Evaluation Urban Land Use Related Policies to Reduce Urban Sprawl

Environmental Consequences in Amman City-Jordan Compared with

Other Two Cities

NOUR ABDELJAWAD

Doctoral School of Management and Organizational Sciences, Faculty of economic science

Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Kaposvár,

HUNGARY

IMRE NAGY

Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Faculty of Science,

University of Novi Sad

Novi Sad,

SERBIA

Abstract: - Cities urgently need effective policies and plans for strategic urban development that can slow down

uncontrolled urban growth. Due to the implementation of numerous sustainable urban development policies

throughout the Middle East over the past twenty years, sustainable urbanization is now more widely

acknowledged. Some of these policies and methods have been found to be successful in improving the

sustainability of cities. Amman’s plans to develop the city have been in the process like that of 2025 as a

master plan, and these were drafted in 2006 and 2008. However, its growth has been affected by the issue of

increased urbanization or urban/suburban sprawl, hence limiting sustainable development. The researcher used

the analytical approach to mobilize the critical literature review, this paper has conducted a comprehensive

study on the best practices of sustainable urbanization policies in the Middle East. Best practice methods and

results have been identified. The results were also presented in different Middle Eastern regions in cities such

as Cairo and Istanbul. Considering the effects of urbanization and urban sprawl and its mitigating measures,

this paper can be regarded as foundational research in evaluating the relationship between policy

implementation and urban environmental management. Future studies should investigate the impacts of

urbanization on land use and land cover changes in the city of Amman and their effect on the environment.

Key-Words: - Urban Suburban Sprawl; Green City Action Plan; Amman Master Plan 2025; Climate Change;

Resilient; Sustainable urban development; Greater Amman Municipality

Received: August 14, 2022. Revised: November 21, 2022. Accepted: January 9, 2023. Published: February 16, 2023.

1 Introduction

Urbanization is a complex process by which the

rural way of lifestyle is transformed into an urban

one. It is commonly defined as the shifts that take

place in a region's territorial and socioeconomic

development, including the general change from

undeveloped to developed land use categories, [1].

Globally, urban areas have been growing gradually

and rapidly, often at the expense of natural and

semi-natural territory). Since the twenty-first

century, global urbanization has been accelerating,

[2]. The urbanization process has quickly become an

essential component of global growth and the

principal channel through which human activities

influence the natural environment and climate, [3],

[4], [5]. Moreover, urbanization is a complex spatial

activity that is influenced by a variety of elements

such as policy, population, economy, and natural

causes and manifests itself differently in different

places, [6]. It is worth mentioning that such land use

cover changes are typically irreversible. As a result,

one of the focal points of global change studies has

been the spatiotemporal evolution of urbanization.

Many emerging countries are currently experiencing

rapid urbanization. These areas' rapid economic

development and increased industrialization have

resulted in an influx of urban people. Several

challenges have developed in this setting, including

the invasion of valuable agricultural resources,

environmental degradation, and traffic congestion,

all of which have a detrimental influence on the

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efficient operation of urban systems, [7], [8], [9].

Therefore, predicting the urban land use trend and

directing sustainable city growth requires a thorough

understanding of the present challenges.

The formation of our cities is significantly

influenced by public policy. In addition, the

influence that public policies have on the spatial

expansion of urban areas is important to consider.

This is because state policy is one of the primary

factors that encourage residents to establish new

residential neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city

or those that are adjacent to agricultural lands.

Moreover, the impact that public policies have on

the spatial expansion of urban areas is important to

consider. As a result of population growth, wide

uses of agricultural land are changed to

accommodate the requirements of new cities, [10].

Urban regulations and requirements, such as

dividing agricultural lands into small areas, facilitate

encroachment or cause other negative consequences,

such as high energy consumption; a reduction in

water surface bodies; air pollution; reduction in

agricultural land and vegetation cover; a loss of

ecological diversity, and a wide range of

socioeconomic impacts, [11], [12], [13], [14].

In this context, Amman, Jordan's capital, has

undergone a significant transformation from a small

city with a population of 2,000 to 3,000 in 1920 to a

metropolitan metropolis with a population of more

than 4 million in 2021, [12]. Because of this rise, the

number of urban centers has increased while the

rural population has shrunk, due to the inability of

existing services to support the increase in

population and housing, which has dramatically

increased the rate of urban inflation. Moreover,

urban centers in Jordan grew at a rate of 4.1%

annually between 1970 and 1990, faster than the

major cities of Asia, which grew at an average of

3% annually during the same period, [15]. The

expansion of urban activity and resource

consumption divert resources away from

sustainability principles. Policymakers and urban

planners are becoming increasingly concerned about

urban environmental management and sustainable

development as a result of changing patterns in land

use and cover, [16].

Amman has made significant strides in growth

management at this point. In 1986, the United

Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS),

the United Nations Development Program (UNDP),

and the World Bank collaborated to launch the

Urban Management Program (UMP) in Jordan. This

endeavor was made possible thanks to the efforts of

all three organizations. This represents one of the

most significant developments in metropolitan area

management. Jordan is provided with the technical

resources necessary to enhance urban planning and

economic development through UMP. Jordan

receives technical resources, municipal finance,

public administration, urban management

(infrastructure, land, and environment), and poverty

eradication through UMP, all of which are critical to

promoting urban planning and economic

development, [17].

This paper is about the evaluation of land use-

related policies that mitigate the impact of urban

sprawl and its environmental impact on Amman

toward achieving a sustainable city. To get to the

conclusions, the researcher utilized the inductive

technique and (60) a scholarly article connected to

my research subject. The critical literature review

was employed by the researcher as an analytical

strategy. This method does not search extensively.

Its purpose is to chronicle, compare, and contrast

contributions from various theoretical,

methodological, and epistemological viewpoints,

[18].

This research will also help define the government’s

spatial planning policy and viable solutions to

achieve the city’s environmental sustainability

goals. Accordingly, this research aims to inquire

about multi-scale environmental and urban planning

and policies in the city of Amman toward achieving

the city’s environmental sustainability goals.

2 Study Area

This study aimed to shed light on the ongoing

changes and problems in Jordan and the need to

investigate urban growth management so that

remedial policies and practices can be implemented

quickly and effectively to deal with urban change.

The government's urban (spatial) planning policy Is

one of the main factors driving urban/suburban

expansion, in addition to social, demographic,

economic, and physical factors.

Cities urgently need effective policies and plans for

strategic urban development that can slow

unplanned urban growth. New instruments are

required to measure the characteristics and

distribution of the terrain, the amount of urban

sprawl, and its monitoring. The Middle East has

adopted numerous sustainable urban development

strategies over the past twenty years, and as a result,

sustainable urbanization is now generally

acknowledged. Some of these regulations and

techniques have been proven effective in increasing

urban sustainability. Although the environment in

cities is under more stress due to urbanization.

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The study area is Greater Amman Municipality with

an area of about 802 km2. It is located between

latitudes 31°48՜ N and 32°5՜ N and longitudes

35°44՜ E and 36°13՜ E. Amman is located 750

meters above sea level and is surrounded by 918

mountains. It is the business and financial hub of

Jordan. Modern architecture is characteristic of the

city. Figures 1 and Figure 2 both provide GAM

areas for your perusal.

Fig. 1: Greater Amman Municipality view

Fig. 2: Jordanian maps of the 22 administrative

districts of GAM Climate

The climate and terrain of GAM are varied. Due to

stable microclimate conditions, winter weather is

anticipated in the cit’'s western and northern

regions. The east is typically damp, but the

southeast is typically hot and muggy.

3 Theoretical Background

It is well known among historians that Amman is

home to a plethora of water sources, including

streams, springs, artesian wells, and reservoirs that

can be found winding their way through the cit’'s

valleys. It is also referred to as “"The city of water”"

and “"The regal city”" in the Torah, [19], both of

which pertain to the capital. The name "Amman"

was given to the city while it served as the royal

capital of Ammonite (1200 BC). After that, the

Greco-Romans gave Amman the name Philadelphia

and admitted it to the Decapolis league. During this

time, Amman was also accepted into the league.

People in Lower Amman built their dwellings out of

stone and mud on the banks of the stream and

earned their livelihood via a combination of

agriculture, commerce, and grazing animals. On the

citadel mountain, where it was perched 130 meters

above the Amman River, Upper Amman could be

found. During the course of the siege and during the

summer, water was gathered in ponds and wells and

stored for future use. Between the years 1955 and

1970, a large number of agencies and organizations

presented Amman with a variety of different

development proposals. These designs were a

reflection of the ongoing demographic and

infrastructural shifts that have been taking place in

Amman. The designs suggested adjustments to the

stream in accordance with the plan goals, with a

particular emphasis placed on the urban core that

lies between the stream and the urban areas on each

side of it, [20]. UN field planners and consultants

King and Lock-in produced the city of Amman's

first comprehensive development plan in 1955, [21].

As a reaction to the massive flood of refugees that

occurred in the wake of the 1948 Palestinian–Israeli

conflict, this plan made an effort to fulfill its

objectives regarding housing and employment.

Through the development of self-contained

mountain communities, the concept was to preserve

and improve the natural environment. It embraced

the idea of "green fingers," which consisted of

extending public open spaces from the stream

corridors into the core of the city. This was done in

order to establish public open spaces. The plan

called for the creation of a "central park" in the

middle of the city, which would also include a

municipal building, a library, a theater, and an art

gallery, [22]. This idea was undoubtedly influenced

by Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City concepts as

well as British urban planning innovations from the

1640s, [22]. According to the subsequent plans that

were prepared by the municipality, this concept did

not end up being put into action or further

developed in terms of the procedures for land use

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management or spatial planning. The ecological city

center and the green fingers were both clueless

about the importance of this development. The

initial concept, which was developed in 1955, was

eventually superseded by piecemeal additions due to

fluctuations in the construction industry.

In the 1960s, the Jordan Development Board (JDB)

established the Planning Department. At that time,

they emphasized the need for a seven-year program

for Jordan's economic development. The goal of this

program was to improve Jordan's agricultural and

tourism industries while also achieving evolution

and development in both of these areas (1964–

1970). Nevertheless, as a result of the deterioration

of Jordan's economic circumstances during Israel's

occupation of the West Bank in 1967, the Civic

Center Development Plan (CCDP) was established

in 1968. The primary focus of this plan was to

reconstruct Amman's Central Business District

(CBD), which was centered on the tourism industry.

The intended design called for the establishment of

a linear park in addition to other land uses like

administrative, commercial, recreational, and

service, [22]. As a direct consequence of this, the

stream's reach was progressively extended to a

distance of ten kilometers, which spans the distance

between Ras Al-Ein and Ein Ghazal. Along the

stream that runs between the historic structure that

served as the Amman Municipality and the

Raghadan Bridge, the proposal calls for the

construction of a plaza that will include a public

library, exhibitions, theaters, and other cultural

institutions. In addition, the construction of

commercial buildings is called for by the project in

order to contribute to the rehabilitation of the

neighborhood.

The plan from the 1960s to create a core business

center in the downtown area was never carried out

due to the way the property is now used. Alterations

to the usage of land lead to an increase in the

amount of traffic congestion. As a direct

consequence of this, the region's early issues with

traffic have not been remedied. Flooding has

continued to be a problem far into the contemporary

age. The initiative was implemented in the 1960s

with the intention of relieving downtown traffic

congestion and winter floods in order to build a

richer downtown area; nevertheless, the outcomes

have been the opposite of what was intended. The

alteration in land use has an effect on the social and

perceptual aspects that make up the character of the

city.

4 Literature Review

4.1 Urban- suburban Sprawl Impacts

Amman faces a number of spatial development

challenges on a metropolitan scale, including an

expanding development pattern based on single-use

residential districts and low-density urban sprawl;

sky-high land and housing costs; high rates of car

ownership; and a transportation system dominated

by cars that causes congestion, air pollution, and the

marginalization of pedestrians, [23].

Further, [24] asserts that urban sprawl develops

when cities expand too rapidly in terms of physical

size. According to, [25], urban sprawl causes a

variety of negative outcomes, such as increased

income inequality, job insecurity, the decline of

central cities, higher housing costs, longer

commutes, environmental problems, the extinction

of species, the loss of farmland, feelings of

isolation, high blood pressure, tense muscles,

intolerance, psychological disorientation, and even

violence.

4.2 Factors that Caused Rapid Changes in

Land Use in Amman

As a prominent indication of the urbanization

process and a direct manifestation of urban land use,

urban expansion has been frequently used in the

analysis of urbanization driving factors and

processes, [26], [27]. A previous study has shown

that a range of variables, including ecological,

socioeconomic, and political considerations, impact

urban growth, [28]. Furthermore, the factors driving

urban growth regularly alter in both space and time.

Historically, urban immigration in Amman has

outpaced infrastructural development in destination

towns, resulting in population concentration and

density increases. Continuous migrant movements

have contributed significantly to an increase in

population density and built-up areas, with one of

the main consequences being the modification of

settlement structures and urban services. With the

economic crisis in 1989, which resulted in a drop in

the value of the Jordanian Dinar, more individuals

from rural areas and small cities were driven to

come to Amman. Furthermore, Amman remains

Jordan's economic hub, with a plethora of services,

jobs, and business prospects.

From the middle of the twentieth century forward,

Amman's population has grown at a staggering rate,

changing the city's demographics and economy in

unprecedented ways. More land must be developed

for public infrastructure (including roads, water

facilities, and utilities), housing, industrial, and

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commercial uses to accommodate a city's growing

population and economic activity. It is crucial for

urban planners and managers to understand the

historical context and long-term effects of

Urbanization, [29].

The deterioration of the natural landscape and

ecological imprint is the result of this basically

unplanned and thus uncontrolled process.

Conversely, many "informal" houses in Jordan's

metropolitan districts were erected without planning

licenses and accounted for more than half of the

urban building stock, particularly in disadvantaged

neighborhoods, [30]. Because of the ineffective

planning system, informal homes are considered a

severe environmental problem.

Research according to previous studies, [19], [31],

[33] indicates that a large number of articles on the

factors that caused urban sprawl in Amman, land

use, and unplanned urban growth have been

published over many years and clear terminology

has been established. However, concerning the

'urban peri-urban sprawl' under review, the term is

not exactly used but appropriately described.

In [34], these characteristics were investigated in

connection to the form of the land use policy that

rules and drives urban growth. Another issue that

was studied in relation to the structure of the social

fabric and the distribution of tribes in the area was

also an important consideration. Therefore, there is

a close connection between the legal system that

governs land use in Amman, land ownership and the

arbitrary and uncontrolled changes in land use that

must be adhered to along the suggested urban

corridors as long as a just and efficient policy

cannot be developed. This is because the legal

system that governs land use in Amman was

modeled after the Israeli legal system, which was

modeled after the British legal system. The reason

for this is that the legal system that rules land use in

Amman was created as a consequence of the fact

that there is a tight link between the legal system

that governs land use in Amman and land

ownership. This is the reason why this is the case.

Attempting to control the urban land fragmentation

would make the urban structure worse and disrupt

the spatial balance. The spatial structure of Greater

Amman would most certainly evolve progressively

distorted urban patterns if these practices were

allowed to continue. Attempting to control the urban

land fragmentation would make the urban structure

worse.

4.3 Land Use Policy Mitigates Urban-

Suburban Sprawl

In most cases, the management of urban growth

involves the use of master plans, development plans,

urban borders, zoning laws, subdivision rules,

investment in infrastructure, property taxes, and

development fees [32]. Based on the findings of

numerous academics and an inductive methodology,

it is established that the current urban strategy failed

to effectively monitor the effects of land use as was

suggested. Instead, after the approval of some

contentious measures that permitted changes to

zoning and land titling to encourage the expansion

of industrial investment in favor of some powerful

landowners, random, uncontrolled spatial growth

has occurred, notably along the two planned urban

corridors [34].

The comprehensive Greater Amman Master Plan,

with a 2025 horizon, presents a strategy for

prioritizing growth limits, land use, transit-oriented

development, and natural and cultural assets in six

stages, as shown in Figure 3. Amman enacted a

Resilience Plan in 2017 in response to the refugee

surge and climate change and has guided

densification and land-use regulations using World

Bank-supported urban development scenarios.

Extending on this, Amman became the first Arab

city to establish a Climate Plan in 2019 [35]. While

the city's per capita emissions are modest in

comparison to other cities, the substantial costs

associated with inefficient land use on future

infrastructure demands and energy imports make

green resilience a strategic priority, [36], [37].

Fig. 3: The six phases of Amman 2025, [36]

4.4 Sustainable City and Smart Growth

Transition

The GAM and the EBRD (European Bank for

Reconstruction and Development) launched what is

known as the GCAP (Green City Action Plan). This

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indicated that the city was included in the Green

Cities program, [38]. Research shows that the

Greater Amman Municipality has helped the city in

identifying, prioritizing, as well as addressing the

city's acute environmental and climate challenges.

These programs were launched in response to the

need to have a better future through sustainable

practices in the city.

According to the "Amman Green City Action Plan",

[70], the EBRD, together with the ICLEI

("International Council of Local Environmental

Initiatives") and "Organization for Economic

Cooperation and Development" a constant and

flexible methodology was developed to serve all

cities considered within the program. This

methodology considers only four steps or

procedures. These are as follows: (a) the baseline

for green cities; (b) the green city action plan; (c)

green city implementation; and (d) green city

reporting.

The green city baseline: This establishes or includes

the underlying conditions within Amman that

determine the environmental performance.

Therefore, it considers things like political

performance, technical assessment, as well as the

gathering of environmental indicator information

with the use of the PSR (Pressure-State-Response).

The political framework considers the national,

super-national, municipal, and regional legislative

and regulatory frameworks responsible for

governing concerns about environmental

management, [39]. This is aimed at encouraging the

GAM as well as other concerned stakeholders to

solve environmental challenges. It also considers the

review of available projects and programs aimed at

improving the natural environment of Amman. The

gathering of environmental indicator information by

the PSR framework of 114 optional and 70 core

indices is considered an indicator.

4.5 Comparing Other Cities as a Case Study

Cairo case study: According to [40], the increase in

population within the city of Cairo (Egypt) led to

the development of new cities to separate the

economic activities in different parts of the nation.

In the 1970s, the Egyptian policy of starting new

cities was started by the government. This was

based on the fact that the population of the city

along the Nile was increasing day and night, and the

area available could not accommodate the people

around. Therefore, the government thought of the

fundamental means how to fix this issue of the

growing population. The industrial base was

established outside the valley; both public and

private investments were attacked, [41]. Several

towns from 1976 to 1980 were established and

launched. The towns are considered the first

generation of new towns within the nation. The

cities that were newly established in Egypt include

the 15th of May, the sixth of October, the 10th of

Ramadan, Borg El-Arab, New Damietta, and El-

Sadat. Some cities, such as the 15th of May, the 6th

of October, and the 10th of Ramadan, were

established near Greater Cairo, while others were

established far away from Greater Cairo. The new

cities were intended to be economically and

geographically independent of the great cities.

Every city was designed with its own industrial

base. Furthermore, towards the mid-1980s, the next

generation of establishing other towns around Cairo

began, [42]. These were referred to as “sister towns”

to the existing cities. Currently, Egypt has a total of

20 cities that are well functioning. In this article, a

comparison of three cities is made, including the

10th of Ramadan, the sixth of October, and New

Damietta. Therefore, it focuses more on the success

of some cities than others towards attaining

sustainable development as well as becoming

greener cities. According to this article, the success

of some cities in attaining sustainable development

depends on some identified factors. These include:

(1) the strategic and improved location of "the 10th

of Ramadan and the Sixth of October" within the

capital region as well as the New Damietta location

along the Northern Mediterranean coast. (2)

favorable targets for expanded "subsidized public

housing programs." (3) A larger industrial zone for

both private and public industries, with significant

incentives, [43]. The attractiveness of private and

public investment. In 1979, “The Sixth of October”

was announced to accommodate a population below

500,000. This implies that if the city has reached its

maximum population the other population would be

referred to as another city. This city was planned

with bigger industrial areas with better accessibility

as well as structured housing, [43]. It is indicated

that changes within the city have been happening

since the 1990s in "the Sixth of October" city. The

urban policy comparison is presented in Table 1.

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Table 1. Urban policy comparison

Amman City in

Jordan

Cairo city in Egypt

"Amman Green

City Action Plan"

[70].

The Egyptian policy of

beginning new cities,

This methodology

considers only

four steps or

procedures.

The cities include the 15th of

May, the Sixth of October, the

10th of Ramadan, Borg El-

Arab, New Damietta, and El-

Sadat.

These include:

These cities have been able to

control their population and

their environmental effects

because of the following

(a) The baseline

for green cities.

(1) The strategic and improved

location of "the 10th of

Ramadan and the 6th of

October" within the capital

region, as well as the New

Damietta location along the

Northern Mediterranean coast.

(b) Green city

action plan.

(2) The favorable targets for

bigger "subsidized public

housing programs."

implementation.

(3) The larger industrial zone

for both private and public

industries hence enjoying

considerable incentives, [43].

(d) Green city

Reporting.

(4) The attractiveness of the

private and public investment.

Cairo has been successful with its policy because it

has enough land to allow the establishment of new

cities with better infrastructure, thus accommodating

the population. The "Amman Green City Action

Plan" is still in implementation and some of its

efforts are evidenced above and sustainability is not

yet attained.

Istanbul case study: According to [44], Istanbul is

one of the greatest cities in the Middle East. The

city is in a country known as Turkey. Edleman's

article describes current practices and thinking in

urban environmental management as well as a

possible solution to sustainable development. The

success of efforts on environmental protection is

compared with those in Amman city as a cause of

increased urbanization. This article indicates that

Turkey experiences high population growth with a

population of well over 15 million people. In the

ranking, it is considered the largest city in Europe as

well as taking the fifth position as far as population

city limits are concerned. This article shows that the

growth and development of this city (Istanbul) are

60% not planned. The city seems to be more

populated in relation to the land area of the city. It is

indicated that even today, the city is running on

unplanned trends. Due to this issue, the city has

experienced issues in implementing and succeeding

with plans related to attaining sustainable

development.

Towards attaining sustainable development, the city

has taken the measure of poverty alleviation. The

city has registered some progress under this.

According to David Jacques, a researcher from the

Borgan project, a number of people were living in

poverty. However, according to the information

from the past 10 years, people living on less than $4

a day have reduced to 1.7 million. Poverty

eradication is connected to attaining sustainable

development. This is because people are educated to

live while preserving the environment, [45].

In the program of poverty alleviation, the city has

been in a position of strategy sub-programs. These

include community gardens, mobile libraries, Ad

Hoc Housing, as well as COVID-19, and Pop-Up

Health mCare. The community garden is known as

a public space, aiding in fostering relationships in

the community as well as creating a place or an area

of accountability and responsibility. For a period, it

has been employed as a way of introducing fresh

food to the general community. Community gardens

also teach people about garden work as well as

preserve the natural soils, [46].

As far as industrial work is concerned Turkey is

known for its greater production of automobiles. In

addition, home goods and electronics production are

major businesses. Therefore, to protect the

environment, Turkey is placing more focus on the

production of electric vehicles, which do not

consume fuel energy to power their engines. This is

one of the most environmentally friendly practices

that will curb the issue of the increasing population

in the city, [47].

5 Materials and Methods

In order to find and evaluate pertinent literature

examining the relationships between urban sprawl

and climate change in the city of Amman, a two-

pronged strategy was used. The initial phase

concentrated on 21 reviews of the literature on

urban spread in general or the environmental effects

of urban sprawl that were published between 2000

and 2015 (it has now been expanded to 39

references, published between 2016 and 2022). By

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first enabling a review of definitions, perceptions,

and descriptions of the extension and then

identifying potent keywords and keyword

combinations that address links between the

extension or its main aspects and climate change, it

established the works and research topics covered in

these reviews (60) reviews as a solid foundation for

further research. Making a search in the Google

Scholar database was the second step. A preliminary

evaluation, including a review of the bibliographies

of the articles, was followed by a complete

evaluation. The mobilized analytical method

includes a thorough assessment of the literature.

This strategy doesn’t aim for inclusivity. It aims at

compiling and contrasting contributions from

various theoretical, methodological, and

epistemological viewpoints, [18].

Additionally, this factual secondary data came from

a variety of sources that dealt with urban planning,

the environment, water and sanitation,

transportation, and energy. Using specific keywords,

a manual literature search was done for electronic

databases (Google Scholar) to find pertinent

material. The word cloud count resulted in the

following keywords of Table 2:

Table 2. City policies frequently used keywords

City policies frequently used keywords

Policy

Master plan

Suburban sprawl

Transportation and

Traffic

Environmental

Impacts

Heritage

Open space

Green city action plan

Agriculture

Smart growth

Energy

Transition

Land use

Sustainable development

Air pollution

Health

Policies concerning sprawl are not directly

mentioned but are present under the main

documents of land use policy, urban planning, and

master planning. Land use policy is categorized into

three types of policies (regulations, economic

intervention, institutional change, and management).

The Policy-related types with examples are

presented in Table 3.

Table 3. Policy-related types with examples based

on, [48].

Policy types

Examples

Regulation

● Land use and spatial planning

● Land use restrictions

● Density restrictions

Economic

intervention:

direct

investment,

Taxation or

subsidy

● Infrastructure provision

includes transportation,

utilities, and social services

● Subsidies (mainly urban

regeneration)

● Taxes on development

● Real estate taxes

● Trading in development

licenses

Institutional

change,

management,

and

advocacy

● Changes in the size and

purposes of municipalities

● Special agencies (mainly

urban regeneration)

● Policy discussions,

partnerships, and advocacy

Given the size of the literature, we narrowed our

search in several ways in order to maintain my

inductive approach. Initially, concentrate on public

sector-related regulations for regulating

urbanization, land use, and preserving open space.

Non-governmental organizations, such as the World

Bank, that have developed innovative programs and

initiatives are also covered in this review and related

articles. Secondly, only policy instruments were

used in Amman-Jordan, with two examples were

taken from Middle Eastern cities such as Cairo and

Istanbul.

Finally, rather than lingering on previous policies,

which frequently had a far more constrained range

of aims, this assessment concentrated mostly on

more recent initiatives—typically proposed or

implemented after 1986. This approach enabled us

to prioritize the affected articles and evaluate them

concerning the research question.

Before continuing, give a general classification of

public policy tools pertinent to managing population

growth and preserving open space. In order to

organize our review and make sense of the extensive

and diverse literature, such a framework for

comprehending policy instruments is required.

Furthermore, it summarized the relevant findings

and clustered them in line with the terminology

used. This explains the comparability of the cluster

to the urban growth policies. The inductive

approach procedure is summarized in five steps:

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First, from the official websites, copies of

government documents on urban development, land

use, and environmental issues were downloaded,

including the Amman Master Plan 2025. Second,

every document was read in its entirety. Third,

codes were developed to categorize the data using

prior research and knowledge of the Jordanian

policymaking land use environment. An essential

step in the analysis is coding, which is described in

more depth below. The documents' contents were

analyzed and categorized in the fourth step. Fifth,

the quantity or proportion of documents on various

topics during a given time was used to gauge the

level of policy priority.

There are many different issue areas and numerous

facets of environmental problems and management

in Amman that can be examined due to the diversity

and abundance of land use policies related to urban

growth and its environmental challenges. This

article focuses on six key areas in order to make the

analysis more manageable: land use, the

environmental impact of urban-suburban sprawl,

environmental and land use policy tools, the causes

of the problem, mitigation measures (solutions),

sustainable smart growth, challenges, and best

practices from two cities. In addition to being a

component of the inductive technique, the focus on

these six areas serves as the framework for reporting

and debating the results.

5.1 Amman Population-density and Urban

Expansion Challenges

Population-density and urban sprawl challenges

Jordan faces a serious threat from population growth

while maintaining peace in a volatile and violent

region. Moreover, around half of the population,

80% of the country's industrial sector, and 55% of

its employment sector are concentrated in the

Greater Amman Municipality and its neighboring

territories. Around 80% of industrial manufacturing

is concentrated in this area of the world, [10],

putting an extra strain on the distribution of natural

resources, land use, and infrastructure. The Greater

Amman Municipality has a higher concentration of

people. It had 13,600 people living there per km2 in

2019, [35], although the municipality as a whole had

4,987 people per km2 (802 km2), [36]. However,

there are certain locations with a density of above

20,000 people per km2, [36]. Al Hussein and Al

Wehdat refugee camps are examples of heavily

populated places where social issues, respiratory

ailments, and slums are on the rise.

Table 4 shows that the population has increased

from 2004 to 2021 by double, where 97.2% of the

population lives in an urban area while 2.8% in live

rural areas.

Table 4. The Population of the Amman Governorate

Amman

Governorate

2004

Census

2015

Census

2021

Census

Urban

97.2%

Rural

2.8 %

2.8%

Overall

2.353

Million

4.019

Million

4.642

Million

Source: [49]

The population density of Amman grew from

2934.3 persons per km2 in 2004 to 5011.3 in 2015

and 5788 in 2021. The fast growth in population

density (population inflation) helps explain

Amman's rapid urbanization. Furthermore, the city's

economic position plays a part in rising population

density; Amman accounts for 80% of Jordan's

commercial and industrial activity, according to

[50]. Amman's urban growth occurred mostly at the

cost of agricultural fields, with very modest changes

to undeveloped territory. The greater population

density in some locations strains infrastructure and

services, [51].

As shown in Table 5. bellow, urban expansion had

grown to a size of 147.08 km2 by the year 1987 but

by 2017, it had grown to 237.86 km2.

Table 5. Amman Built-up (in km2) in Amman

between 1918 and 2017

Year

1987

1997

2007

2017

Urban

Area in

Km2

147..0

195.98

214.

237.

Non-

urban

area in

Km2

611.48

562.58

543.

520.

Source: [71]

Several factors contributed to the rapid urbanization,

the most significant of which were: The first was the

government's choice in 2007 to expand the GAM by

five more zones, increasing its overall size to 1,680

km2. The second was the 2003 forced exodus of

Iraqis. The third reason is the recent surge of Syrian

refugees. [32] estimates that 1.4 million Iraqis live

in GAM.

Urban expansion intensity index (UEII)

To assess the rate of urbanization in Amman, the

UEII was calculated for three time periods from

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1987 to 2017, as shown in Table 5, using the

formula (1) from, [73]:

  󰇛

󰇜 (1)

Where:

UEIIin is the annual expansion intensity index of

spatial unit (i) in time period (n); Ui,b and Ui,a are

the urban areas in the spatial unit i at time b and a,

respectively; Ti is Total land area of the study area.

The UEII categorizes urban expansion intensity into

five levels: 0 to 0.28 is slow expansion; 0.28 to 0.59

is low-speed expansion; 0.59-1.05 is medium speed

expansion; 1.05-1.92 is fast expansion; and >1.92 is

high-speed expansion.

Table 6. Amman UEII for three time periods from

1987 to 2017

Period

UEII

Interpretation

1987-1997

0.645

Medium Speed expansion

1997-2007

0.250

Slow expansion

2007-2017

0.302

Low Speed expansion

1987-2017

0.399

Low Speed expansion

Source: authors analysis based on, [71] data

UEII measures changes in built-up land in relation

to the entire land of the study area. The results as

shown in Table 6 indicate that overall study area has

expansion intensity index of 0.39 which is

considered low speed development. But on the other

hand, the UEII has decreased from 0.64 in time

period 1987-1997 to reach 0.30 in time period 2007-

2017.

Our result of UEII agreed with the report, [71]

which indicates that Amman grew from 147.08 km2

to 195.98 km2 at a 3.33 percent yearly pace between

1987 and 1997. During this time, most of Amman's

initial core zone transportation routes were

dominated by horizontal urban expansion and

spread. The research found that urban expansion

was largely vertical between 1997 and 2007 and

between 2007 and 2017. With an annual growth rate

of 0.97 percent, the city of Amman grew from

195.98 km2 to 214.94 km2. The city of Amman

grew from 214.94 km2 to 237.88 km2 between 2007

and 2017, with an annual growth rate of 1.07%.

5.2 Environmental Issues and Possibilities

for GAM City

There are a variety of environmental challenges, but

six, in particular, have a significant impact on the

GAM urban metropolis as a whole:

● Land-use change

● Transportation and Energy

● Waste management

● Air quality

● Sanitation (water pipe and sewage system)

● Environmental governance

▪ Land use

Land use activities resulting from economic

development and the increased population in cities

have put pressure on the environment. Urbanization

changes the natural land originally used as open and

agricultural land for urban construction. In this case,

the top layer of the soil is covered, increasing the

surface runoff of water. High volumes of water that

are not observed in the soil collect together and

cause dangerous effects on the environment in

various nearby areas that are not plastered with

concrete or covered by buildings, [43]. For example,

soil erosion exposes the second layer, which has no

organic matter and is hence not supportive to plant

growth.

In 2018, flash floods resulted in fatalities and

property damage. Given the high population, which

puts more strain on the water, sanitation, and

drainage services, GAM was among the areas in

Jordan that were most vulnerable to flash floods and

epidemics in June 2019, as indicated in Figure 4 and

Table 7. As a mitigating strategy, UN-Habitat

Jordan is embarking on a project in collaboration

with the GAM to address these pressing concerns

and increase the resilience of vulnerable Jordanian

and Syrian populations in Amman.

Fig. 4: In 2019, Amman's downtown experienced

flash flooding on February 28.

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Table 7. Amman's downtown suffered flash floods

in 2019

Date

(Location)

Damage due to

the flash flood

Notes

28/2/2019

Amman

2000 accidents,

279 downtown

businesses

impacted,

homes flooded,

and cars washed

away. Cost of

estimated

damage: $15

million.

68 mm of rain

fell heavily in

24 hours or

about 20% of

the entire rainy

season.

Source, [52]

▪ Transportation and Energy

Its impact on the environment is very huge because

it is considered the major user of energy. Hence, the

major cause of global warming is the emission of

carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere. Vehicles

that use petroleum products are common in many

cities and towns. All product emissions into the

atmosphere in Amman city are said to be 30% of the

emission, whereas for some regions the percentage

is higher due to the high number of transport

vehicles used by the population, [36].

Additionally, GAM's defective transportation

system is one of the major environmental,

economic, and social difficulties it faces, and just

30% of Jordanians use public transportation PT,

[53]. PT is currently used very infrequently in

Amman, accounting for only 5% of all daily trips,

[54]. The largest obstacle to mobility in GAM is a

problem with behavior and culture. Approximately

69% of all automobiles in Jordan are housed in

GAM, which is a huge source of air pollution.

According to CEIC, [55], there were 655,323 motor

vehicles registered in GAM in 2017 (serving

1,966,000 people in the same period), or one car for

every three people. This is because most people

prefer to use their private vehicles or taxis

(Transport and Mobility Master Plan for Amman).

Figure 5 shows how the current road system causes

enormous traffic jams and massive amounts of car

emissions. Additionally, the age of the majority of

automobiles is the primary cause of pollution

emissions, [56].

Fig. 5: Amman traffic congestion problems

In order to provide long-term transportation

solutions to congestion, the Greater Amman

Municipality (GAM) created a Transport and

Mobility Master Plan for Amman in 2010. One of

the Greater Amman Municipality's infrastructure

projects, BRT, part of the Transportation Master

Plan for Amman, aims to address the problem of air

pollution, particularly in relation to carbon dioxide

emissions, and to promote mass transit with an area

of 7 km by easing traffic congestion in the city, [57],

[58]. As shown in Figure 6, at the end of 2021 the

first phase of the project has been completed, the

second phase is scheduled to be completed in 2022,

and to be fully operational in 2023, and by 2025, the

percentage of open transport use will rise from 14%

to 40%.

Fig. 6: Amman's Bus Rapid Transit project

According to [59], the express bus network within

the city of Amman consists of two main lines with a

length of 32 km. In addition, the Greater Amman

Municipality launched the trial operation of Line

No. 2, with a length of 17 km, from Sweileh to the

Jordan Museum, in mid-2021. Moreover, there are

currently 24 buses operating on the line with a

frequency of 6 minutes, with the possibility of

increasing the frequency within hours. Also, the

rapid bus system will provide 85 million km of

distance traveled by private vehicles and 12 million

km of distance traveled by taxis, which will reduce

the amount of time spent in traffic congestion. This

is because each bus of the rapid bus system can

accommodate approximately 150 passengers, which

is the equivalent of 110 private vehicles when taking

into account the average number of passengers per

vehicle in Amman, which is 1.4 people. In addition,

during periods of high demand, the amount of time

spent waiting in the BRT system between buses will

not exceed one minute and ninety seconds. Access

to the stations of the fast bus system will be possible

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through bridges, tunnels, or pedestrian routes that

are controlled by signal lights.

▪ Waste management

Within Amman, the increase in population,

urbanization, and industrialization, as well as the

growth of the economy, generate solid waste

generation. In developing towns and cities like

Cairo, solid waste management is identified as a

major problem because of the increasing generation

of waste. For such issues, expenses employed in the

management of waste increase, and, hence, some

areas of the city or town experience poor waste

management. As shown in Table 8, the municipal

waste collected at GAM in 2017 totaled 1456074

tons, or 33.8% of the total waste collected in Jordan.

In 2017, the per capita waste in GAM was 747.6

grams/day, [60].

Table 8. Comparison of the Amman governorate's

per-capita waste collection in 2017 to the entire

kingdom

Place

Per capita

(grams/day)

Populat

ion

Million

Collected

municipal

garbage

(tons)

Amman

747.6

4.226

1,153,400

Entire

kingdom

929.0

10.053

3,408,918

Source, [53]

The European Bank for Reconstruction and

Development (EBRD) gave GAM up to €7.4 million

to finance the expansion of its LFG recovery system

in response to GAM's urgent need for investments in

solid waste management. In May 2019, this massive

facility began producing 4.8 megawatts per hour

through the burning of waste-derived methane gas.

To prevent releasing it into the air, it is gathered and

burned, and power is produced using the gathered

biogas. Furthermore, LFG recovery technology is a

cutting-edge employed in the Al Ghabawi landfill to

catch methane gas and use it to produce renewable

energy. By connecting the energy generated to the

national grid with gas turbines with a maximum

output of 4.8 MW, CO2 emissions are reduced by

about 2.6 million tonnes, [72]. By 2034, GAM and

other municipalities hope to collect waste in

designated places and increase the quantity of gas

taken from landfills for energy production.

Currently, there are 23 landfills, which GAM and

other municipalities hope to reduce to 10

environmentally acceptable landfills. To make

GAM a sustainable city, additional steps must be

taken to ensure proper waste management, litter

prevention, environmental innovation, and

collaboration between the local community,

government, and business sector to safeguard

natural resources and encourage water conservation,

reuse initiatives, and energy advancements.

▪ Sanitation

Urbanization is directly related to the quality of

environmental sanitation. It is suggested that the

increased numbers of people in urban areas,

accompanied by inadequate spatial planning, lead to

poor sanitation. In addition, in various populated

areas, poor infrastructural systems like access roads

limit better sanitation programs, thus contributing to

poor environmental sanitation. Therefore, as a result

of poor sanitation, the population is hit by increased

health problems like diseases such as typhoid and

cholera. Various scholars suggest that waste

disposal falls under the major issues that need to be

given maximum attention and find resolution, [43],

[60]. Therefore, more of this increased amount of

waste is attached to the increased demand for goods

in the market that is caused by the increased

population. Most of the industrial estates in Amman

wastewater is treated and their effluents are reused

for irrigation purposes.

An estimated 28% of the sewage discharged to the

As-Samra Plant comes from the Russifa-West Zarqa

Sewer System area. This sewerage system serves

Amman's Tariq and Marka districts in the northeast,

as well as the nearby towns of Russeifa and West

Zarqa. A wastewater flow that exceeds the design

flow by around 150% has overwhelmed the plant. It

is incapable of removing nitrogen. The current

treatment plant also lacks the necessary

infrastructure for managing sludge. Only once every

15 years is the anaerobic pond sludge cleaned. Poor-

quality effluents are caused by the treatment plant's

exposed flaws. By taking deodorization steps at the

inlet structure, previously present odor issues are

somewhat alleviated. To address the site's current

shortcomings, however, substantial changes are

needed. The plant's effluent (> 100 mg BOD5/l),

which is released to the Wadi-Dhuleil, which meets

the Wadi-Zarqa, the main tributary of the King Talal

Reservoir, is highly polluted, [60]. According to the

pertinent Jordanian Standard 893/1995 for disposal

in wadis and watershed areas, the effluent does not

fulfill the standards. The treated wastewater's

residual pollutant load downstream of the treatment

facility causes severe environmental harm. Because

of the elevated fecal coliform levels (> 100,000 per

100 ml), Figure 7 states that the effluent can only be

utilized for restricted irrigation.

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Fig. 7: The Zarqa River carries treated sewage from

the Amman-Zarqa region to the Jordan Valley,

where it is indirectly repurposed for irrigation.

▪ Air quality

The rapid growth in urbanization has led to high

demand for water, energy, and transportation. This

has resulted in more carbon dioxide gas being

released into the atmosphere. Therefore, the greater

rate of urbanization is considered one of the bigger

environmental problems. These emissions cause

poor quality in the air, hence an increase in health

issues. In addition, it is shown that urbanization and

rapid economic development together with

fragmented and poor planning mechanisms within

the previous 10 years have negatively affected the

urban climate as well as the air quality. This has

resulted in imbalances with the normal and known

regional climate. The imbalances registered include

the irregularity of the distributed rainfall and

monsoon, hence leading to a frequency of floods

and drought, [61], [62]. Additionally, the C40

emission inventory in Amman estimated GAM's

CO2 emissions for 2014 at 7.4 million tons. The

discharges are anticipated to quadruple by 2030 if

nothing is done, reaching around 40 million tons by

2050, [36]. To realize its vision for 2050, GAM can

take a variety of cross-sectoral and urban planning

measures, which will be categorized in its climate

action plan.

Accordingly, the Paris Agreement provides for a

14% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions

compared to the usual situation by 2030, and Jordan

is committed to this contribution and the

agreement's kilometer, [60]. This is to reduce the

planned smoke emissions in Jordan. According to

the Climate Action Supported Emissions for Urban

Sustainability (CURB) scenario, the Greater

Amman Municipality will emit less than one-third

of the nation's emissions in 2020, or close to 11

million tons of CO2. The Greater Amman

Municipality has taken several actions to lower its

energy usage. For instance, the municipality bought

100 electric vehicles, and in 2018, the Greater

Amman Municipality inked a deal with the German

company E-Charge to create 10,000 electric

charging stations nationwide. In 2020, LED lighting

was installed in all Secretariat buildings and along

major thoroughfares, in addition to solar panels on

parts of their roofs. While the European Union (EU)

and the Francis Development Agency (AFD) are

pushing for electric buses, the Greater Amman

Municipality is worried that the operator will not

invest in such facilities in connection with the

ongoing discussions regarding the 150 buses for the

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

▪ Environmental governance

It is not debatable that protecting the environment

through the development of management plans and

policies is fundamental for economic growth and

urban development. Within this context, sustainable

development is supported by institutions, policies,

and legal frameworks concerning environmental

protection. Also, most cities, including Amman,

have tried to establish these organs as well as policy

frameworks on environmental protection, but the

issue of pollution as a result of the increased

population is still standing. This is attached to the

weak and less serious implementers of these

protective actions. On the other hand, for some

cities in the Middle East that have attempted to

adhere to the rules and policy framework, protection

is at a higher level. Unfortunately, the clean-up

policy has not been implemented in Jordan, and

there are currently no databases available, [63]. For

example, brownfield regeneration in Jordan is still

in a primitive stage that lacks technical regulations.

By limiting greenfield investments and redirecting

them to brownfield sites. This may limit the sprawl

and activate the growth management plan within the

sustainable theme.

5.3 Mitigation measures (Solutions)

Integrated urban planning solutions (cross-sectoral

horizontal integration) include several infrastructure

sectors and operate across silos. For instance,

improving the delivery of services for waste

management, transportation, water, and energy

within the dense city center is necessary to reduce

sprawl. Coordination of land, real estate, and

infrastructure delivery of services is essential to

avoid a decline in population density in the urban

periphery, [36]. Due to high import energy costs and

unsustainable land use, Amman is the first Arab city

to implement a climate strategy.

The completion of a bus rapid transit system that

connects cities located outside of the metropolitan

boundary is being aided by intensification policies

along the two trunk routes. As a result, Amman will

be able to expand earlier initiatives involving

inclusive housing into more livable, mixed-use

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neighborhoods with green building codes and

carbon-free electricity.

Amman has utilized urban growth scenario 1,

proving that densification and improved public

transport would allow the city to absorb its

population increase by 2030 within the currently

built-up areas, thereby reducing the amount of

greenhouse gas emissions produced by both the

construction industry and the transportation

industry. Amman was one of the cities chosen in

December 2014 to be a part of the second batch of

cities that will be created to be 100 resilient cities as

part of the 100RC Network of the Rockefeller

Foundation. The goal of the Amman Resilience

Strategy is to strengthen critical infrastructure so

that it can better withstand the natural and

unavoidable hazards that are associated with

urbanization, broad urban development, and

population increase. In addition to this, it intends to

solve difficulties associated with city growth and

urban government. Luxor, which is in Egypt;

Byblos, which is in Lebanon; and Ramallah, which

is in Palestine are the only three Arab towns that

may be found in the Middle East, [64].

Urban green infrastructure (UGI) has been widely

employed to reduce the negative effects of urban

sprawl and create resilient and sustainable cities. A

"smart" national approach could be used to deal

with the adoption of UGI in Jordan. To achieve

sustainable urban growth, smart city policies would

attempt to promote the production of renewable

energy and improve water and air quality in

Jordanian cities. UGI may also be incorporated into

the Amman City Resilience Strategy, which was

developed in 2014 and aims to enhance urban

quality of life by addressing the dangers of

urbanization, extensive urban sprawl, and

population increase, [65]. Amman's green resilience

strategies include establishing a partial green belt to

limit urban expansion, installing LED street

lighting, promoting walkability, green building

standards, mixed-use neighborhoods, and carbon-

free electricity, [36].

6 Results and Discussions

Although Amman is developed with modern

infrastructure like roads, its ancient construction

plan limits the establishment of better plans aimed at

attaining sustainable development. The boundaries

of cities, as well as how those boundaries relate to

other nearby cities geographically, are important

factors in regional planning. On a regional level,

open space networks connect cities to land outside

of built-up regions, allowing chances for integration

with surrounding landscapes, but they also serve to

promote the idea of compact cities and sustainably

control growth and sprawl inside city boundaries,

[66].

In order to have urban resilience, Amman focuses

on the vision of 2050. In this vision, the city is to

use its unique nature and diversity of natural

resources to optimize equity as well as health for its

citizens. Currently, the city is maintaining its old

and strong traditions as it improves municipal

services and builds a better, more prosperous,

inclusive, safe, and green urban experience, [67]. In

this vision, the city is to ensure that transportation is

sustainable, public places are green and open,

buildings are efficient, waste is minimized, water is

cleaner, and plenty to serve the population. For the

city to prosper up to the mentioned vision of 2050, it

must put focus on its already existing strength to

help it become one of the best cities in the region of

the Middle East. The existence of abundant or

plenty of renewable energy resources in the form of

solar and wind, [68]. These renewable resources are

supposed to be focused on such that the population

can depend on them rather than non-renewable ones.

The country has a long history of demonstrating a

commitment to taking action against climate change

on both local and international levels. This

commitment of communities and the entire nation

will be relied on to structure better policies for a

sustainable environment. Therefore, it implies that if

the private sectors are cooperative, they will follow

the legislation or rules that have been passed by the

governing bodies to preserve the environment, [69].

The vision also focuses on a long-standing

commitment to social development and equity. The

city and the country of Jordan look at the prosperity

of the general community as one way to cause a

radical change to help attain their sustainable goals

for 2050.

7 Conclusions and Recommendations

This study analyses the present issues and changes

in Jordan, as well as the necessity to look at how to

manage urban growth and the results of population

growth over the previous ten years and urban

expansion. Examining urban development

management and related policies may help urban

organizations better adapt to the challenges posed

by increasing urbanization.

Referring to the research question, it can be said that

although Amman is among the major developed

cities in the Middle East, it is facing issues in

handling environmental sustainability. The major

issue causing this fall is the high population increase

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in the city. From above, we have identified some of

the major efforts that the city has undertaken to

create a friendly environment that is sustainable,

considering the topographical makeup of Amman

and the propensity for development to encroach on

green spaces. For example, the "Amman Green City

Action Plan" in the previous years was established

with four steps for its success. In addition, we have

seen in the discussion the further future action plan

of the city vision 2050 that is focused on creating a

better and more sustainable environment.

In addition, the paper compares Amman with other

cities like Cairo, the capital city of Egypt, and

Istanbul, Turkey as major cities in the middle of

waste. It addresses how they have been successful in

managing the increasing population and its effects

on the environment. Therefore, there are lessons

learned as well as best practices from such cities

that can be employed in Amman to handle the

effects of the increasing population and related

developments. For example, in Egypt, Cairo was

populated and city authorities decided to establish

other cities to absorb the increasing population and

other developments. Policymakers must adopt

suitable policies to tackle the problems posed by

spatial and environmental issues.

Reviewing policy-related papers and recent studies

will aid decision-makers in developing future

environmental policies. In order to manage land use

challenges desirably, there is no single land use

policy in force. Strategies for urban growth and the

preservation of the urban ecology are required for an

urban area to be developed sustainably. A land use

policy is thus required, one that regulates conflicts

caused by the stacking of lands for various uses and

considers the interests of all parties. These findings

can aid in the identification of the best techniques

for evaluation and ongoing improvement for the city

and the nation by decision-makers and those

involved in environmental policy in GAM. The

following are some further suggestions:

▪ Create education campaigns on the best

ways to put recycling and waste disposal

systems in place and create incentives for

electric vehicles.

▪ To implement an integrated city planning

strategy, it is important to highlight the

cutting-edge digital technologies that are

changing how people live in cities.

▪ Shed light on future studies into the effects

of financial spending on environmental

pollution.

▪ Given this, there is an urgent need for a

“land use protection policy” with the

process of its implementation, in the studied

area, and to implement and implement such

policies, the government should take the

necessary measures.

Acknowledgment:

The authors would like to thank the Doctoral School

of Management and Organizational Science, the

Faculty of Economic Science, the Hungarian

University of Agriculture and Life Science, and the

Municipality of Greater Amman for their support

during this research work.

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Contribution of Individual Authors to the

Creation of a Scientific Article (Ghostwriting

Policy)

Nour Abdeljawad conceived the review research,

designing the review and the structure of

manuscript, writing and editing.

Imre Nagy supervised and reviewed the manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Sources of Funding for Research Presented in a

Scientific Article or Scientific Article Itself

None

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(Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0)

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Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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