Mourning in academia: Professor and founder of the legendary polling institute passes away at 88
Professor Avi Dagani, one of the founders of the market research and polling field in Israel, who founded the Geocartography Group with his wife, Dr. Rina Dagani, has passed away at the age of 88. For over 5 decades, he was active in academia and the business world and was a leader in the field of geographic information systems in Israel.
Professor Avraham (Avi) Dagani, founder and president of the Geocartography Group and one of the figures identified with the world of polling and market research in Israel, has passed away at the age of 88.
Dagani was born in Tel Aviv in 1938. After his service in the Golani Brigade, he studied geology, geography, and climatology at the Hebrew University, and later continued to advanced studies in the USA. In 1971, he joined the faculty of the Department of Geography at Tel Aviv University, where he was active for many years.
Alongside his academic activity, Dagani dealt with the field of geographic information systems (GIS), which deals with connecting information to spatial data. He is considered one of the pioneers of the field in Israel, and during his career, he worked on developing models for spatial analysis and implementing them in the fields of urban planning, economics, and society.
He founded the Geocartography Group together with his wife, Dr. Rina Dagani. The group combined market and public opinion research with urban planning, real estate, commercial potential assessment, information systems, and research for public bodies. In recent years, Dagani served as the group's president.
Over the years, Dagani also became a familiar face in the media, following his work with polls and public opinion research in Israel. Parallel to his work in the research field, he was involved in various projects in Tel Aviv, including the rehabilitation of the Hatikva neighborhood, the Sarona complex, the Levant Fair at the Tel Aviv Port, Dizengoff Center, and the Ramat Aviv Mall.
Dagani is also credited with involvement in formulating the slogan identified with the city, "Tel Aviv, the city that never stops," from the term of Mayor Shlomo Lahat. In 2023, the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality chose Dagani as a Worthy Citizen of the City, and in the same year, he was also awarded the "Worthy Planner" badge by the Israel Planners Association.
Upon the news of his passing, the Geocartography Group eulogized him:
"We are sad and pained by the passing of our teacher and mentor, Prof. Avi Dagani, of blessed memory."
The Israel Planners Association also expressed sorrow over his passing and noted his contribution to economic-urban planning in Israel.
The funeral will take place on Wednesday at 17:00 at the Yarkonim Cemetery (Geula Gate).
