Spatial and Environmental Planning Challenges in Amman, Jordan

The objective of this paper is to identify the key spatial and environmental housing related challenges facing Amman and to consider them in the context of past, present and future planning policies. The paper reports on face-to-face, in-depth interviews conducted with planning professionals based in Amman, designed to explore their concerns regarding current planning issues and their proposals for addressing them. Information from local and international literature has been used to contextualize the findings. The study revealed that current planning legislation, poorly implemented, has resulted in uncontrolled land use, water shortages, increased energy consumption, road congestion, air pollution, and ineffective waste management. The research identified a range of policies proposed by planning professionals for ameliorating past errors and providing a more sustainable and healthy environment. These proposals include: an enforceable legal framework, updated planning and design regulations, private/public partnerships, the enhancement of public participation and greater professionalization of the planning sector. The paper concludes by benchmarking these against the aims of the latest planning policy document, Amman 2025.