Wakalat Street

Wakalat Street (Arabic: شارع الوكالات), sometimes spelled as Al-Wakalat Street, is a street in Amman, Jordan, in the district of Sweifieh. Its name means "brands" in Arabic, referencing the numerous brand-name clothing stores that line the commercial street.[1]

Design interventions

The street was rehabilitated in 2007 by TURATH consultants as led by Jordanian architect-academic Rami Daher.[2] Original guidelines were prepared by Danish urban designer Jan Gehl.[3]

The project included paving the street, planting trees, regulating commercial signs, and adding benches. The idea of the rehabilitation of the street was to create a place in Amman where pedestrians would walk safely and freely away from traffic. With its completion, Amman gained its very first first-rate pedestrianized public space.[2][4]

It was reported that complaints by local store owners about undesirable pedestrians "intimidating" customers led the city to ultimately remove the added benches.[5][1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Three Public Spaces in Amman". Center for the Study of the Built Environment. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  2. 1 2 al-Asad, Mohammad (13 December 2007). "Urban Crossroads: Wakalat Street … Again!". Archive.org. Amman, Jordan: Center for the Study of the Built Environment. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  3. ↑ Abu-Dayyeh, Nabil (2018-01-01). Johnston, Keith M. (ed.). "Public urban space: The linguistic turn". Cogent Arts & Humanities. 5 (1): 1523515. doi:10.1080/23311983.2018.1523515.
  4. ↑ "Ammanis flock to Wakalat street to rediscover pedestrian life - 360east | design, media, technology". 360east.com. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  5. ↑ Slackman, Michael (2010-02-24). "Sidewalks, and an Identity, Sprout in Jordan's Capital (Published 2010)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-24.


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