Water Urbanism: Amman

This exhibition showcases work produced in the Urban Design Studio at Columbia University’s GSAPP, developed by students with the guidance of GSAPP faculty and the Studio-X team in Amman. The studio travelled to Amman in January 2017 for field visits and workshop sessions. Joined by architecture students and recent graduates from Jordan, the group visited key water-related sites in Amman and along the Jordan Valley. They conducted on-the-ground research, spoke with experts and stakeholders, attended lectures and synthesized their finding in an intensive three-day workshop.

The Urban Design Program at Columbia is investigating climate response at multiple scales and collaborating with partners in institutions around the world and within the University from science & engineering, journalism, conflict resolution, economics and social justice. We aim to marshal the observations of the world’s best scientists and the agency of design toward action and defined, replicable climate adaptation projects in the world’s most vulnerable regions. We bring synthetic design thinking to this process and a stance of activism and engagement and believe that by building physical, resilient places we engage and educate communities about the risks they face. How we live with - and design for - water will be a central, defining element of the next century relative to climate change and urbanism. Jordan is one of the most water scarce countries in the world, and also is threatened with extreme heat due to climate change. This situation is exacerbated by political and social conflict with neighboring countries.