Amman — central role and place

His Majesty King Abdullah’s recent working visit to the Greater Amman Municipality emphasises the central place, and role, the capital holds and plays in the country.

With 4 million people living in Amman, a clear majority out of a total population of over six-and-a-half million Jordanians, the pivotal place of Amman in the political, economic, social and cultural sectors becomes all too obvious.

The King delivered a clear message to GAM employees: The municipality has duties and obligations that go beyond offering services to the public.

Amman’s profile must extend to promoting economic and industrial production, offering new vistas for tourism and cultural exchanges.

Amman has grown from a small city into a major metropolis in a matter of a few decades without adequate planning and zoning.

The influx of many new inhabitants and refugees from neighbouring countries has taxed the resources and ability of the local government to meet their needs and has taken a heavy toll on the city’s strained infrastructure.

The challenges facing Amman are many, and solving them requires much investment and planning, and definitely much time.

Amman, like most cities on the globe, is a place of contrasts: posh residential areas and run-down districts, rich and poor, clean and less so neighbourhoods.

Social housing has made a poor start in Amman, when it could have been done properly and accommodate many families decently.

The streets can hardly accommodate the tens of thousands of vehicles using them. No wonder, since they were built for much fewer inhabitants and vehicles.

Sidewalks are a guessing game at times, cleanliness, for which citizens are to blame without exception, often doubtful, and lighting in some areas, after the decision to ration energy, a thing of the past, which makes using them scary at best, if not a risk to limb and cars.

Still, the capital maintained in many parts its charm and unique beauty, and groups of well-intentioned citizens worked hard to revive iconic neighbourhoods.

GAM employees have been doing a fine job, labouring to improve the city’s image.

Still, there is a great deal more to be done to smarten it up and make it into an attractive residential, financial and entertainment capital that also services people from the governorates, at least until serious decentralisation is undertaken.