| Characteristics |
Implications with Regard to the Municipality |
| Jerusalem as a capital city |
Numerous special occasions and ceremonies; the need to allocate special areas for capital functions, increasing the financial burdens on the Municipality; the need to increase the government's capital grant. |
| Jerusalem as a city sacred to three religions |
The high number of religious institutions (approximately 1,300) creates many needs; these institutions are exempt from Municipal taxes. |
| Jerusalem as a tourist center |
The need to develop many tourist services. |
| A large and increasing population |
The need to increase physical and social services for the city's residents. |
| An increasingly dispersed population resulting from the establishment of new, peripheral neighborhoods |
The need to increase the dispersal of physical and social services so that they serve the peripheral neighborhoods. |
| A diverse population: Arab/Jewish; Orthodox/ultra-Orthodox/Secular |
The need to provide varied services appropriate to the relevant populations. |
| A high proportion of young people |
The need to provide services for a large number of children and youths. |
| A large concentration of children and youth in the ultra-Orthodox and non- Jewish neighborhoods |
The need to concetrate specialized services for these age groups within their neighborhoods. |
| An absolute and relative increase of the elderly population |
The need to augment existing services for the elderly population. |
| The concentration of elderly in the city center |
The need to concentrate centers for the elderly in this area. |
| A 1:1 dependency rate |
The need to increase the percentage of the population of working age. |
| A high percentage of large families entitled to discounts in Municipality taxes |
The need to raise income for the Municipality. |
| A high incidence of poverty |
The need to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life for the poorer segments of the population. |
| A growing number of families suffering from economic hardship |
Particular stress on the Department of Welfare; a high percentage of families that receive discounts on Municipal taxes. |
| A negative balance of migration |
The need to reduce the number of residents leaving the city and increase the number of people moving to Jerusalem. |
| The absorption of immigrants |
The need to provide services to immigrants in order to facilitate their absorption. |
| A high rate of inner-city migration |
The need to restructure the balance of services in the expanding and declining neighborhoods. |
| A high percentage of highly educated persons |
The need to develop an economic structure based on this high level of education. |
| An unbalanced structure of employment |
The need to develop a varied structure of employment, including industry and commerce. |
| A low level of income |
The need to strengthen those branches of employment with a high level of income. |
| A low income for the Municipality |
The need to increase the income of the Municipality. |