This study examines boundary conflicts between urban and rural local a
uthorities in Israel. It focuses on three basic questions: what are th
e reasons for urban-rural boundary conflicts?; do these reasons vary a
cross time and space?; and, what are the underlying structural causes
that shape these variations? The study is based on a quantitative and
qualitative analysis of boundary conflicts involving Israeli rural reg
ional councils between the 1960s and the early 1990s. It demonstrates
that macro-societal structural processes are at the root of urban-rura
l boundary conflicts. Mounting pressures on regional councils have ari
sen from political, economic and ideological processes which have shak
en the foundations of the councils and produced unprecedented pressure
s on their territory. Processes of counter-urbanization have played a
substantial role, but have been deeply intertwined in a political-ideo
logical context. These processes may either lead to: (1) further fragm
entation and contraction of areas managed by rural local government; (
2) transformation of rural local governments into entities of a new ty
pe; or (3) formation of new forms of urban-rural regional co-operation
.