Towards more pedestrian friendly streets in Jordan: The case of Al Medina Street in Amman

Abstract

Amman, the capital city of Jordan, is a rapidly developing city. The roads in Amman are increasingly becoming denser and more shaped into highways. Solutions in Jordan for the witnessed rapid growth are moving towards periphery networks, creating and developing ring roads and highways connecting the cities on the outskirts of Amman. Hence, less peripheral streets, especially arterial streets are facing higher densities and yet receive less attention on the planning level. For the purpose of having a sustainable pedestrian traffic setting for all users concerned, an integrated approach that interlinks all aspects of roads and reflects the needs of all users was adopted. As a result, strategies were produced to regain the traffic space as space for people, create new definition to streets in Jordan and retreat of high traffic lanes into neighborhood streets are recommended concepts that can steer the development of streets in Amman with more public spheres.