Sustainable Framework for Preserving Traditional Settlements in Jordan : The "Mountain Village" As a Case Study

Salam Adaileh (Jordan University of Science and Technology)
Bushra Obeidat (Jordan University of Science and Technology)

Shifting economies, politics, and humans thirst for a modern life have all caused the abandon of impressive architectural and urban sites in Jordan. These sites include traditional settlements, vernacular houses, and urban landscapes that are constantly under the threat of urbanization and negligence by the government and the local communities alike. Developing a sustainable framework for preserving and protecting Jordanian urban legacy require an understanding of the way local communities, who used and lived in these sites, value their environments. This paper presents “the mountain village”, an abandoned and neglected village in Al-Karak governorate; south of Jordan. This 100 years old village is set on a top of a mountain, 510 meters above the sea level, holding more than 80 traditional houses. The local community who lived in the mountain village moved out 15 years ago and settled in areas closed to the mountain - in two villages called “Badhan” and “Baradh”. In this paper, a qualitative approach is adopted, which includes interviews and surveys with locals to detect their values and sense of place. Preliminary findings reveal that locals have social and spiritual values to the place. However, these values are affected by a number of the recent development trends happening in and around the site such as the rapid urbanization and changing in lifestyle. Locals have replaced farming with other occupations that provide better sources of income. They migrated to surrounding cities, seeking better income and in search of a modern shelter, education, and transportation that are appropriate for their new/ modern life. The paper indicates that inadequate attention to and recognition of the key elements contributing to the sense of place of the traditional architecture will lead to negative outcomes; resulting in a gap in the continuity of tangible evidence of Jordan's history and identity.