The city of Amman and other Jordanian cities are facing major challenges that hinder their development and growth. These challenges are compounded by the instability in the region. Water scarcity, high population growth rate and migration, economic problems and unemployment, climate change, inadequate infrastructure and public transportation, rising traffic congestion, and other environmental, social and cultural issues are some of these challenges. Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) however, has managed to address many of them and has increased its services provision proportionally with the sharp increase in the population, which has more than doubled over the past decade. This unprecedented urban growth and population increase have led to greater pressure on the resources of the Municipality, affecting its capability to develop and grow. Thus, following the traditional ways of working will not produce the desired results and will not achieve our vision of "having Amman a city that is an organized, modern, smart, safe, attractive, lively, friendly, viable, proud of its heritage and its roots". Therefore, it was essential for GAM to think of innovative ways to break away from the daily work and to move towards sound preplanning of the city’s future, to enable us to move from a reactive approach to proactive approach in the implementation of plans and initiatives according to the best international practices. Our actions today will shape our city’s future.
In December, 2014 Amman was selected among 300 other cities to participate in the second 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge- Pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation.
Amman Resilience Strategy was released in 2017 prior to selecting Amman to participate in the 100 Resilient Cities network. By joining this network, Amman received technical support and resources necessary for the development and implementation of Amman Resilience Strategy.
We aimed to understand the present resilience status of the city, through assessments of our shocks, stresses, and potential scenarios affecting our city assets, and most importantly through engagement with the city’s stakeholders, including Greater Amman Municipality departments, private-sector, NGOs, universities, youth organizations and more to understand the resilience challenges, which resulted in identification of a number of opportunities, specific priorities and initiatives which will help us improve the resilience of the city.
Urban Resilience is capacity if individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within the city to survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kind of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience.
The strategy consist of 5 pillars and 16 goals as follows:
An integrated and smart City
- Improve the mobility systems
- Promote walkability
- Institutionalize planning in the city
- Connect the city digitally
An Environmentally proactive City
- Manage and fulfil climate change commitments
- Improve energy efficiency and energy security, including by diversifying energy sources
- Promote application of green building codes and guidelines
- Manage our water resources efficiently
- Improve our waste management system
An Innovative and Prosperous City
- Leverage our existing human capital to create employment
- Support entrepreneurs, start-ups and incubators
- Empower women
A Young and Equal City
- Integrate and engage young people equally
- Support our youth through cultural campaigns
A United and Proud City
- Promote a sense of belonging amongst citizens
- Promote participation and engagement