How the Rapid Influx of

Population has Led to

Disoriented Public Space
in Amman?

Bisher Tabbaa
Contemporary Issues in Architecture and
Urbanism
2016

How the rapid influx of population has led to disoriented public space in Amman?
As author Hashem Gharaibeh described Amman in his novel Shahbandar Amman delivers justice
to strangers regardless of their origin. (2003, pp.51, 120) That has truly been the case and
formation of Jordans capital city. Growing by 2.5 million people since 2005, Amman has always
been a haven for migrants. Being relatively the only stable country in the Middle East, Jordan has
been built by its welcoming of migrants from unstable neighboring countries. Amman, formerly
known as Philadelphia had no physical settlers until the 1860s, it was more of a resting stop for
Bedouins who were travelling around.
The construction of the Hijaz railway in the early 1900s helped put Amman on the map. With the
construction of the Hijaz railway came the first wave of immigrants which were the Circassians. After
the Circassians came affluent traders from Syria and Lebanon settled in Amman which was one of
the first economic influxes in the city. Ammans hilly topography helped shape it instantly, the
families would live on the hills surrounding downtown, then walked down the steps (which then
became iconic) to do their errands and trade their goods. . The second wave of immigrants came
from Palestine after the Nakba in 1948 which brought the arrival of 100,000 Palestinians. In 1967,
came another 150,000 Palestinians. The 70s also witnessed a large inflow of investments from the
gulf which expanded the city spatially. Amman doubled the size from 21 km to 54km only in 1972.
The wave of migrants wouldnt stop even in the 21st century as the instability in Iraq and Syria led to
a growing population of Amman from 2,500,000 in 2005 to 4,500,000 in 2016.
Before the 67 influx, the planning of Amman had been controlled as the different neighborhoods of
Al Weibdeh and Jabal Amman and Al Ashrafiyye had 2 story villas with public space around them.
Although Ammanis were spatially distributed depending on their origins, that didnt stop social
interaction. What also helped the inclusion of public space in those old neighborhoods was the
tendency to walk. Amman still relied on pedestrian circulation since the long steps helped the
traders walk from their house to their work in downtown Amman. However, after the exponential
growth of population, Amman kept growing in size in a uniform unequal way. The more affluent
families left their old homes and shifted towards the west,
and the lower income families went east.
According to Iris Marion Young A public space is accessible
to anyone, where anyone can participate and witness and
represent differences (1990, p.250). So for the sake of
simplifying the term public space, I will assume that
public space is the social gathering of people in a nonprivate and semi-private spaces such as parks, squares,
pavements, sidewalks, plazas, religious spaces, stairs,
markets, and one particular space which I will explain later
on is the use of a land which may be public or private but
has been left vacant.
In order to better understand the structure of public space
in Amman, or any city for that matter, one has to observe
the wider scope, as it is not merely a physical layout of
Figure 1.0 shows the physical expansion of Amman
Source: Abu Thiab, 2012

space, but it is a reflection of the growing of the city. So, each urban public space cannot be
abstracted from its context, the research needs to take account the socio political and economic
factors that shape the country. Public space in Amman falls under four major categories. The first
one is the earlier communal spaces which were created before the rapid expansion of Amman.
These are mainly small parks in the old neighborhoods of Al Weibdeh, Jabal Amman, Al Ashrafiyye,
and the stairs that connect them to Al Balad which played a large part in social spaces in earlier
times. The second one is the plugging of urban spaces in the new typologies of the disoriented new
Amman which is basically creating a small park in the newer neighborhoods of Amman. Thirdly is the
renovation of old public spaces which have a historical value such as Rainbow Street, Hashimiyye
Plaza and King Faisal Street. Finally, shopping malls; which Ammanis perceive as their true public
space.
As a result of the rudimentary visions of town planning, Amman had a seemingly unregulated
expansion of the city after the 60s. The suburban sprawling didnt accommodate public spaces for
Ammanis and as Seteney Shami described it as more of a construction site than a city (2005). The
exponential growth of population lead to massive urban sprawl which makes Amman look like
concrete blocks cascading on its hilly terrain, with no green spaces in between them.
While middle class families are shifting to live in west Amman, developers are building 4 or 5 story
apartments which take up an entire block. Duplicate this scenario and you will end up with modern
day Amman. The power of multiplying the housing blocks lead to the image on these homogenous
housing blocks that make up most of west Amman. With the unregulated expansion of Amman, the
municipality didnt take into account of planning public spaces in between the housing blocks.

Figure 2.0
Source: Tabbaa, 2016

Figure 2.1
Source: Tabbaa, 2016

Figures 2.1 and 2.2 show how the homogenous apartments took over west Amman in different
neighborhoods.

Studies show that cities should have a minimum of 9m of public space per city dweller while there is
an average of 15 m in the world. Amman has only 6m per city dweller dweller (World Health
Organization, 2012). The location of the parks was not necessarily chosen, rather, they are merely
leftover areas in between neighborhoods, which limits the accessibility to them and are rarely used.
Studies have also shown that the parks were ignorantly designed especially with the relationship of
the orientation of the limited seating to the movement of the sun (Al Hiyari, 2012).
Since downtown or Al Balad was built up with the first settlers came, the city was friendlier in
terms of pedestrian circulation and relatively more planned than the random expansion of east and
west Amman. Al Balad is home to many public spaces such as the Hashemite plaza and King Faisal
street which has a historical value to the city where military and royal family celebrations occurred.
The 80s was the time when public space started to disappear. Since the 80s, the street began to lose
its value due to becoming a congested street rather than the public space, so the municipality along
with the Chamber of Commerce has put in efforts to renovate it by allowing more pedestrian space
and putting street furniture.
Rainbow Street, formerly known as Abu Bakr Al Siddiq Street has been very successful after its
renovation. It was one of the main streets of Amman in the 60s and even up until the 90s due to its
central location (adjacent to the first circle) and the variety of retail stores and landmark buildings.
However, similar to King Faisal Street, Rainbow Street began to lose its value after the 90s since the
real estate shift was moving either east or west. However, in an attempt to revitalize that area, the
government started renovating the street in 2006. With
minimal architectural intervention such as renovating
the street and pavement by adding cobblestone and
widening the walkways, it was an essential factor for
Turath Architects1 to preserve the heritage and identity
of the iconic architecture there. Turaths goal was to
renew the somewhat lost identity of the balad, and as
head architect Rami Daher said Rainbow Streets main
objective was to create an anti-mall space(Daher,
2015). The promenade and street furniture that
overlooks the citadel and some old parts of the city is a
way for the user to experience real Amman.
Off Rainbow Street extends a narrow road which
becomes a market on Fridays. Souq Jara was created
by the Jabal Amman Residents Association in an
attempt to rekindle the identity of Jabal Amman. The
vendors in the market range from youth trying their
hand at entrepreneurship to local charities. Souq Jara
has helped create attention to the rejuvenation of
Rainbow Street.

Figure 3.0 shows a map of Amman and the locations of different

sites
Source: Al Jafri, 2014

Turath Architects is a Jordan based design firm led by Head Architect Rami Daher

As I have already mentioned, the older neighborhoods which were formed before the growth of
population had public space. The city was growing at a relatively steady pace and the municipality
was able to plan public spaces. In this case, I will look at Al Weibdeh Park. The park which is home to
the National Gallery of Fine Art has not been well maintained. Although the park has been neglected
to some extent by the government, the neighborhood is seeing the return of locals into the area as
well as foreigners. Al Weibdeh is in fact one of the districts where we are witnessing the appearance
of an identity. Since it is part of old Amman, it is very pedestrian friendly and has numerous public
spaces. The success of Khaled Shuman Darat Al Funun Foundation has made Al Weibdeh
encouraging for aspiring artists to open their studios. The French embassy also renovated Paris Circle
making it a suitable green public space with street furniture.
In 1964, the late King Hussein found the need of a public space that caters for sports in Amman.
Spanning approximately 250,000 m, the public park is home to the Jordans national football and
basketball stadium and numerous other sports facilities as well as a theatre. The park is flooded with
sport enthusiasts from all over Amman over the weekend to use the facilities the park has to offer.
Another park which was built in the time of King Hussein was the King Abdullah Public Park in west
Amman. The park was built in the peak of the population growth and was almost always
overcrowded. Not only that, but the park is built on a very steep hill with no regard for pedestrian
circulation, it is more of a cluster of facilities cramped up in an already difficult site. King Abdullah
Park lacks open green space which later on discouraged people to visit it. By the late 90s the park
became close to abandoned. Now it remains a large useless taken up space in the middle of the city.
However, there are rumors that a private investor might purchase the whole block for development
purposes.
However, after the failure of the King Abdullah Park, King Abdullah II opened the King Hussein Park
in 2006. Almost 280,000 m2 of public space, the King Hussein Park is more of a new updated version
of the King Hussein Youth City. Located in West Amman the park is filled with green space and user
friendly circulation. The park has numerous fields of different sports, a childrens museum, an
amphitheater, King Husseins automobile museum and the King Hussein Mosque. After the success
of the King Hussein Park, the municipality is building a new park similar to it in Al Mugabalain in East
Amman which will also have a military museum.
Wakalat Street is a newly renovated public space in Sweifieh district in west Amman. Sweifieh is a
very busy commercial area and Wakalat Street is at the heart of it. It is a very densely populated
district where vehicle traffic has always been an issue. In 2007, the Greater Municipality of Amman
decided to close the vehicular traffic in Wakalat Street and make it solely pedestrianized. Turath
architects designed the space to be pedestrian friendly and added street furniture in the space.
Keeping in mind their concept of anti-mall, Turath designed the space to have a balance between
the retail stores and cafes and their public space. However, Wakalat Street has not been very
successful as it is extremely hard to find a parking spot in Sweifieh which makes it unappealing
especially since the street furniture was removed due to vandalizing. The idea is if you are going to
drive 5 times around the district to find a parking spot then walk to the street to go to retail stores,
Ammanis would rather go to a mall.
The lack, or should I say, the many issues that discourage people from going to the formal public
spaces has led Ammanis to adopt a new informal space of their own. Ammanis have created an

informal public space that caters their needs. Peoples spatial needs for their activities have
motivated them to seek and generate new social places that are not necessarily defined as the
formal level as spaces for public use (Lefebvre, 1991). These informal public spaces are scattered
around vacant land, which may or not be private, but are more concentrated on the airport road.
Since public transportation in Amman is nearly nonexistent, Ammanis drive their cars to vacant spots
and set up what we call Hash o Nash or Barbeque picnic. This issue is unfortunately the result of
many problems in Amman; firstly, the unavailability of adequate public transportation, and the
unavailability of numerous good public spaces. Jordanians do Hash o Nash usually on weekends,
and the two main users of this space are male youths and families. This problem is a reflection of
how Ammans attitude towards privatization has led to this anti-social behavior. Groups who go to
these spaces are usually scattered and do not interact with each other. This supposedly public
space is also sexist because it is out of norm for a group of females to have their picnic or barbeque
in these informal spaces and will most probably be verbally harassed, while it is perfectly normal for
males to use these spaces.
This informal public space raises the issue of the transportation in Amman. There is 1.5 million
registered cars in Amman, while approximately 4.5 million people live in Amman, 45% are too young
to have a driving license, which leaves around 0.5 cars per eligible driver. This over crowdedness in
cars is one of the reasons why Ammanis do not use the already limited public space in the city, which
is why they resort to the airport road or simply cruising around the city streets. Since public spaces
are not in walkable distance, Ammanis would rather cruise around than go to a space, park their car
and simply walk. In a high living cost city such as Amman, many resort to the informal spaces and
smoke their shisha instead of going to a mall to sit in a caf and smoke shisha. The culture is also a
barrier for women who do not feel totally secure from verbal harassment if they are walking.
When a city is walkable, public spaces arise, and give identity to the city. People connect with their
neighborhood and their city when they are walking more than if they are driving. Memories tie us
to that place Its personal, not interesting to anyone else, but after all, thats what gives a
neighborhood its character. (Certeau and Rendall, 1984, p.108) This is why we are seeing the reemerging of a character in Al Weibdeh and Jabal Amman. However, Ammanis lack a sense of
belonging to the city to an extent. We are always asked Where are you from? When the answer is
Amman, the reply is No, where are you really from? (Daher, 2015) For some reason, people dislike
being associated with having a Ammani heritage. Although I believe if one and especially if one and
their parents were brought up in the city, theyre Ammanis. The government and the municipality
have done somewhat contradictory decisions in regards to the development of public space in
Amman. While we are seeing the emergence of local neighborhood parks such as the Zen Garden in
Abdoun, Zaha Center, Zahran Gardens, the municipality is aiding multinational corporations to
dominate the city with the privatization of spaces. Ammanis are moving back into nostalgic places,
the government is building Al Abdali which diminishes the whole development of identity in Amman.
Amman has seen a wave of privatization since the early 2000s. Neoliberalism along with urban
transformations have aided in the loss of urban identity and the peoples perception of public space
in Amman. In 2000, the Greater Municipality of Amman created a masterplan to transform the city
from being monocentric to a multi centric metropolis in order to decentralize the population and
economic activities (Daher, 2015), this has caused spatial segregation and inequality gaps. Amman
is an attractive city for foreign investors because its population is growing, consumption is increasing

and it is still developing. The city has witnessed a large number of developments whether they are
high rise buildings on real estate compounds on the outskirts of Amman. However, I will look closely
at Al Abdali project which is a reflection of the country, and citys attitude towards urban
development. The Abdali is a mixed use urban development project that aims to be a new hub for
commercial and business projects. After the success of the Solidaire in Beirut, The Harriris aimed
to build a similar project in Amman with the assistance of the municipality. The Solidaire was
supposed to reconstruct the promenade of Beirut but ended up being an elite targeting
development project that supposedly has historical and heritage values but are merely themes
incorporated in the design. Interested in this development project, the municipality created a nongovernmental body called Mawared which will help the investors speed up the process, be tax
exempted, and even be subsidized to bring in the business elite to the city.
Located only 1.5 km away from
downtown Amman, the Abdali is a
symbolic replacement of the old full
of heritage downtown. This careless
attitude towards the historical
quarters of the city is something
Middle Eastern cities are notorious
for. Instead of renovating the old part
of downtown and making it more
habitable and a part of the city where
people would be attracted to, they
are building huge development
projects that will only cater to a
significantly small part of the Figure 4.0 shows the rendering of Al Abdali in Amman
Source: Abdali, 2012

population. Projects like Al Abdali are

creating an artificial unauthentic identity to the city. When googling Amman, most of the pictures
that will show up on the image search are renders of the Abdali in the foreground (see figure 4.0).
People have also used it as profile pictures on Facebook, and it will even be the first thing you see as
soon as you land in Queen Alia International Airport. This mistaken identity will not represent
Amman or the people living there, it is a reflection of the Wests interpretation of how our cities
should look like. It is plagued with a shallow global identity of retail stores and cafes with very
selective clientele. The Abdali Boulevard was charging an entrance fee to the Public Christmas
bazaar in the holiday season. This segregation is based on monetary values.
As a result of Ammans privatization, the city has become a series of islands, with a mall catering to
the needs of each district. This neoliberalist movement has had negative effects on local
neighborhood shops, as Ammanis would rather go to a huge mall that they consider public space; it
also caters their consumer needs. Mecca mall has been identified that it is the most popular public
space in Amman. Despite the fact that this public space is a money consumption oriented space, it
is also very selective as to whom is allowed in this space. The socio economic transformation of
Amman has created privatized public space based on a highly selective definition of the public
(Crawford, 1995). For instance, Ammani males are not allowed to go into malls on weekends, which
is ironic since Ammanis consider it a public space. This creates a new disoriented notion of

inclusion/exclusion and public/private. Since Ammani males are excluded from this gated public
space, they resort to cruising and to informal public spaces which I explained earlier.
As a result of the rapid expansion and the urban sprawling, it has been difficult for the municipality
to organize and maintain a healthy amount of public space per capita. Unfortunately, the general
population and the public conscious are unaware of the issues of public space, urban development
and therefore cannot protest these extreme shifts towards neoliberalism. I believe we are seeing the
humble beginnings of an emerging urban identity in Amman. However, this identity cannot reach its
full potential without the association of the municipality. The interest of people in the arts culture
can help produce more public spaces in the city. However, I think the first step for the city to
relinquish its identity is making Amman pedestrianized. If the municipality creates effective public
transportation, then it will change the whole perception of Amman as an urban space, the notion of
being walkable will help it create more public spaces, and see the emergence of this much needed
identity.

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