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

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 specializes in projects demanding interdisciplinary perspectives, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, and a merging of analysis with advocacy for change.

Publications

Publications (including downloadable files) available here

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
• Social studies of science and technology
• Political ecology
• Transport and the politics of mobility
• Sociology and rhetoric of megaprojects
• Research methods (quantiative and qualitative); exploratory data analysis and visualization
• Communities, landscapes, and environmental issues of the Negev
• Dynamics of and barriers to the diffusion and adoption of "green" technologies and practices

• 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.

Some key projects and consultancies

Tourist passages to Bethlehem (Quartet/UNDP) Ө Freight travel through Wadi Nar: survey and analysis (USAID/ECF) Ө Preparation of plans to monitor and evaluate the Wadi Attir integrated sustainability site for the Bedouin community of the Negev Ө 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.

Theses supervised

• 2006. Ilana Meallem. A Social Analysis of Solid Waste Management in Bedouin Villages in the Negev. Man in the Desert Department, AKIS/BGU (jointly supervised with Dr. Pnina Motzafi-Haller). M.A.
• 2006. Maya Negev. Environmental Literacy in Israel: A National Survey. AKIS/BGU (jointly supervised with Prof. Alon Tal). M.A. Student transferred to the Direct Doctorate program, and I am currently co-supervising her Ph.D. thesis.
• 2007. Hadeel Mageed. Catastrophic Shifts and Pattern Formation in Poa bulbosa as Responses to Simulated Grazing. Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, AKIS/BGU (jointly supervised with Prof. Moshe Shachak). M.Sc.
• 2007. Na'ama Theshner. The Negev 2015 Plan: Contexts and Prospects.  (Jointly supervised with Prof. Alon Tal, BGU). M.A.
• 2008. Tareq Talahma. Management and Community Development in a Turbulent Environment: The Palestinian Case. York University—Toronto (jointly supervised with Prof. Lewis Molot;). M. A.
• 2008. Samah Sultan. Urban Changes in Aqaba (Jordan).  Man in the Desert Department, AKIS/BGU (jointly supervised with Dr. Yodan Rofe). M.A.
• 2009. Roni Biller. Primary Groups, Outdoor Experiences, and Environmental Literacy. Man in the Desert Department, AKIS/BGU (jointly supervised with Dr. Moshe Schwartz). M. A.
• 2009. Sawsan Esse. Barriers to Adoption of Solar Water Heaters—Amman and Ramallah. Man in the Desert Department, AKIS/BGU (jointly supervised with Prof. Evyatar Erell, BGU). M.Sc.
• 2009. Chanoch Friedman. Financial Analysis of Production Under Israel's New Feed-In Tariff for Solar Power. Man in the Desert Department, AKIS/BGU. M.A. thesis completion.
• 2009. Rosemary Willey-Al'sanah. Differential Development in 'Area C' of the Palestinian Authority: The Role of Donor Policy. Bethlehem University, Masters Program in International Cooperation and Development (MICAD). M.A.
• 2010. Tarin Paz. Environmental conflicts and Open Space Protection in the Nitzanim- Ashdod Sand Dunes, Israel, 1948-2008. Geography and Environmental Development Department, BGU (jointly supervised with Prof. Pua Bar and Prof. Avinoam Meir). M.A.
• Current. Tsofit Goren. The Bedouin Community’s View on Child Maltreatment: From Practice to Theory and Back. Man in the Desert Department, AKIS/BGU. Thesis started 10/2007 and submitted 3/2010. M. A. thesis completion.
• Current. Dmitry Brychkov. Cultural Differences in Thermal Comfort. Man in the Desert Department, AKIS/BGU (jointly supervised with Prof. David Pearlmutter). Started 10/2009. M.A.
• Current. Maya Negev. Multicultural Approaches to Environmental Literacy and Policy. BGU Kreitman School (jointly supervised with Prof. Alon Tal, BGU). 2006-current.
• Current. Lucy Michaels. Climate Change Policies and Perceptions in Israel. BGU Kreitman School (jointly supervised with Prof. Alon Tal and Dr. Tally Katz-Gerro). 2007-current.
• Current. Adi Inbar. University Engagement with Regional Contexts and Growth: The Case of the Blaustein Institutes. BGU Kreitman School (jointly supervised with Dr. Pnina Mostafi-Haller and Prof. Isaac Meir). 2008-current.
• Current. David Epstein. Keeping the Land: Overcoming Ethnic Politics in Conservation/Development Conflicts. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Urban and Regional Planning Program (co-supervised with Prof. Jonathan Levine, Prof. Richard Norton, Prof. Julie Law). 2009-current.

Full CV and further details: available upon request