Changing Strategies of Development: Toward a Regiopolis in the Negev Desert

In this paper, the evolution of the Negev urban system in the light of planning strategies applied for promoting growth and development is examined, taking into account both Zionist planning ideology and the frontier arid environment of the region. Central place theory, adopted by the Zionist planners in the early stages of development, had to be modified in order to be appropriate for arid zone development. A polarized planning concept more appropriate to the Negev and other similar arid zones is introduced, unifying center and periphery within a single regiopolis. It is functioning as one integrated metropolis; but rather than a continuity of built up areas there are "islands" of urban communities and industrial complexes, separated by arid vacant land within a commuting growth region.