Comments on: Build Together Or Fall Together http://www.black-iris.com/2007/03/06/build-together-or-fall-together/ A Jordanian Blog Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:56:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: kinzi http://www.black-iris.com/2007/03/06/build-together-or-fall-together/#comment-46512 kinzi Wed, 07 Mar 2007 16:23:53 +0000 http://www.black-iris.com/2007/03/06/build-together-or-fall-together/#comment-46512 Well masha'allah! Nas, you sound like me! Or do I sound like you? This is what you meant by doing your part, and you did a great job! Well masha’allah! Nas, you sound like me! Or do I sound like you?

This is what you meant by doing your part, and you did a great job!

]]> By: Lowfields http://www.black-iris.com/2007/03/06/build-together-or-fall-together/#comment-46412 Lowfields Wed, 07 Mar 2007 08:32:22 +0000 http://www.black-iris.com/2007/03/06/build-together-or-fall-together/#comment-46412 I may as well be one of the first to post – it's a topic that consumed much my time over the last few days! I am, in the words of the blog author, one of the "cynics". On the other post, I was also accused of being "anti-development". It's shame that the debate has been polarised between "for skyscrapers" and "against modernity". It does a disservice to the nature of our complaints. A question I asked was "why is Westernisation the only progress our minds can grasp"? I'm all for functioning, well-serviced cities that are both practical, business-friendly environments and pleasing places to live. In my opinion, that requires pedestrianised areas, parks, sidewalks that people can use, streets of shops and businesses than harness community activity, clean and efficient public transport – but also architecture that enhances the city and is in keeping with a country's location and heritage. Places like Dubai and Kuwait fail on almost all of the above... they are impersonal, cold islands of mere consumerism, where destinations are accessed by car only, where walking is an alien concept, where neighbourhoods are delineated by fenced-off affluence. Society is something to be feared, not embraced or included.... Amman's development can be so much better than a series of skyscrapers... we can start with making Sweifieh work. We can promote initiatives to develop a street culture on Jebel Amman of shops, market stalls, usable sidewalks, cafes, etc. Businesses would be a part of the community, not isolated in cubic units on the airport road... Basically, there can be a rejuvenation of the Amman that currently exists, street by street, with simple measures like unifying shop signs, cleaning buildings, floral displays and trees, pedestrianised areas, using building materials from the region – Rammallah stone as used in the villas of Weibdeh and Jebel Amman... Unfortunatelty, the "planners" have failed on so many levels right across Amman in the last 15 years, so we're simply saying that would should abandon the areas we don't like and start again on open land... Why destroy more open areas to build new parts of a city when there's so much work to be done on the city we currently have??? In partnership with education and skills, maybe we can start creating an inclusive society here, not simply wealth-based, elitist bubbles... I may as well be one of the first to post – it’s a topic that consumed much my time over the last few days!

I am, in the words of the blog author, one of the “cynics”. On the other post, I was also accused of being “anti-development”.

It’s shame that the debate has been polarised between “for skyscrapers” and “against modernity”. It does a disservice to the nature of our complaints.

A question I asked was “why is Westernisation the only progress our minds can grasp”? I’m all for functioning, well-serviced cities that are both practical, business-friendly environments and pleasing places to live. In my opinion, that requires pedestrianised areas, parks, sidewalks that people can use, streets of shops and businesses than harness community activity, clean and efficient public transport – but also architecture that enhances the city and is in keeping with a country’s location and heritage.

Places like Dubai and Kuwait fail on almost all of the above… they are impersonal, cold islands of mere consumerism, where destinations are accessed by car only, where walking is an alien concept, where neighbourhoods are delineated by fenced-off affluence. Society is something to be feared, not embraced or included….

Amman’s development can be so much better than a series of skyscrapers… we can start with making Sweifieh work. We can promote initiatives to develop a street culture on Jebel Amman of shops, market stalls, usable sidewalks, cafes, etc. Businesses would be a part of the community, not isolated in cubic units on the airport road…

Basically, there can be a rejuvenation of the Amman that currently exists, street by street, with simple measures like unifying shop signs, cleaning buildings, floral displays and trees, pedestrianised areas, using building materials from the region – Rammallah stone as used in the villas of Weibdeh and Jebel Amman…

Unfortunatelty, the “planners” have failed on so many levels right across Amman in the last 15 years, so we’re simply saying that would should abandon the areas we don’t like and start again on open land…

Why destroy more open areas to build new parts of a city when there’s so much work to be done on the city we currently have???

In partnership with education and skills, maybe we can start creating an inclusive society here, not simply wealth-based, elitist bubbles…

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