Meriem Myriam ABABSA, Chercheuse associée à l'Institut français du Proche-Orient et au CAREP Paris, consultante, France
From 2018, the National Urban Policy has been conceived to assist the Government of Jordan in “transforming the current urbanization patterns into an engine for development”.
However, local participation into urban planning decisions is still inexistent, and Amman Mayor still designated. Despite the adoption of a decentralization law in 2015, economic and physical planning is highly centralized in Jordan. Municipalities are not empowered to control their urban expansion. They are still under the authority of the Ministry of Local Development (ex MOMA) and they are depending from the approval of any land use modification by the Higher Planning Council.
Jordan lacks coordination between the multiple agencies in charge of urban planning. Cities have zoning and land use plans, but no comprehensive master plans (except for Amman and Aqaba). At municipal level, the last decentralization law, adopted in 2015, gave too much power to the local councils, without counter balancing the major role played by the Higher Planning Council and the Ministry of Local Development. Those local councils are under the pressure from landowners to expand the zoned and serviced areas. Urban planners are not sufficiently empowered within the municipal councils and they cannot support sustainable urban policies.
From 1980 to 1997, Jordan became the first Arab country to implement the World Bank innovative policy of informal areas upgrading with public participation. Initiated in Peru by the urban planner John F.C. Turner in the 1960s, this policy aimed to involve the inhabitants of informal areas during every stage of the renovation of their homes and to allow them access to homeownership through long-term loans guaranteed by the state. In a context characterized by liberal policies and privatization, urban policy remains a key tool to support the Government of Jordan to protect the public realm and coordinate large investments for the benefit of all.
Mots clés : Local governance|Urban planning|National Urban Policy|Jordan|Decentralization
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