I would like to start with a compliment to the Haifa Municipality and especially to Dr. Galit Rand - Director of the Center for Economic and Social Research in the Mayor's Office. Every year the municipality publishes Statistical yearbook Surveying the city in numbers. The yearbook refers to topics such as demography, work, tourism, construction, public order and more. I must point out that the material is presented in an orderly manner, simple to understand and very convenient to use. Well done!
The only issue I have on the subject is that the yearbook is mainly based on numbers updated two years back (in our case 2020) and we would all derive much more value from current numbers as much as possible. However, it is important to understand that In the yearbooks in question, the main interest is to present the trends in Haifa over the years, as well as in comparison to reference cities, on many subjects. Therefore, even if there is more recent data on a certain subject, it will not change the broad picture. As mentioned, a lot of information appears in the yearbook, in the current article I will try to make the main points of the interesting data accessible.
1. Demographics: Haifa is getting smaller in relation to the country (a real decrease)
As of the end of 2020, to which the yearbook refers, the city's population was 283,700. in this year, population Haifa is small B - 1,600 residents. averaged over 10 years, The growth rate of the population in Haifa is much lower than the national average, 0.6% compared to 1.9% (3 times difference). The residents of Haifa make up about 3% of Israel's residents, compared to 5% in 1990. As a matter of fact, the relative share of Haifa in Israel's population has decreased by about 40% within 30 years.
The effect of the separation of Kiryat Haim and Kiryat Shmuel
By the way, we often hear calls for the independence of Kiryat Haim and Kiryat Shmuel from Haifa. For those wondering, without this district, Haifa's population is reduced to 246,800 residents. In this situation, Rishon Lezion with 256,100 inhabitants becomes the third largest city in Israel.
The population of Jews and others (without religious classification) makes up 88%, while the population of Christian Arabs, Muslims and Druze makes up 12%.
An aging population and young people leaving
Much has been said about the aging of the city. What we all feel, the numbers prove. Over a quarter of the population is over the age of 60 and the percentage of adults has been on an increasing trend for nearly 30 years. At the same time and throughout the same period, the percentage of young people aged 15-29 has decreased over the years.
Life expectancy in Haifa
By the way, you will be happy to know that the life expectancy in Haifa is higher than the national average, both for men 81.1 years and for women 85. Also in the good news section, Haifa is in the third and respectable place in life expectancy among the big cities. Rishon Lezion and Petah Tikva are leading and behind us are Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, Netanya and more.
2. Employment: a substantial gap from the center in several branches
On this topic already We have discussed at length in the past, and in an overall look at The latest numbers There was no substantial change. If there is a change, in some business sectors the situation has even worsened. It is worth noting again the horizontal problem in the Haifa economy, which is trailing behind the Tel Aviv one.
In 2020, approximately 4 million Israelis are employed. Tel Aviv residents make up 6.7% of these employed people and Haifa residents make up 3.5% of all employed people. This is about a difference of about 2 times in favor of Tel Aviv. We would expect this gap to be maintained in every economic branch, however there are a number of branches where the gap is large and even huge. The figure below shows the economic sectors with the biggest differences between the cities.
3. Construction: Few apartments are built
In the field of construction, as expected, the numbers are quite dismal. The total area of construction starts in Haifa is 0.7% of the total area of construction starts in Israel in 2021. This number is very low And far from the numbers in leading cities.
It can also be seen that most of the real estate activity is focused on residences. To the extent that the municipality encouraged an increase in employment, it was expected that construction for business needs would have increased and the municipality's income accordingly.
In a national comparison, we are of course in a very bad place even when starting to build apartments.
(The number at the top of each column represents the amount of construction starts and the internal division of each column represents the segmentation for the height of the buildings)
In terms of apartment construction, our situation is better, although very far from that of the big cities of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Rishon Lezion. Here it is worth noting that apartments that were completed during the term of Kalish, received approvals, for the most part, during the term of Yahav.
The average price of an apartment in Haifa
As we have learned before, the average price of an apartment in Haifa is one of the lowest in the major cities in Israel and of course below the average price. Such a low price compared to other cities indicates more than anything that over time, people choose to live in places other than Haifa. The city lacks anchors to keep existing residents and centers of attraction to bring in new residents.
4. Public order: improving!
You may be surprised to hear, but the number of Haifa residents accused in criminal trials has been on a downward trend for years. About 60% of the adult defendants are recidivists, meaning they return to criminal activity after serving their sentence. The numbers are quite similar for those convicted by law.
The most common types of offenses are in the area of public order (did someone say car racing?), moral and property offences.
The yearbook also reports that a personal safety survey for 2020 shows that 90% of those aged 20 and over in Haifa feel safe walking alone during the hours of darkness in the residential area. The findings are similar to the other major cities in the country.
5. Tourism: the potential is huge, the realization is bleak
This topic We dealt extensively And in fact the data I presented from 2022 must be much more recent than those for the current year. For those who do not have time to read the article, we will summarize and say that the situation is bad, very bad.
In Haifa, there are 18 large tourist hotels which make up 4% of the tourist hotels in Israel and the number of rooms in Haifa hotels makes up about 3% (2.77%) of the number of hotel rooms in Israel. in January-September 2022 The revenue at the tourist hotels in Haifa was about 255 million NIS, which is only about 2.6% of the revenue from the tourist hotels in Israel (9.7 billion NIS). Of course, employment in the field is also affected when in September 2022, Only 3.3% of employees (according to selected localities) Worked in Haifa.
Summary
The municipality's yearbook contains many other chapters such as: environmental quality, industry, transportation, standard of living, education and more. It is recommended that every resident who is interested in what is happening in the city enter to the yearbook page and will browse the areas that interest him. In some issues such as employment, construction and tourism, the numbers present and establish a grim reality that we all feel.
This is the bad news, but the good news is that according to these numbers it is possible to set goals for improvement, build work plans and appoint responsible people or in short, manage.
These things, which have been missing for so many years in the city, are expected to change under two conditions. the one: who is a worthy candidate for mayor will present his candidacy and two: As residents of the city, you will find involvement, you will be able to learn from the numbers, ask difficult questions and choose wisely the most suitable candidate.
Beautiful Hanan. Shabbat Shalom
After visiting Rotterdam, I am convinced that there is a 40-50 year gap between the port city of Haifa and the port city of Rotterdam.
Without an investment of NIS 5 billion, which includes an international airport in the Gulf, and a rail connection of all neighborhoods
The Carmel Ridge from the French Carmel to the university by efficient public transportation, and the center of Horeb Natatz to Matam,
Nothing will help, Haifa will be left behind and the gaps will only become bigger and the quality of life will only decrease.
And urban renewal without public transportation will only increase the damage.
If Etzioni gives up his ego, he will bring with him a young expert in revitalizing large organizations as mayor, bring with him a transportation expert who will make far-reaching changes for the benefit of public transportation in Haifa and implement crosswalks, bike paths, Carmelit line 2... such a team of three young people. One is connected to Zionist politics, one is a mayor who will manage changes in the municipality and is a management expert, and one will hold the infrastructure and transportation portfolio and replace the failed city engineer - and I have no doubt that it is possible to march Haifa forward into two decades of restoring the trust of entrepreneurs, factories, young families, housing developers and more to stay in Haifa.
All this is known even without being an investigative journalist! Look at the city in terms of sports culture and events, there is nothing in it! Third city in Israel!!!! Incredible !!! It's really sad that the municipality doesn't push there for that, such a shame
Young people don't have time to wait 15 years for the Haifa municipality to reset. You see Tel Aviv and Jerusalem leap forward. Without a project that changes reality in Haifa, with an investment of 10 billion NIS, the city will continue to suffer from a trend of abandonment. And bringing in immigrants in an attempt to hide internal immigration.
There are 3 secondary-reality projects. Each 10 billion and will take 5-10 years to complete.
1. Tunneling the train lines through Carmel to Che Post and freeing the entire stretch of Haifa beaches from the train and electricity poles in order to develop a Riviera there.
2. An international airport in dry land in Haifa Bay and its connection to a new giant terminal instead of the existing field and the construction of a civilian field in the medium term as recommended by the current Hoida in Ramat David.
3. Removal of the Navy from Behad, construction of a new base and development of the Behad area and a marina for 250-300 vessels in Bat Galim in front of Rambam.
This article is simply grotesque. The level of grotesque is so high that there is no need to write a plot at all.
so sad
Irrelevant reference and without any substantiation. indeed sad.
You presented and summarized the report nicely, but what is really missing in your description - deeper conclusions.
What's more, a report for 2020, the year of the Corona virus, is problematic from the start.
If we look for example at the issue of tourism, the mayor presented the development of tourism as a major goal, and the report shows a very bleak picture, it would be appropriate to detail this a little more and try to explain the reasons for this.
Likewise regarding the beginnings of construction, the report, as a statistical report, does not go into the reasons - I would definitely expect to receive at least an attempt to explain why this is happening in Haifa?
And above all, it would be appropriate if we could get a reference from one of our city managers.
In my opinion, the deepest conclusion and it appears in the article is that the city lacks management. Regarding the topic of tourism, note that the numbers I quoted refer to 2022 and are comparative to other cities in the country. That is, both current numbers and in relation to other cities.
For reading the article on tourism, let me refer to your words:
https://haipo.co.il/item/415571
I agree with you that the one who should answer the questions is the mayor.
Creating jobs in Haifa would change the face of the residents' map. A more logical construction would also improve the appearance of the city. Keeping it clean would also help.
Thank you, father, the issue of employment is one of the burning strategic problems of the city.
Me, my sister and her nephew's house, we fled from Haifa, the best thing in Haifa is the warning sign in the direction of Tel Aviv
The Carmel ridge, the wonderful sea are pearls, their abundance and beauty will continue to beckon to lovers of the peace and harmony that Haifa offers and has always offered to those who appreciate it, everyone else is advised to leave.
Are you suggesting the residents leave? Does the city not suffer enough from negative immigration?
What I'm writing about here and it's unpleasant for you to hear: the millionaire retirees of the Haifa baby boomers generation have systematically driven away the city's future generations. Whether this is done on purpose or through the processes designed to accumulate assets, cars and desirable jobs for themselves while oppressing future generations in the workplace (closing standards, to finance benefits and wages and pensions for themselves) or whether by making living in Carmel more expensive. To this we can add the systematic closing of places of entertainment (such as Basement 10 and City Hall during Yahav's last tenure, and almost every club in the lower city such as the Nathanson, Pesha and the Horva). The removal of the emigration scene to Kiryat Haim (after Eilat, the industrial pioneers) brought to Kiryat a quality young population from Haifa that the Kiryats, Ramot Yitzhak and Tirat Carmel more recently, knew how to provide them with new neighborhoods at reasonable prices and close enough to the workplaces. The Technion student who graduated and moved to work at Rafael preferred to realize The dream of the cottage in Savioni Yam, over the more expensive apartment and far from his work in Savioni Dania. The kriyas and Nesher, especially in detached neighborhoods, drew young people from aging neighborhoods in Haifa. The Carmel remained out of their reach, and the kriyas provided 'all-inclusive' neighborhoods with new educational kriyas, a young population Like them, she speaks Hebrew and is a Zionist. While Haifa invested in metropolitan roads and tunnels, the Kiryats invested in the quality of life - there is a park, a theater, educational Kiryats, Matnasim and synagogues. The millionaire retirees in Carmel consumed less and less in Haifa - with the Jeep they raced to their friends who had already copied an address to the center following The grandchildren, or to Zichron and Sharon following the work in Herzliya. The consumption of culture, the restaurants and entertainment in the center, with the shortening of train times to 50 minutes, turned Haifa into a sleepy suburb of Tel Aviv. Shmoelik Gelbart as Deputy Mayor Ivan that Haifa lacked entertainment centers and suggested the downtown and Hamam Street as a focus The pubs and the students. It wasn't until very late in the third term that the ancient Yahav came up with the idea, but the students don't have the financial power and don't necessarily stay in the city. Thus Hamanal Street did recover a little as an environment for recreation and studies, but the young people who study there go on weekends to the center to spend time. Haifa is empty, the streets are closed and there is not enough urban culture, they say and they are right. The municipality of Haifa did not know how to support young families in its area, because it gave benefits such as free parking to millionaire pensioners. Instead of urban renewal, we got huge neighborhoods at a price for residents in Kiryat and Carmel Castle and soon in Nesher Lakes. These will continue to be cheaper in many new neighborhoods in Haifa, which means that housing developers in Haifa remain, and young couples continue to find themselves in Zichron, Yakneam, Nesher, Tirat Carmel, Kiryot, and Zemitz in the Galilee. Haifa does not know how to improve community services and culture within it as centers of attraction for young families, and does not offer excellent education or an active and pleasant urban environment that would compete with Tel Aviv. Together with Tama 38 and traffic jams and fires, dirt and wild pigs, in the absence of benefits for Haifa - there is no incentive to prefer living in Haifa. And from the comments there are people that this is exactly what they want.
Will Haifa be the fourth or tenth largest city? what's the problem , on the contrary. It would be good if it became a small and powerful city, a city of gardens and tourism, a city of culture and beauty and architectural uniqueness. Want lots of construction starts and residential towers? There are around, in Kiryat Bialik, in the Carmel Castle, and a little further, in Or Akiva and Nahariya. God forbid Haifa from becoming another Israeli city like that
The article explains that the city's population is increasing, not decreasing (except in 2020). Do you really see the city becoming a quality city? A city of gardens and tourism?
The mayor, even in her field of occupation (construction), is unable to do anything and does nothing. See the 2-employee retention committee for a city like Haifa
The items in the balance sheet may convey optimism, but the bottom line summary is bad. This is what interests the resident.
After many years of living in the central region, I returned to Haifa (born in the Kariyats). I enjoy every moment. The yearbook you bring, for 2020, I think there are many changes in the city. Slowly, because this is the rhythm of the Haifaites. I don't want to be in Tel Aviv, I ran away from there My daughter still lives in the center, she is looking forward to the weekends she spends in Haifa. There is still a lot of work in the city, but it seems to me that the direction is right.
To be precise, the yearbook is 2022 and the one issuing it is the Haifa Municipality. The years to which the yearbook refers are 2020 and 2021.
As I wrote in the article, the main thing is to present the trends in Haifa over the years.
You think the direction is right, but the numbers shown in terms of demographics, housing prices indicating demand, employment and tourism issues indicate the opposite.
You mostly attack Klish, even though it is only one term. Changes in the city take time.
Haifa is not a bad city, there is no doubt that it is necessary to invest in the appearance of the city, renovation of buildings, and appearance of main streets. But it's a nice city to live in.
The article presents numbers and transformations that are mostly alarming. Successes as well as failures do not just happen. The mayor is responsible number 1 for what happens in the city, for better or for worse.
Regarding changes and the time they take, of course it depends on the size of the change. The mayor has been in office for 4 years. What essential changes do you think you have already made for the better?
Thanks, important article!
love the city big love
since and forever.
suffering from the crumbling roads
As much as possible, also forever.
Share your love for the city.
Never say never
With your help and the rest of the residents we will bring about a change for the better in the city.
Extremely bleak, the story of the serious danger of the wild boars is also not encouraging.
Dalia is right. However, do not lose hope. Things are subject to change with the involvement of the residents.
Response to holidays:
Thanks for your response. I strongly suggest that you adopt principles of critical thinking such as doubting, examining different opinions and relying on data from reliable sources. You express your opinion without reference and therefore it is an opinion and nothing more. Certainly not true.
To prove it to you, here is a publication made on the website of the Association of Public Health Physicians in Israel and its main points:
"The air pollution in Haifa Bay is indeed associated with an increased risk of getting cancer. The risk of cancer in those exposed to industrial air pollution in the last four decades is 6-17% higher than the rest of the population | Excess morbidity was found in breast, head and neck, leukemia, melanoma and thyroid cancers. "
link…
The one that feels clear to you, is not supported by any facts and only misleads you.
Regarding real estate prices and the relationship to attractiveness, I really don't understand why you are arguing about something so trivial. A basic rule in economics is that demand affects the price (also supply of course). Except for Shu's failures, the higher the demand, the higher the price and vice versa. It is true that the prices of apartments in Haifa have increased, but by a difference from the prices of apartments in other cities in the country, and as an example, the average price of an apartment in Haifa is the second lowest in the country after Beer Sheva.
Link to information…
Regarding the cost of living and prices in the supermarket, you again make a claim without any basis. You are welcome to find data and present it here. The fact that you recommend a price survey does not help the discussion in any way unless you intend to do a serious survey and present its results.
Regarding funds from tourism and whether the property tax will be lowered, the question should be addressed to the mayor. In any case, the first problem is to increase the income from tourism.
There is nothing wrong with Dr. Einat Kalish Rotem. A noble woman and raising Haifa to heaven. May God protect her. Shabbat Shalom
Rafi, your responses amount to one thing, the glorification of the mayor without any reference to the problems raised in the article and the extent of the mayor's responsibility for solving these problems.
I wonder if you even read the articles.
Haifa is really rising to heaven at this rate of Kalisz. It's a shame that people like you still call themselves journalists, it's a disgrace to the profession
The city is neglected and unkempt, this is noticeable everywhere in the city, especially in the lower city of Wadi Salib.
There are no attractions. Talfiot market is not able to recover.
The budgets go to the wrong places and the bureaucracy of building evacuation is too complicated
Everything you describe stems from one thing, poor management to say the least.
And why is the management poor? Because of the people who trust him.
What about investment in development and infrastructure - last place
And regarding burning cars - first place
The survey is interesting and, among other things, proves that the hysteria surrounding air pollution is a storm in a teacup and the life expectancy of people in Haifa is one of the highest in the country, apartment prices are cheap compared to the center of the country, this may be bad for the rich and investors, but this is great news for ordinary people who rent an apartment or for those who want to buy a roof at a reasonable price. Employment It is the least good figure, but there is less reference to the level of wages and there is, for example, a lot of free money for employees in the public service in Haifa because, as mentioned, housing and the cost of living are much cheaper than those who have jobs in the center of the country, while the wages are equal to everyone. The rate of Arabs in Haifa is much higher considering that the residents of Kiryat Haim/Shmuel Most of the world's Jews are not really related to Haifa and are associated with it municipally. Tourism does not affect the residents of the city at all. It may only provide a living for specific companies such as shuttles and hotels. But not flying with the residents or reducing their property tax, for example. The survey did not examine matters of the cost of food, for example: those who lived in the center and returned to Haifa know that the supermarkets in Kiryat Eliezer, in Kiryat, in the Big Complexes in the Gulf are far cheaper than the prices in the center of the country, as well as those who invite professionals to repair things At home, the prices are sometimes half as cheap. To sum up, the survey is mostly positive for Haifa. The question, of course, is how to interpret it and who is responsible.
1) The data do not prove in any way that "the hysteria surrounding air pollution is a storm in a teacup and the life expectancy of the people in Haifa is the highest in the country." Air pollution and damage to the quality of life and life expectancy are certainly possible. It is difficult to separate these variables, so it is not possible to draw a definite conclusion about them. Also, I wrote that the life expectancy in Haifa is higher than the national average and among the best in the big cities, but not that it is one of the highest in the country as you wrote and did not provide a source.
2) Lower housing prices should indeed be the goal of every person who does not trade in real estate or its derivatives for profit, which is the majority of the people. At the same time, when in Haifa the prices are among the lowest of all the central cities, this indicates a problem with the attractiveness of the city.
3) It is not clear to me where you determined that the cost of living in Haifa is much cheaper. You are welcome to share sources.
4) Tourism does not affect the city because it is not developed enough to bring in amounts that can move the needle in terms of economic strength for the municipality.
5) On what reliable numerical data do you base the claim that "the barbers in Kiryat Eliezer, in Kiryat, in the Big Complexes in the Gulf are infinitely cheaper than the prices in the center of the country, as well as those who invite professionals to repair things at home, the prices are sometimes half as cheap"?
1 The survey you brought shows that the life expectancy of the people in Haifa is higher than average, the things speak for themselves I think. I don't have a scientific explanation, maybe because the city is located on a mountain and many of the residents (not all) enjoy western and northwestern winds that come from the sea, both but which came from the endless roads and traffic jams of "A, living in one of the ridge neighborhoods in Haifa makes me feel much clearer 2) Regarding the comment that low real estate prices indicate unattractiveness, in my opinion you are wrong and Haifa is showing a small and steady price increase, and judging by some real estate experts, apartment prices will fall at some point as long as the interest rate continues to rise. In your opinion, the expensive apartments in the center will be cut at similar rates as the basic and cheap apartments in Haifa or Be'er Sheva, for example? It should be remembered that in percentages it looks similar in all the cities, in this money the differences are huge in the increase/decrease due to the difference in prices 3) I recommend checking supermarkets in Tel Aviv once (apparently my friend lives in the center the Carmel where the prices are perhaps the same as in the center of the country) and then visit, without naming names for publicity reasons, supermarkets in the coastal neighborhoods, in the bay, in Kiryat and review the food products with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables 4) In my opinion, tourism provides a livelihood for a certain segment that I mentioned, and less so for the ordinary residents, the money you A desert that will supposedly be rolled into the municipality, will it return to the resident in the form of a property tax reduction? I'm in Doubt. And the sayings about money going to education and urban policing are also slogans in my opinion 5) I recommend watching economic programs and websites from time to time (which mainly rely on service providers in the center of the country) from experience in Haifa we paid much less for the same water and electricity failures. But again it depends on how you interpret it, it is also possible To say that there are many professionals in the north in relation to the demand, then this indicates a lack of employment and not a bargaining power for the consumer.
There is nothing about Haifa and there is nothing about Klish
True, there are no construction starts, not during the Klish period, only talk
Haifa is a polluted and toxic city, families with children are advised to leave