Overview

The practitioners´ workshop “Towards resilient and livable urban district development" planned in the framework of the initiative "Municipal Know-How for Host Communities in the Middle East", which is a new activity of Connective Cities in cooperation with Engagement Global and pays specific attention to municipalities hosting refugees.

The dialogue event took place in Amman, Jordan from 14 to 16 November 2017. Thus, the workshop facilitated at enabling cities from Jordan and Germany to exchange experiences in the sphere of urban district development. Furthermore, participants jointly developed first project ideas for urban district development in Jordan municipalities. The participants were compounded from 7 German and 26 Jordan representatives from 16 different municipalities.  

The focus of the event was on these four topics:

1. Integrated district development: A holistic perspective to multiple challenges

2. Energy efficient and climate friendly districts: How to save energy and supply districts with sustainable energy

3. Developing the space in-between - public and green spaces and ecosystem services

4. Climate neutral and sustainable water management in urban districts

Keynotes

Gerhard Gross, Studio Karonga, Gräfelfing Munich, Germany
EN: Towards resilient and liveable urban district development - the experience of Germany and the City of Munich
AR: نحو تنمية مرنة وملائمة للعيش في المناطق الحضرية

Iman Zaki Abdel Hamid, Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Amman, Jordan
EN: Towards resilient and liveable urban district development
AR: نحو تطوير مناطق حضرية مرنة وقابلة للحياة

Results

The participants exchanged in discussions, excursions and peer-to-peer consultations in the different subjects of sustainable urban development as well as developed first project ideas. The presentations of the examples from Krefeld, Munich, Würzburg, Berlin and Hamburg (Germany) as well as from Karak, Jerash, Bayyoudha and Amman (Jordan) facilitated insights and exchange about already existing Good Practices.

In peer-to-peer advisory concrete challenges of Jordanian cities were analyzed and possible solutions developed. That followed by developing innovative project ideas on the topics of integrated urban planning, use of waste water and water harvesting as well as solar power and energy and water efficiency. With the support of Connective Cities, those ideas will be concretized in follow up events.