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/lp/wiley/shopping-in-the-negev-global-flows-and-local-contingencies-aj672m7zeH
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2002 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company
- ISSN
- 0893-0465
- eISSN
- 1548-744X
- DOI
- 10.1525/city.2002.14.2.211
- Publisher site
- See Article on Publisher Site
Abstract
he concrete and glass cityscape of Beersheva arises unexpectedly from a monotonous vista of ochre-colored land, sporadically dotted by circles of corrugated tin-roofed shacks and black goat-hair tents. Billboards announcing the nearest McDonald's, the newest cellular phone company, and the best buy in electrical appliances overpower date palms, prickly pear cactuses and herds of sheep and goats as the city looms into sight. Traffic suddenly gets heavier. Horns blare, and radios blast, destroying the stillness of the desert. People in various costumes—kefiyehs and yarmulkes, flowing robes and tight Levi-Strauss jeans, and the khaki uniform of the Israel Defense Force—converse, listen to and sing aloud in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, Amharic and English. Beersheva is home to them all. Despite its seemingly unique setting, the city of Beersheva is quite similar to many mid-sized regional centers throughout the world. Rather than a homogeneous, coherently planned metropo- Cily & Society 2002, XIV|2|:21 1-236 Copyright 2003 by the American Anthropological Association City & Society Us, the gateway to Israel's Negev appears to be and often functions as a multiplicity of contrasting urban sites. Its population is multiethnic and multi-lingual. Its architecture spans many periods and modes. Its residential centers range from dilapidated
Journal
City & Society – Wiley
Published: Dec 1, 2002