About two decades ago, the Negev Center for Regional Development was established by Prof. Yehuda Gradus. The center served as an applied research arm of the Department of Environmental Studies, Geo-Informatics and Urban Planning, and of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, as part of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev's unique vision to be an integral part of the region and contribute to the development of the Negev area.
Over the years, the center gained considerable reputation and became a central address for researchers in various fields, for planners and decision-makers from the public sector, as well as for the business sector. Its research activities covered a wide range of regional development topics, including: industrial and employment development, human capital, promoting education among the Bedouin population in the Negev, environmental quality, and more.
In 2015, the Department of Environmental Studies, Geo-Informatics and Urban Planning decided to renew the center's activities under the name "Negev Center for Sustainability". The center promotes applied research in various areas of sustainability, with emphasis on the diverse interrelations between social, cultural, economic, and environmental aspects, across different spatial scales both within the Negev and beyond. It fosters research within the academic community, as well as initiates and supports applied research by examining the contributions of policy measures and planning practices to sustainability at the local, regional, national, and global levels.
The Negev Center for Sustainability operates four thematic branches: Urban Sustainability, Regional Development, Alternative Planning ("the Plannery"), and Sustainability Assessment. The initiation and advancement of academic and applied research under each of these branches requires interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration. The center aspires to be a magnet for researchers from various fields and organizations, and a source of knowledge for public and private entities beyond academia.
