July 9, 2007

We need Amman to be environmentaly sustainable and green


One of the strategies being experienced in other cities when developing a modern new buildings is done by creating a new locations and new city centers. There was an opportunity to create a new city for Amman, put all these high rise buildings in one area creating a new magnet and away from the crowded center of the city. This will not only preserve the city fabric and history but will also decrease traffic congestions, .

Take for example Paris, they built a new city called La Defense and built the modern high rises there maintaining the character of the old city.

On the other hand, the new high rise building located at the 6th circle in Amman, they call it "City gate"..gate in the middle of the city!!!, now under construction, is a big mistake. The two glass towers are located at one of the highest points of Amman, imagine building at the top of that location two glass boxes that doesn't relate to the city skyline and doesn't relate to the city character.

Other cities have the same problem. In NY they are building a new "Trump" tower in Soho and the Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, but the city of New York accepted to substitute the affected residents. And the law supported the Trump tower to exist.


The problem is that every time GMA found a peace of land in the city they take it and build on it a project. It happens all the time, and it continues.

They did this in "Rass Al-Ein" where it should have been kept as a Green park with no buildings. Other location I want to mention is Al-Abdali project, a major transportation hub being transformed to a high density use center. Moreover, many locations been spread everywhere. More about the debate regarding GMA and Al-Abdali can be found under the topic “No to Abdali project Nor to abu Ghazaleh / a different perspective.”

We need to see more green, and less traffic in the city. These two points besides others I mentioned earlier under the topic “Regarding the new GMA Interim strategy” are the most important concerns to be achieved when you develop a city. Clearly, they are environmental issues.

It's clear that the Strategy adopted by the GMA is not doing that. My suggestion is to minimize construction of new buildings and limit it to conservation and development of existing projects and start planting trees, and build a whole new modern city with the infrastructure that can give an example of modernization, call it the Business or Financial district. Mixed use locations fragmented all over the city is not the solution. It will bring Chaos and disorder which will at the end affect the quality of life and the economy of the city.

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