Urban Micro-Lungs Initiative

The Urban Micro-Lungs Initiative is a Green Infrastructure intervention that aims to establish new green spaces and urban forests in East Amman¹. The initiative adopted the Miyawaki Methodologyⁱ for afforestation and implemented it at two sites in Amman as a pilot project. The initiative is part of the project titled ‘Improving Living Conditions in disadvantaged areas in Amman (ILCA)’, an urban regeneration project to improve existing and introduce new green infrastructure in East Amman².

This Urban Micro-lung initiative aims to improve the quality of life in dense and deprived urban areas by creating new green areas³, promote climate resilience and urban justice⁴ by addressing issues related to climate change, and strengthen municipalities by improving the capacity of municipal staff in this field⁵.

To meet the above-mentioned objectives, the implementation of the initiative consists of the following:

• Selection and design of two sites for the creation of the green infrastructure⁶. Each of the selected sites has an area of only 100 to 250 square meters⁷.
• Plantation of dense forests on the two chosen sites based on the Miyawaki Forestation Method that focuses on soil engineering, biomass construction, and the planting of climate-appropriate species⁸.
• Workshops and training sessions to enhance the capacity of municipality staff in the management and maintenance of the Urban Micro-Lungs Project sites⁹, and integrate the Miyawaki method in urban landscape design across the city¹⁰.
• Awareness campaigns for both the population and the local authorities on the importance of green infrastructure¹¹. These are conducted through site visits, workshops, and community engagement sessions¹².

The project was implemented in collaboration with a wide range of beneficiaries including citizens and community members of all ages, encouraging them to participate in the transformation process of the selected areas^{13 14}.

As part of the initiative, a comprehensive manual was developed to streamline the implementation process. It consists of three key phases:

• Preparation Phase: this phase includes a sequence of field excursions, vegetation assessments, and desk-based research were conducted to gather observations and information.
• Implementation Phase: Conducted in tight collaboration with project stakeholders and the local community, who are integral participants in the planting event.
• Maintenance Phase: This phase spans a duration of 2 to 3 years¹⁵.

Urban Micro-lungs was led by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and the Greater Amman Municipality¹⁶. It is implemented with the technical expertise of Tayyun Research Studio¹⁷, and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic development and Cooperation (BMZ)¹⁸.