The provision of housing in peripheral areas is often dictated by a central planning apparatus, whose lack of attention to local conditions may result in design solutions which are climatically inappropriate. An example of this phenomenon is the introduction of kightweight construction in Israel, as a geographically indiscriminate solution for housing the recent wave of immigration to the country. In the current study, the context and consequences of this housing policy are examined. The considerations which led to its adaptation are outlined, and the climatic conditions resulting from its implementation are analyzed through quantitative thermal comparisons. Cases are investigated in the arid Negev Highlands and the adjacent coastal plain, two regions which, despite their geographic proximity, vary substantially in their climatic appropriateness for this type of housing.
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