Answer:
The Negev desert is mainly empty space - as you would assume.
However, there are many villages and towns. The largest is Beer Sheva (at the northern end of the Negev - "Capital of the Negev" - one of Israel's larger cities (with a university and large hospital). At the southern extreme is Eilat - a major tourist city.
David Ben Gurion (Israel's first PM) had a vision of making the desert bloom - and over the years many other towns, kibbutzim and moshavim (villages) have sprung up in accordance with this policy. Ben Gurion himself lived and is buried on Kibbutz Sede Boker. Other towns of note include Mitzpe Ramon, Dimona, Sderot
There is also fair human presence due to tourists (hiking the wadis - visiting the Ramon Craters etc), military and agriculture.