Amman: Reading the city through displacement
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_zarch/zarch.20242210343Keywords:
Amman, displacement, syrian refugees, informal settlements, socioeconomic divideAbstract
Amman is a city shaped by multiple displacements. In 1952 and 1955, two refugee camps, called Al-Hussein and Al-Wihdat, respectively, were established for displaced Palestinians near the city centre. Shortly after, the city began to experience rapid growth due to continuous waves of displacements. A few years later, the camps blended with the emergent urban fabric of the city. This paper elucidates this urban transformation and how it led to the polarization of the city into two sides: the impoverished east dictated by informal arrangements and the rich west with formal support structures. After 2011, Jordan received Syrian refugees, many of whom settled in Amman. This paper discusses the following question: how did Amman grow vis-à-vis displacement? And considering the relatively recent arrival of Syrians to the city (in comparison with other refugees), how did they encounter the city and navigate its socioeconomic disparities? Building on fieldwork conducted in Amman in 2022-23, the author shows how Syrians were split between the two parts of the city, and how those with fewer resources ended up living in the east with its Palestinian camps, while those who have more resources struggle to survive in west Amman.
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Horizon 2020
Grant numbers 101004539
