Author(s)

NABIL ABU-DAYYEH

Abstract

This paper discusses the environmental drawbacks of an already compacted city and proposes a new urban residential pattern to be built at the semi-desert, rapidly-urbanizing eastern edge of the city; a pattern both environmentally more efficient, and therefore more sustainable, yet achieving a residential density comparable to the present one, in order to maintain its affordability. It is not an altogether novel pattern, since it exists in many European cities at least since the late 19th century, namely, the ‘Gartenhof’, or courtyard. It took its modern form in the Eixample Plan of Barcelona from 1860 but has recently been re-adapted into an award-winning residential suburb project in Vienna (Wildgarten). The urban pattern proposed here is, more or less, a reworking of that pattern with some modifications. It is argued here that this ‘shared courtyard’ pattern is both environmentally more sustainable, yet comparably affordable, particularly as it can be suited to the urban fringes where land is still moderately-priced.

Keywords

sustainable cities and communities, residential urban pattern, spatial planning in Amman