternative, leading to maximum savings in resources use, and the economical alternative, which minimizes initial investment. The optimum alternative, involved an additional cost, ranging between 4% and 12%, whereas under the economical alternative the additional cost was only 0.12–1.33%. Interestingly, in other countries, the added cost of green building is similar—i.e., between 0% and 10%.

... Neal Sherman and Moshe Schwartz are Senior Researchers at the Development Study Centre, P. 0. Box 2355, Rehovot 76122, Israel. ... They also wish to acknowledge a special debt of gratitude to friend and mentor, Johnnie Stemberg, who shared his deep understanding of ...

The paper was intended to present preliminary survey results of a specific big office complex located in a hot arid environment, while also assessing the architectonic plans and Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ). Instead, it presents anecdotal complaints about buildings similar in function, history and design, emphasizing the behind-the-scenes “arm-wrestling”, which has impeded on the pursuit of systematic monitoring and surveys. The paper attempts to map the complex set of interests, interconnections, practices and understandings, which affect work relations, labor disputes, and the IEQ of the biggest publicly initiated and operated project in Israel.

Israel is one of the world's leaders in agricultural re-use of wastewater, currently re-using over 60% of produced wastewater. The effects of arid climate, intensive irrigated agriculture and limited water resources make re-use necessary to conserve fresh water for domestic use. Quality standards for wastewater re-use are needed to protect public health and prevent environmental and agricultural damage. This paper examines the environmental and economic sustainability of the proposed upgrade of wastewater quality standards. A tertiary treatment standard was proposed, but has not been approved due to objections from local authorities and farmers. An upgrade will require higher treatment costs, which will be divided between farmers and local authorities through the pricing of the wastewater. Farmers oppose the upgrade because they will not be able to pay higher prices for wastewater, which they use to irrigate low-profit crops. If the price is too high, these farmers may be forced...

High risk is inherent to agriculture in Turkmenistan, a post-socialist desert country where the political uncertainties of transition exacerbate natural unpredictability. This study examines risk coping strategies of Turkmen farmers based on a survey of 1100 respondents carried out in 2002 in all five provinces. We propose a new composite index of vulnerability, which includes human capital indicators and geographic location. The analysis relies on a single independent variable, which nevertheless incorporates the effect of criteria interactions. Using survey data, we analyze income smoothing as a mechanisms of risk management across vulnerability groups. Consistently with theoretical expectations, the most vulnerable households seem prefer a smaller, but safer outcome over a larger but uncertain one: the most vulnerable households tend to specialize in wheat, which is less risky (and less profitable) than cotton, while less vulnerable households emphasize cotton. However, contrary ...

We present large-scale molecular dynamics simulations to study the free evolution of granular gases. Initially, the density of particles is homogeneous and the velocity follows a Maxwell-Boltzmann (MB) distribution. The system cools down due to solid friction between the granular particles. The density remains homogeneous, and the velocity distribution remains MB at early times, while the kinetic energy of the system decays with time. However, fluctuations in the density and velocity fields grow, and the system evolves via formation of clusters in the density field and the local ordering of velocity field, consistent with the onset of plug flow. This is accompanied by a transition of the velocity distribution function from MB to non-MB behavior. We used equal-time correlation functions and structure factors of the density and velocity fields to study the morphology of clustering. From the correlation functions, we obtain the cluster size, L, as a function of time, t. We show that it...

We present large-scale molecular dynamics simulations to study the free evolution of granular gases. Initially, the density of particles is homogeneous and the velocity follows a Maxwell-Boltzmann (MB) distribution. The system cools down due to solid friction between the granular particles. The density remains homogeneous, and the velocity distribution remains MB at early times, while the kinetic energy of the system decays with time. However, fluctuations in the density and velocity fields grow, and the system evolves via formation of clusters in the density field and the local ordering of velocity field, consistent with the onset of plug flow. This is accompanied by a transition of the velocity distribution function from MB to non-MB behavior. We used equal-time correlation functions and structure factors of the density and velocity fields to study the morphology of clustering. From the correlation functions, we obtain the cluster size, L, as a function of time, t. We show that it...

Turkmenistan is one of the 25 former socialist countries in Europe and Central Asia that embarked on a transition from plan to market in the early 1990s. In agriculture, the transition was expected to improve the productivity of the chronically inefficient collective farming inherited from the Soviet era. Improvements were to be achieved through the transfer of land and assets from collective farms to individual operators, in line with the established practice of agriculture in market economies. This study examines the progress of agricultural reform in Turkmenistan by focusing on land distribution, farm structure transformation, and changes in production patterns, marketing, and farm performance. The study is based on a survey of 143 private farmers conducted in Turkmenistan in 2000. Preliminary results indicate that, despite fairly generous allocation of land to individual farming, no significant performance improvements have been achieved so far, primarily because private farmers...

Turkmenistan is one of the 25 former socialist countries in Europe and Central Asia that embarked on a transition from plan to market in the early 1990s. In agriculture, the transition was expected to improve the productivity of the chronically inefficient collective farming inherited from the Soviet era. Improvements were to be achieved through the transfer of land and assets from collective farms to individual operators, in line with the established practice of agriculture in market economies. This study examines the progress of agricultural reform in Turkmenistan by focusing on land distribution, farm structure transformation, and changes in production patterns, marketing, and farm performance. The study is based on a survey of 143 private farmers conducted in Turkmenistan in 2000. Preliminary results indicate that, despite fairly generous allocation of land to individual farming, no significant performance improvements have been achieved so far, primarily because private farmers...

Both basins of the Dead Sea (DS) have been deeply damaged in the last 50 years by anthropogenic intrusion in its water balance. The northern basin is receding, together with the fresh water aquifers along its shores. This has led to the formation of sinkholes, subsidence areas and landslides, affecting wide coastal segments, and bringing development to a halt along the western DS shore. In the southern basin, the water level is rising, threatening the tourist-hotel area lying on its shores. This overview of planning and decision making in the last four decades shows that environmental degradation, conflict between industry and tourism, conservation versus development, water scarcity, unsustainable water and wastewater management have remained persistent problems. Coordination among agents of management and planning, missing for decades, is essential to cope with the problems of the DS region, which are expected to grow increasingly severe on both DS shores, in the absence of sustain...

ABSTRACT Urban clusters are geographic concentrations of urban places, some of which may include major cities. Unlike agglomerations, whose geographic boundaries are clearly delineated, urban clusters have “variable” boundaries, with each urban settlement being part of its “own” cluster of populated places, located within its commuting range. As our study indicates, the effect of clustering on urban growth is not uniform: it appears to be positive in low density clusters, and negative in densely populated ones. In particular, outside densely populated areas, towns surrounded by other localities tend to evince higher rates of population growth than their “lone” counterparts.

Using the Greater Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area as a case study, this paper studies the interaction between intrametropolitan migration and the fiscal capacity of local authorities. The analysis concludes that municipalities with high resident out‐migration generate ...

Abstract Between 1952 and 2001, the number of urban settlements in Nepal grew from 10 to 58, while their share in the country's population increased from 2.6 to 14.4 per cent. However, the spatial distribution of urban growth was uneven. To find out how this ...

Portnov B. A. and Schwartz M. On the relativity of urban location, Regional Studies. The effect of location attributes (e.g., topography, proximity to networks, etc.) depends on how much they stand out in their regional or national contexts. In a region or country where a given advantage or disadvantage are commonplace, they are likely to have lesser effects than where they are uncommon. Thus, cold and rainy places may repel would-be residents in countries or regions offering sunnier alternatives, but might not deter them if such alternatives are absent. Location advantage is thus a relative notion: it might matter regionally and nationally more than internationally. This hypothesis is tested empirically in the paper using population growth data on urban settlements in 40 European countries. Portnov B. A. et Schwartz M. De la relativité de l'emplacement urbain, Regional Studies. L'effet des caractéristiques des lieux (par exemple, topographie, proximité des réseaux, etc.) dépend de la façon par laquelle elles se singularisent dans leur contexte régional ou national. Dans une région ou un pays où un avantage ou un inconvénient donné est le lieu commun, elles ont vraisemblablement moins d'effets que dans les lieux où elles sont rares. Ainsi, des lieux froids et pluvieux peuvent avoir un effet dissuasif sur des éventuels résidents dans des pays ou des régions offrant des cadres plus ensoleillés mais elles ne les dissuaderont pas si de telles alternatives sont absentes. L'avantage d'un lieu est donc une notion relative: il peut avoir une importance sur le plan régional et national plus que sur le plan international. Dans cet article, cette hypothèse fait l'objet d'un test empirique, utilisant des données de croissance de population dans des établissements urbains dans 40 pays européens.Croissance urbaine Emplacement RelativitéPortnov B. A. und Schwartz M. Über die Relativität urbaner Standorte, Regional Studies. Die Auswirkung von Standortmerkmalen (z. B. Topografie, Nähe zu Netzwerken usw.) hängt davon ab, wie stark sie in ihrem regionalen oder nationalen Kontext hervorstehen. In einer Region bzw. einem Land, wo ein bestimmter Vor- oder Nachteil häufig anzutreffen ist, wirkt sich ein solches Merkmal weniger stark aus als an Orten, wo diese Merkmale selten sind. So werden z. B. potenzielle Bewohner kalte und regnerische Orte in Ländern vermeiden, wo es sonnigere Alternativen gibt, sich aber eventuell nicht davon abschrecken lassen, wenn keine solchen Alternativen vorhanden sind. Der Standortvorteil ist somit ein relativer Begriff: Er kann auf regionaler und nationaler Ebene mehr von Bedeutung sein als auf internationaler Ebene. Diese Hypothese wird in diesem Beitrag empirisch überprüft, wofür Daten über das Bevölkerungswachstum in den Städten von 40 europäischen Staaten herangezogen werden.Städtewachstum Standort RelativitätPortnov B. A. y Schwartz M. Sobre la relatividad de la ubicación urbana, Regional Studies. El efecto de los atributos de ubicación (p. ej., topografía, proximidad a las redes, etc.) depende de cuánto destacan en sus contextos regionales o nacionales. En una región o país donde una determinada ventaja o desventaja es muy usual, es probable que tenga menos efectos que en los lugares donde esta característica sea menos usual. Por ejemplo, los posibles residentes podrían evitar zonas frías y lluviosas en regiones o países que ofrecen alternativas más soleadas pero no se comportarán de esta forma si estas alternativas están ausentes. La ventaja de la ubicación es por tanto una noción relativa: puede que su importancia sea regional y nacional más que internacional. En este artículo, comprobamos empíricamente esta hipótesis con ayuda de datos sobre el crecimiento de la población en los asentamientos urbanos en 40 países europeos.Crecimiento urbano Ubicación Relatividad

The study of family change during industrialization has been hindered by the lack of adequate historical data. This paper attempts to overcome this obstacle by further refining Coale-Burch measures that can be used with existing census data. It shows the validity of ...