VIRTUAL Barcelona
Abstract
Salt City, in the context of Jordan’s heritage landscape, is a significant case to explore when it comes to the interaction between tangible and intangible qualities of liveable cities. Most city centres including Jerash, Salt, Irbid, and Amman are historical locations. Six of these extraordinary sites were designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Jordan is widely acknowledged as a developing country characterised by swift urbanisation and unrestrained expansion that exacerbate the challenges associated with the preservation of historic urban areas. The aim of this study is to conduct an examination and analysis of the existing condition of heritage connectivity within heritage city centres. This includes outdoor staircases, pedestrian pathways, footpaths, and other public spaces. Case study-style analysis of the urban core of As Salt, is the focus of this investigation. Salt City is widely acknowledged for its substantial tangible and intangible cultural heritage and has been designated as ‘The Place of Tolerance and Urban Hospitality’ by UNESCO since 2021. In doing so, the research uses a methodology that is based on consensus. Given that liveability is considered a complex matter with several dimensions. The discussion starts by making initial observations on the physical context and societal norms inside the urban centre, while simultaneously establishing the definitions of liveability and connectivity and examining the key criteria associated with these concepts. Then identify the key elements that contribute to liveable connectivity within the framework of urban heritage in Jordanian city centres. Some of the outcomes that will be discussed in the presentation are: 1 There is not enough connectivity between heritage buildings as can be seen, for example between buildings in Jada and Qala’. 2 Most of outdoor spaces suffer from physical issues that hinder its use by public like in Salalem.
Sahar I. Yousef is is Ph.D. student in architecture in Queen’s university Belfast. She worked as a teaching assistant and lab supervisor at the Department of Architecture Faculty of Engineering at Al-Balqa Applied University in Jordan. She holds a Master’s degree in Architecture (2018) from Jordan University of Science and Technology, and a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture (2014), also from Jordan University of Science and Technology. She is interested in subjects related to environmental design and quality of urban form, life quality ,heritage preservation and sustainability.
Chantelle Niblock is a Lecturer, in the School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen’s university Belfast, Belfast, UK. She integrates her research into her teaching, focusing on curriculum development and innovative teaching methods, especially in early architectural education. Currently, she supervises four PhD projects centred on digitally interpreting built heritage, two of which are co-supervised with archaeology.
Gul Kacmaz a senior lecturer (assoc. prof. dr.) in Architecture at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland, UK. She has received BArch and MArch degrees at Middle East Technical University, and PhD degree at Istanbul Technical University in Turkey. She has worked professionally as a licensed architect in the Netherlands and Turkey (Is Bank Headquarters Construction, Atelier T Architects, among others) and researched at University of Pennsylvania, USA, University College Dublin, Ireland and ZK/U Center for Art and Urbanism in Berlin, Germany. She has conducted several urban filmmaking workshops, attended international conferences, published widely, and taught at Philadelphia University, USA, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands and Izmir University of Economics, Turkey, before coming to Queen’s in 2011.
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Tuesday 16th July, 2024