Cities for Kids

How to design a healthy
neighborhood for kids

Be'er Sheva | In development, will be launched June 2026

Health@Place

Desert Cities

In/Formal

A data-driven initiative that evaluates how urban environments affect the health and development of young children. Developed by NUR Lab in strategic partnership with Urban95 Israel, the project provides city planners with practical tools to design neighborhoods that better support the well-being of families and toddlers.

There is a growing global consensus that a child's health is deeply intertwined with their physical surroundings. However, urban planners and decision-makers often lack integrative tools that can cross-reference health, environmental, and social data. Without this data, it is difficult to translate theoretical knowledge into practical, actionable policies at the city, neighborhood, or household level.

We are developing a spatial-social mapping platform that provides local authorities with a data-driven infrastructure for urban policy. The project moves beyond traditional mapping by combining two distinct layers of data:

* Spatial "Hard" Data: Analyzing accessibility and environmental quality within a 300m radius of every home. This includes metrics on walkability, access to nature, playground quality, and physical environmental factors.

* Social "Soft" Data: Capturing the lived experiences of residents-specifically parents and toddlers-through surveys and focus groups held at NUR Lab. This layer ensures that the mapping reflects the human experience, such as feelings of safety and community belonging.

Key Objectives & Impact

* Urban Design: Formulating practical proposals to transform neighborhoods into health-supportive environments.

* Predictive Modeling: Utilizing simulations to test how potential planning changes might affect long-term child health outcomes.

* Community Engagement: Making complex urban data accessible to residents, empowering them to initiate change in their own streets.

* Future Integration: Paving the way for the integration of clinical health data (respiratory health, obesity, etc.) to create a truly holistic urban health index.

Team

NUR Lab
Merav Ferziger - Project Manager
Noam Gal - Data Scientist
Maya Rodrick - System Development
Kfir Hadad - System Development
Merav Battat - NUR Lab Director
Yonatan Cohen - NUR Technological Director

Urban95 Israel
Hila Lotan - Project Consultant, Publica
Bosmat Tsfadia-Wolf - Urban95 Israel Programme Director
Noga Pepperman

Health Experts
Nadav Davidovich - Public Health Department, BGU
Isabella Karakis - Environmental Epidemiology Department, Health Ministry
Assi Sikurel - Clalit
Tamar Freud - Public Health Department, BGU

Be’er Sheva Municipality
Mor Drori - Kivunim
Heftsi Zohar - Deputy Mayor, Be’er Sheva
Shahaf Cohen

Collaborating Organizations

Urban95 Israel
Public Health School, Ben Gurion University
Be'er Sheva Municipality
Kivunim
Clalit Health Services
Health Ministry, Environmental Epidemiology Department