Desert Wisdom

It’s no secret that Be’er Sheva, the capital of the Negev, is also becoming the capital of cyber and high-tech. Now it is also becoming one of the smartest cities in Israel, which is another reason to be very proud of it!

Once upon a time, when you heard the name “Be’er Sheva”, you would probably think of camels, and the predominant color was yellow – the color of the desert. But today Be’er Sheva has much more to offer. After all, it is the cyber capital of Israel. As such, it is not at all surprising that it is ranked fourth in the index of smart cities by Reichman University (IDC Herzliya).

Social Change

In Be’er Sheva, they are going all out and intend to harness technology for the benefit of social change in the city. The ultimate goal is to improve the city’s welfare services. The Be’er Sheva office of innovation hopes that through technology, they will be able to improve resident services and lead to eligible populations being able to access their rights. At the same time, they hope to improve coordination between the various welfare service providers, which will lead to a significant change, and a considerable improvement of services for those that need and are entitled to assistance.

The Resident in the Center

The Be’er Sheva Municipality has begun an open-data project and an information-based decision-making project. What does all this jargon mean? In short, it means two things: transparency and participation of residents in the decision-making process. Local authorities often make the mistake of thinking of their residents as customers, when in fact the more correct thinking is to see the resident as a partner. The goal is to motivate residents to take action on issues such as recycling, cleanliness and city security, education and more.

Security! Security! Security!

The city has implemented a “strong” system, which assists the municipality in managing emergency situations, personnel and more. These are smart control and monitoring systems that include remote control of alarm systems, traffic light management throughout the city, communication networks and other smart systems handled remotely via the municipal control center. In addition, hundreds of security cameras will be installed in the city that will provide information on everything that is happening in the city and will also be managed by the municipal control center. simultaneously, various real-time video analytics systems will operate that track and process important data to improve the city’s security for the benefit of the residents. The project will enable the Municipality of Beer Sheva to optimally manage and evaluate activity on an ongoing basis. This highlights the importance of using technology as a tool for improving the quality of life of residents.
There is no doubt that Be’er Sheva is embracing innovation and caring for its residents by making incredible use of smart digital solutions. All that remains for us to say to the Be’er Sheva municipality is: “keep dreaming of making the Negev bloom, even in the technological-sense. The 21st century is proud of you!”