The Spatial Capital Research Lab

 

The Spatial Capital Research Lab is operating as part of the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at the Technion. The Centre was established in 1969, in the faculty for Architecture and Town Planning at the Technion. In its 43 years of operation, the Centre has been a leader in advising on a wide array of planning issues on national and regional scales.

 

The Spatial Capital Research Lab serves as a centre for knowledge, research, and excellence in building the capabilities of a place to reach its vision. Integrative measurement of spatial capital takes place across various fields, including: economic, human, social, cultural, political, institutional, environmental, infrastructural, and planning capital. Each of these forms of spatial capital is in turn a collection comprising various indicators of these forms of capital obtain from recognized sources, interviews, public surveys, and field research.

 

The lab also serves as the centre for research on capital development as well as efforts in modelling of spatial capital asset management, and the implications for regional development. Graduate students wishing to specialise in these topics are involved in conducting their research under the purviews of the lab. 

 

The Lab's Goals
 

• Provide decision makers with tools and first tier quality data necessary making the best decisions for planning and development. Data includes the spatial capital profiles of each of the different local authorities and relative strengths and weaknesses in the various spatial indicator categories.
   

• Provide decision makers with dynamic management tools based on objectively verifiable quantitative indicators, thus allowing measure and track long term accomplishments of the authorities as well as significant trends which are affecting the character of development in the various communities.
   

• Provide local decision makers with data about their rankings and competitiveness relative to other local authorities across the various spatial capital categories. This allows focusing on relative strengths in order to enhance empowerment mechanisms, connection between authorities, and mutual learning in respective areas of excellence.
   

• Optimization of the government’s ability to channel resources to the northern periphery focused on leveraging regional sustainable development potential.
   

• Creation of a strategic toolbox which helps direct each and every local authority towards local sustainable development tailored to its unique spatial capital asset profile.

 

 

Below is a sample comparison of different types of spatial capital in local authorities across Israel.