Contact Information

• Blaustein Institutes, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 84990 ISRAEL
• +972 8.656-3423 (office); + 972 8.659-6881 (fax); + 972 547.560-667 (mobile)
• Emails: ygarb [at] bgu [dot] ac [dot] il or garb [at] brown [dot] edu

Overview

Dr. Garb is a Lecturer at Ben Gurion University and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of International Studies at the Watson Institute, Brown University. He draws on a training in environmental studies and in science and technology studies (STS) in research, teaching, and consulting on environmental and urban issues. Dr. Garb's academic work is enriched by more than decade of international research-based advocacy with a range of clients and partners: policy think-tanks, NGOs, the private sector, and government agencies. He specializes in projects demanding interdisciplinary perspectives, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, and a merging of analysis with advocacy for change.

Education

• Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1993.
• B.A., World College West, California, 1984.

• 1997-1998. Lady Davis Post-doctoral Fellow, Hebrew University, Geography Department.
• 1996-1997. Post-doctoral Researcher, Hebrew University, Sidney M. Edelstein Center for the History and Philosophy of Science, Technology, and Medicine.
• 1995-1996. Post-doctoral Fellow, Harvard University, History of Science Program.
• 1994-1995. Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies (Princeton), School of Social Sciences.

• Interdisciplinary environmental studies
• Transport and the politics of mobility
• Social studies of science and technology
• Sociology and rhetoric of megaprojects
• Political ecology
• Research methods (quantiative and qualitative); exploratory data analysis and visualization
• Communities, landscapes, and environmental issues of the Negev

• 2006-present: Lecturer, Blaustein Institutes, Ben Gurion University.
• 2005-present: Visiting Assistant Professor, Brown University, Global Environmental Program at the Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University.
• 1999-2006: Adjunct Lecturer and Researcher, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Institute of Urban and Regional Studies.
• 1996-2006: Researcher, Floersheimer Institute for Policy Studies, Jerusalem.
• 2004-2005: Academic Director, Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. (Following employment as Lecturer, 1996-2004).
• 2000-2005: Director of European Programs, Institute for Transport and Development Policy--ITDP (New York). (Following employment as Consultant from 1999 to 2000.)
• 1993-1994: Teaching Assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
• 1985-1991: Instructor, Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant, Department of Conservation and Resources, University of California, Berkeley.
• 1985-1986: Adjunct Lecturer, San Francisco State University—Wildlands Research Institute.
• 1977-present: Consultant to several dozen academic, government, NGO, and private sector organizations in Israel, the USA, and Europe on a range of environmental topics, as well as computer and statistical consulting.

Publications (including downloadable files) available at www.ygarb.com/publications/index.htm

Some key projects and consultancies

Major survey and analysis of freight traffic between the Palestinian areas and Israel (USAID/ECF) Ө Comparative study of car cultures and household economies in the US, Israel, and Jordan (Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University) Ө Pedestrian mobility in the Old City of Jerusalem and implications for a political agreement (ECF) Ө Israeli potion of a review of water sector activities of Norwegian water sector activities in Jordan, Israel, and Palestinian Authority (NCG/Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Ө Co-organizer of international conference on scenarios as socio-technical objects (Brown University) Ө Toolbox of measures for air quality improvement in Tel Aviv region (Neeman Institute—Technion) Ө Effect of Israel’s separation barrier on Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem (Floersheimer Institute) Ө Impacts of non-residential urban deconcentration on quality of life (EU Fifth Framework) Ө Brownfields in Central European cities—current situation and recommendations for legislative, fiscal, and administrative reforms to facilitate reuse (ITDP)  Ө Out-of-town retail in Central Europe: trends, impacts, reform (ITDP) Ө Travel patterns to big box malls in Prague before and after retail revolution (ITDP) Ө Scenarios for the environmental futures of Israel and Palestine (Middle East Environmental Futures group, Brown University) Ө Population and consumption in the Israeli environmental agenda (Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies and submission to The World Summit for Sustainable Development Johannesburg, 2002) Ө Para-transit in East Jerusalem: situation, problems, recommendations (Bet Hanina Community Center, East Jerusalem) Ө Political-rhetorical analysis of the construction of inevitability in large projects (publication, invited presentation at all of Israel’s universities and universities and professional forums in Mexico, South Africa, and the USA) Ө The doctrine of “strong planning” and land-use in the Trans-Israel corridor (Floersheimer Institute for Policy Studies) Ө An access-based framework for the analysis of congestion pricing projects (Floersheimer Institute for Policy Studies) Ө Review of the economic value of open space, with implications for Western Jerusalem (CRB Foundation) Ө Best practices survey and recommendations for the establishment of a school of environmental studies at Tel Aviv University (Heschel Center/Porter Foundation) Ө Analysis of the traffic modeling and cost-benefit analysis of the Trans-Israel Highway (Floersheimer Institute for Policy Studies) Ө Rhetorical analysis of key images and icons in environmentalist discourse in post-War America (series of publications and lectures) Ө Applying principles of systematic knowledge representation (concept mapping) to the domain of ecology (SEMNET project, U.C. Davis) Ө Social roots of deforestation in Guatemala (Earth Island Institute—Environmental Project on Central America) Ө A reconstruction of the Late Pleistocene in the Kennicott/McCarthy watershed, Alaska (Wrangell Mountains Institute) Ө Numerous consulting projects—computer programing and multivariate data analysis.

• Negev Bedouin Conceptions of Child Abuse and Maltreatment: Implications for Practice and for a Multicultural Approach to Children “At Risk”. Tsofit Goren, (MA, BGU).
• The Use of Cellular Location Technologies for Mapping Travel Patterns. Ophir Menahem (MA, Bar Ilan University, supervised jointly with Yuval Hadas).
• Barriers to Adoption of Solar Water Heaters--Jordan and Israel. Sawsan Esse (MA, supervised jointly with Evyatar Erell, BGU).
• The Political Ecology of Nitzanim (a coastal dune reserve). Tarin Paz (MA, BGU, jointly supervised with Pua Bar and Avinoam Meir).
• Primary groups, Outdoor Experiences, and Environmental Literacy. Roni Biller. (MA, BGU, jointly supervised with Moshe Schwartz).
• Multicultural Approaches to Environmental Literacy and Policy. Maya Negev (MA and Ph.D., jointly supervised with Alon Tal, BGU).
• Urban Changes in Aqaba (Jordan). Samah Sultan (jointly supervised with Yodan Rofe, BGU).

Recently graduated students

• Management and Community Development in a Turbulent Environment: The Palestinian Case. Tareq Talahma (MA, jointly supervised with Prof. Lewis Molot; York University--Toronto). 2008.
• The Negev 2015 Plan: Contexts and Prospects.  Na'ama Theshner (jointly supervised with Dr. Alon Tal, BGU). 2007.
• Catastrophic Shifts and Pattern Formation in Poa bulbosa as Responses to Simulated Grazing. Hadeel Mageed (jointly supervised with Prof. Moshe Shachak, BGU). 2007.
• A Social Analysis of Solid Waste Management in Bedouin Villages in the Negev.  Ilana Meallem, MA, (jointly supervised with Dr. Pnina Motzafi-Haller, BGU). 2006.

Full CV and further details: available upon request