Center for the Study of the Built Environment: 2020 Annual Report
Summary
2020 was a difficult year for all, including CSBE, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The economic downturn and continuous unpredictability resulting from the pandemic has greatly restricted both the amount and type of work we have been able to implement.
Our activities in 2020 primarily included continuing our work on urban agriculture with Fredrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) that focused on expanding our training manuals on the subject and developing instructional videos on it, and also on developing a massive open online course (MOOC) on the architectural history of the mosque as a building type. In addition, CSBE maintained an active publishing record on issues affecting the built environment that included the documentation of ongoing urban intervention projects in Amman and publishing two studies on housing. We, however, were sadly unable to proceed with the Omrania | CSBE Student Award for Architectural Design, the annual award that was established in 2008. Because of the economic challenges brought about by COVID-19, the Award’s patrons, Omrania and Associates, concluded that they are no longer able to support the Award. Financially, 2020 was a difficult year for CSBE, and it ended with a deficit of about 11,000 JD.
Projects and activities
The CSBE Urban Agriculture Project
CSBE has built upon its work on urban agriculture, which was initiated in 2018 in association with Fredrich Ebert Stiftung (FES). We expanded upon the urban agriculture training manuals we had developed in 2019 for teachers and students. We also added to the urban agriculture facilities that we had previously installed in al-Jaza’ir Primary School a composting tumbler that is connected to a stationary bike and that was assembled by a local blacksmith. We also started a training program in urban agriculture at the school in cooperation with a group of consultants we have been working with. The training program unfortunately was interrupted early on because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent interruption of in-class teaching in schools. We, as a result, decided to produce a series of instructional videos on urban agriculture in cooperation with the consultants we have been working with. Eleven videos have been developed, and these are all now available through the CSBE website to teachers, students, and anybody interested in obtaining skills relating to urban agriculture. In addition to the instructional videos, the extensive section devoted to urban agriculture on the CSBE website currently includes our 2019 study on the subject, the training manuals we have developed, and two public presentations on urban agriculture that our staff had delivered.
The Architecture of the Mosque: Historical Roots and Modern Influences Massive Open Online Course:
CSBE produced this new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in 2020 in association with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture Education Programme and the Edraak massive open online course platform. The course will be offered online in early 2021. This is the second MOOC that CSBE has carried out in association with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture Education Programme. The first was Enhancing the Quality of Urban Life, which was first offered in 2018. It is also the second MOOC that CSBE has carried out in association with the Edraak portal. The first was The Contemporary Arab City, which was first offered in 2014. This MOOC on the architecture of the mosque is the first MOOC to be offered in association with both institutions.
This MOOC provides an overview of the architectural evolution of the mosque from the birth of Islam to the present, with an emphasis on the past half a century. The course instructor is CSBE Founding Director Mohammad al-Asad. The course is presented in English with a full Arabic translation.
The previous two MOOCs continued to be available online for learners during 2020. The Enhancing the Quality of Urban Life course was available through the FutureLearn platform, and The Contemporary Arab City course was available through the Edraak platform. The former was produced in English with a full Arabic translation, and the latter is available in Arabic. More detailed information on these and other courses that CSBE has developed is available at https://www.csbe.org/coursesworkshops.
Online publications
CSBE has continued to actively expand the content of its website during 2020. New materials added to the website have included the following:
- An architectural map of Amman that was developed in 1983 by Jan Cejka, Yaser Sakr and Jamal Jayyousi. https://www.csbe.org/1983-architectural-map-of-amman-by-jan-cejka-yaser-sakr-and-jamal-jayyousi.
- Documentation of the Khalid bin al-Walid Street Rehabilitation Project in Amman’s Jabal al-Hussein District, which was carried out by the Greater Amman Municipality in 2019. https://www.csbe.org/jabal-al-hussein.
- Documentation of the King Ghazi Street Rehabilitation Project in downtown Amman, which was carried out by the Greater Amman Municipality in 2019. https://www.csbe.org/king-ghazi-street-rehabilitation-project.
- Contemporary Rural Dwellings in Jordan: Conception, Construction, Habitation. The Case Study of Umm al-Yanabi’ Town. This study, which was carried out in association with Uraiqat Architects and facilitated by Habitat for Humanity – Jordan, addresses contemporary rural dwellings in Jordan through examining various aspects relating to such dwellings, including how they are conceived, designed, licensed, financed, constructed, inhabited, and expanded upon. https://www.csbe.org/contemporary-rural-dwellings-in-jordan.
- Building with Policy, Building with Credit, Building with Sandstone: The Housing Sector in Jordan, 1965 - 2018. This study was developed by D. Taylor Reich while a research intern with CSBE in 2017 – 2018. The in-depth book-length investigation, which was carried out in cooperation with the CSBE team, addresses housing policies in Jordan since 1965, and examines these policies in relation to the economic, financial, social, and political contexts affecting - and even defining - them. It is one of the most extensive studies carried out on this subject so far. https://www.csbe.org/new-page-3.
All these online publications are available in both English and Arabic.
Social media presence
CSBE continues to strive for a significant social media presence through its Facebook page posts. These feature regular postings about CSBE's publications and activities, as well as postings with outside links to articles, videos, and events of interest to those concerned with the built environment.
CSBE also continues to manage the Omrania | CSBE Student Award Facebook page, which aims at disseminating detailed information about the Award. In 2020, we began publishing on the page all the Award’s winning projects, from its establishment in 2008 until its last cycle in 2019.
The number of followers for each of the CSBE and Omrania | CSBE Student Award Facebook page exceeded 8,500 at the end of 2020.
View the Omrania | CSBE Student Award Facebook page
CSBE Research and Coordination Officer Sama Ghaith left CSBE in 2020 to pursue other opportunities. We thank her for the contributions she made to CSBE during the time of her affiliation with us, and we wish her the best of luck with her plans.
Finances
CSBE functioned on an exceptionally limited budget in 2020. Our total income in 2020 amounted to about 15,820 JD, and total expenses amounted to about 26,670 JD. Both the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing governmental restrictions on the ability of Jordanian NGOs to obtain funding from non-Jordanian sources have greatly limited our capacity to secure the funds we need to carry out our work (note: 1 JD = 1.41 USD).
Obeidat Lawyers have continued to provide legal counseling to CSBE on a pro bono basis. CSBE is grateful for their support.