Development...Good or Bad?

With investment rates and rents skyrocketing, Amman is moving up in the times. The city is watching the construction of twin 35-storey high-rise towers – the first ever skyscrapers in Amman. As a westerner, I expect to see large skyscrapers in all major cities, from downtown Detroit to Manhattan to Chicago – all major cities have skyscrapers. The Jordan Gate Towers are not yet complete, although there seems to have been much progress. Located at the 6^th circle, this is a $1 billion project to construct a business and retail complex. Another recent development project was the Queen Alia International Airport, which I flew into a couple weeks ago. Begun in 2007, the $600 million project was a combined effort of the Jordanian government and the Royal Jordanian Airways. The goal was the establish Amman as a major regional hub and allow for nearly 9 million passengers per year (nearly three times what it used to have).

Outside of businesses and commercial projects, more and more residential projects are underway. On the main road leading from Queen Alia International Airport to Amman, housing projects are springing up on both sides of the road. For the most part the housing complexes are built and they are just waiting for tenants to occupy them. In addition the development growing on the outskirts of the Amman, I am amazed with the developed area in the various residential districts within greater Amman. The proximity of malls, restaurants, and shopping centers to these residential areas increase the desire to live there – reminding me of home and the proximity of my house to similar locations.

The city’s affluent residential districts remind me of the suburbs in the Detroit Metro area or Ward 1 and 2 of Washington, D.C. In these areas like Abdoun, watching a Hummer or Lamborghini drive by would not be out of the ordinary. Like my experiences in Latin America, it disturbs me how in a city like Amman where there has been much economic growth and development, and those hurting the most live in the same city in poorer neighborhoods.

So, the question I pose is this: Will Jordan’s development projects within Amman create a better way of life for its citizens?

I respond, Yes and No. I know this is not a direct answer, and to be honest there is no one solution to socioeconomic development in the Middle East, and furthermore the world. I say “Yes” because I think development projects will “hopefully” attract attention from the outside and encourage foreign investment in Jordan. These projects have the potential to do great things – assuming various variables (which unfortunately you cannot always assume) like accountability of the government to act wisely and on behalf of its people, not solely themselves. I also respond with “No” because when I hear of a 13.4% unemployment rate (30% unofficial unemployment rate) and see such an inequality between the very rich and the very poor, I am pessimistic that these development projects alone will be enough. 

Something I have learned through my time in Jordan so far, and more specifically in Honduras this past summer and in a couple of my courses at Georgetown – there are so many factors involved that satisfying one area will not be enough. Now I know that Jordan has been in the news recently about waiving school fees for school-age children in government run schools, pursuing reconstruction projects in rundown school buildings, etc. However, from what I have seen (which granted is limited) much more can be done, and should be done. Some things, in my mind, should not take a lifetime to complete.