Reprinted from The Media Line

January 29, 2025
Posted By Maayan Hoffman

Urbanization on the Desert’s Edge: New Research Center Reimagines Life in the Negev

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev President Prof. Chamovitz and BGU VP for Regional and Industrial Development Prof. Dan Blumberg in the NUR Lab.

A new initiative launched by Ben-Gurion University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is promoting novel research into Israel’s urban desert landscape. Less than two years after the October 7, 2023, attack scarred Israel’s arid Negev region, the Negev Urban Research (NUR) center in Beer Sheva is rewriting the region’s narrative.

“During a difficult and complex time for Israel, together with all our partners, we have established a center aimed at planning for a better, more just, and sustainable future through multidisciplinary collaborative platforms and the development of innovative data-driven tools,” architect Merav Idit Battat, head of the research center, said. “The Israeli landscape is fraught with global challenges, such as the climate crisis, and others unique, such as the demographic challenge. We have much to learn from other places in the world, and the world has much to learn from the Negev.”

The Negev covers about 60% of Israel, but it is less developed than most of the country, and only about 10% of the population lives there. Even before the establishment of NUR, Ben-Gurion University’s vice president of regional and industrial development, Dan Blumberg, told The Media Line that the university had played a significant role in driving cultural, economic, and social development in the Negev and across Israel.

“Technology can play a major role in the development of the social and environmental aspects of the area and will help build the area we live in,” Blumberg said.

Be’er Sheva Mayor Ruvik Danilovich described the city as “among the leaders in smart cities and sustainable spaces, working in global partnership for future generations.” “It will connect leading minds from academia, industry, and the public sector, driving the creation of advanced solutions to urban, social, and environmental challenges,” he said of the project.

NUR was established as part of an Israeli government decision to promote development in the Negev. The research center’s primary goal is to rethink urban planning, life in city centers, and Israel’s overall development strategy. “Through NUR, we hope to study these connections and create innovative solutions that could shape Israel’s future development,” Battat, the center’s founder, told The Media Line.

Original article is here