United Nations Public Service Award Winners


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Initiative: Improving Living Conditions in Disadvantaged Areas of Amman 

 

Institution: Greater Amman Municipality

 

Overview: The partially unplanned infrastructure of East Amman’s neighborhoods has created a scarcity of open spaces, a lack of greenery and inadequate connectivity of sidewalks, stair networks and streets. Access to public facilities and basic urban services is bound to long distances or sometimes completely cut off. In some places, spontaneous growth as well as inadequate urban infrastructure and waste removal have led to deteriorated social interaction and environmental hazards, such as flooding and soil pollution. Improving Living Conditions in Disadvantaged Areas in Amman is an urban regeneration project set up to pilot the improvement of existing, and introduction of additional green infrastructure elements in selected sites in East Amman. The project aims to create ownership and enhance residents’ quality of life through community participation in the research, design, and management processes of the newly created or revived green infrastructure networks. The project also seeks to improve connection to public transport and increase accessibility to public spaces for all, with attention to women and girls’ specific needs. Access to community gardens and recreational facilities is also strongly linked to reductions in crime and reduced juvenile delinquency. The Urban Micro Lungs Initiative (UML) contributes to improving the quality of life in dense, disadvantaged urban areas through the rehabilitation of public open spaces. Two native, ultra dense, biodiverse and multi-layered urban forests were created in East Amman by using the Miyawaki method for the restoration of natural ecosystems.

 

Impact:  The impact was assessed through a variety of performance metrics, which were tracked and monitored over time to evaluate the innovation's impact effectively.

  1. Air Quality Improvement: Monitoring air quality indicators, such as PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations, helped assess the effect of UMLs on reducing air pollution and its associated health benefits as mentioned in the C40 air accelerator report.
  2. Community Engagement Metrics: Participation Levels: The degree of community involvement and participation in project planning and decision-making processes was monitored. Increased participation indicated successful community engagement. Beneficiaries: up to 150,000 (depending on density in the selected areas)
  3. Ecosystem Services Metrics: Biodiversity Counts: Regular biodiversity surveys were conducted to measure the diversity of plant and animal species supported by UML areas; Carbon Sequestration: Although we have not carried out a calculation of carbon sequestration for the UML forests, yet we can refer to international studies which estimate a sequestration of about 14.7 Kg carbon per tree per year -based on a model created by the International Tree Foundation.
  4. Economic Metrics: Property Value Increase: Changes in property values in neighborhoods with UML projects were tracked using real estate market data to assess the economic impact on residents.
  5. Water Management Metrics: Flood Occurrences: the presence of urban forests will minimize the effect of flood.
  6. Environmental Metrics: Urban Heat Reduction: Temperature data in UML areas compared to control areas were monitored to assess the effectiveness of urban cooling measures.

 

 

Website: https://www.ammancity.gov.jo/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special Category:

Tackling Climate Change

 

Related SDGs: 

SDG3 SDG11 SDG13

 

UNPSA Year:

2024

 

Country:

Jordan

 

Region:

Asia

 

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