ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
A sustainable urban food system in Amman
Greater Amman Municipality has been supporting since 2007 different urban agriculture and food security programmes using urban land, including rooftops, schools and home gardens and vacant lots between buildings. Through its Urban Agriculture Office and Multi-stakeholder Forum, Amman has partnered with different international organizations to incite sustainable urban food production
Tags: Urban Regeneration, Green City, Food Security, Housing
Challenges addressed
- Alleviate water scarcity and ensure food security
- Avoid land fragmentation and prevent construction in flood plains
- Address poverty issues and promote social inclusion
Main objectives
- Renovating the medina in order to stop the progressive decay of residential areas in the Medina.
- The measures do not only involve buildings but also social and public life in the city.
- Restoration of degraded areas.
- Social housing rehabilitation.
- Renewal of buildings of historic and architectural interest.
- Expertise and advice on housing, advisor to the municipality for building permits, technical assistance to other Associations Safeguarding Tunisian medinas as well as publications.
Facts
Project type Urban agriculture
Promoter Greater Amman Municipality
Start date 2005
Project description
In 2007, the Environment and Sustainable Development Unit of the American University in Beirut (AUB-ESDU) conducted an exploratory survey on the state of urban agriculture in Amman on behalf of the RUAF Foundation (Global Partnership on Sustainable Urban Agriculture and Food Systems). Municipal support was enacted through the creation an Urban Agriculture Office followed by the development of different projects for the sustainable development of urban agriculture.
The goal was to address the city’s challenges of water scarcity and food security as a means to alleviate poverty and social inclusion issues as well as to avoid land fragmentation and plan accordingly future urban development. With support from RUAF Foundation’s programmes like “City Farming for the Future” and “From Seed to Table”, Amman formulated its own policy action triggering cross-sectoral and interdepartmental cooperation by the creation of a multi-stakeholder forum called “Committee for Green Amman”, with representatives from ministries, universities, farmers, financial institutions and civic organizations.
Among the projects developed were initiatives on olive tree planting to counter desertification, knowledge sharing on better water efficiency practices, reuse and recycling or waste materials, home-rooftop gardening and entrepreneurial skills for women in charge of urban agriculture in the Iraq el Amir valley. The municipality also addressed the pressing urbanization rate of the city by issuing new land-use guidelines requiring the allocation of 15% of each newly urbanizing plot for green use or urban agriculture.
Impact and results
- More than 300 rooftop and 4000 school and home gardens
- Land bank to connect land owners with existing and potential producers
- New land-use guidelines requiring 15% of each plot for greening or agriculture
- Training and technical assistance on access to markets to sustainable urban farmers
- Promotion of organic and healthy products among local consumers
- Special seal to distinguish and market local urban agriculture products
