Site Analysis - Irbid - Jordan

Site analysis

Why Irbid?

Irbid city has witnessed urban expansion over the past years, which is still in progress, this increase in urbanization followed by increase in thenumberofresidentswhichdemand anincreaseinthefacilitiesandservices. Perhaps one of the most important requirements is the availability of centersforeducationandrehabilitation of peoplewith autism.

Residents of Irbid complain about the lack of centers to treat their autistic children.Mostoftheautismcentersare located in the capital, and parents either have to leave for Amman or enroll their children in centers for peoplewith disabilities at ahighcost.

Even these centers do not provide the appropriate environment for treatment, as many call them shelter centers, as it include most of imbalances associated with children, whether mental, psychological, or physical or nervous. Recently some of thesecenters closed in Irbid.

The suffering of parents due to the lack of any interest in their autistic children is hug, as the situation may reach them either by ending the lives of their children or their lives.

Irbid

One of the most important northern citiesinJordan,withanareaof1571.71 km2.

Figure 2: Characteristic of ibid –photoshop created by the author

Irbid

Irbidislocatedabout70msnorthofthe capital of Jordan; Amman, and approximately 20 kms south of the Syrian borders. It is considered as the culturalcapitalofJordanandthisname wasgivenaccordingtohowrichthecity is in its historical background and the amount of Ottoman remains that were found from long time ago considering whole buildings, landscapes and other remains.[8]

Irbid is considered the second largest metropolitanpopulationinJordanafter thecapitalAmmanandthethirdlargest city in size after the cities Amman and Zarqa'a with an area of approximately about 1572 sq. And a population of about 1.77 million the city is a major ground transportation hub between Amman-Syria to the north and Mafraq to the east; it's a home to several colleges and universities; Yarmouk university, Jordan university of science and technology and other colleges which makes its atmosphere more suited for college life than a touristic spot.[8]

An incredible fact about Irbid is that it is more active in the night life, and the city center is a home to countless indoor and outdoor cafes and restaurants.

Figure 3: Irbid City created by author

Environmental aspect

Irbid is known for its natural conditions as it has the sub-humid Mediterranean part of Jordan with annual rainfall of about 630mm. People who live in Irbid enjoy four full seasons, although the precipitation levelis highmainly during thefall and winter.Moreover, the frost is not noticeable during the year, while the summer season is quite hot and dry.[8]

One of the most recognizable characteristics of Irbid is the red soil, that is why sometimes it is called 'The Red Soil City'. Unfortunately, according to the urban distribution among the agricultural lands, the soil started to have some problems such as: aridity andsalinity.Irbidis620mabovethesea level and it is considered as a semi flat cityasthehighest spotof thecityisthe downtown, the so-called `Tal Irbid' where historical forms the first urban settlementcanbefoundandwherethe city started the expansion [8]

Demographics

Figure 4: Demographics of Irbid City / Personal Work Based on Department of Statistics Data-Jordan.[9]

Demographics

Irbid is the second most populated city inJordanPopulation,afterAmmancity. The majority of the population resides withintheadministrativebordersofthe GreaterIrbid Municipality., and has the highest population density in Jordan.[10]

The population of Irbid Governorate in 2022 is 974,699 people, of which 493,949 are males and 480,750 are females,with an averageage of 24.

Asforthenumberofchildren,thereare 104,015 children between the ages of (10-14), 99,326 children between the agesof(5-9),and97,307childrenunder the age of 4 years. A total of approximately300,648child.[10]

Figure 5: population density in Irbid [101

Figure 6 : Refugees density in Irbid [10]

Access to services

Water - Irbid depends on rain water, groundwater, or that stored in dams and wells. In Irbid, 54% of Jordan's water resources are collected. About 63% of Irbid's population is connected to the public drinking water network in Jordan. And 99% of the population has accesstowatersources,andoneofthe most important problems related to obtaining water: poor pumping for the houseandwaterdoesnotreachhomes periodically.[10]

Sewage and waste water - the sanitation service covers 52% of the total population of the governorate, and about 48% of the population of Irbiddependonothermeans(cesspits).

Solid waste management - - Irbid governorate produces approximately 721,504 tons of solid waste annually, which is the highest share in the north region for the year 2016, and it is expectedthatsolidwasteproductionin thegovernoratewilldouble by 2034.

Electricity and energy - in Irbid governorate there is availability served by electricity and energy.[10]

Figure 7: Access to services in Irbid [10]

Access to Public utility

These maps shows the access to the main utilities and the time percentage to reach it.

Figure 8: Access to Recreational facilities [10]

Figure 9 : Access to Healthcare facilities [10]

Figure 2 : Access to Commercial activities [10]

Figure 3 : Access to Educational facilities [10]

Planned Infrastructure there are about five projects include: Major Urban Development Projects, Major Transportation and Urban Mobility Projects, Major Water Management Projects, Major Waste Management Projects, Climate Change and Sustainability Projects386 and Storm-water Management Projects387.

Figure 4 : planned infrastructures in Irbid city [10]

Accessibility

CityGreater Irbid Municipality is the strategic centre of the Irbid Governorate due to its administrative centre and close proximity to internationalborders.

Figure 13 : Accessibility in Irbid city [10]

Land use

Greater Irbid Municipality’s footprint reached 356 km2 in 2021. The majority of land in Irbid is privately owned; GIM owns only 30 km2 of land within its boundaries, where only 1% of this land is built-up and one third is Haraj lands, which are forest-covered lands owned by thenationalgovernment (treasury).

Figure 14 : land use in Irbid city [10]

Public facilities

The map shows the spatial distribution of the public facilities within administrative boundary including educational, healthcare, religious, commercial, and recreational facilities. Publicfacilitiesaremainlyconcentrated at thecity center.

Figure 15: Public facilities in Irbid city [10]

Site selectin criteria

Figure 16 : Site selection criteria – photoshop created by the author

Location

The site is located in Amman – Jerash –Irbid street ,in a residential zone, surrounding with many facility, and nearhospitaland parks.

Figure 5 : Site selection – Irbid - in Bani Obeid District -Residential zone

Site

The selection of the site was based on many criteria, asshown in thefigure

Figure 18 : Site selection criteria – photoshop created by the author

Location

The selected site in Irbid, Bani Obeid district , in a residential area and quite zone, the site also chosen with a set back of the main street to get a less traffic and noisezone.

1670 m distance from the main street, about 5m in the car

1670 m distance from the main street, about 5m in the car

Figure 19: Site location and accessibility.

Figure 6: Site location and accessibility.

Context

The site is surrounding with many facility that serve the neighborhood and the area. From educational, medical, commercial shops, mosques toparks and farms.

1.Park 2. Commercial Shop 3. Restaurant

4. Residential 5. School 6. Party Hall

7. Irbid mall 8. Cafe shop 9 Mosque

Figure 21; Spaces that surround the site

Access to Public facilities

Figure 22: Accessibility to services

views

The area witnessed a fast urban expansion forlast couplesof years,and the residential zone in the front street are class A.

Figure 23 : Context and views

Maps of the site

Figure 7 : Maps Theory

Dimension

The site s mainly flat with few mountains and valleys, farms capture most of both. the selected site with a low slop.

Figure 8 : Dimension of the site

Figure 9 : sections of the site by google earth.

Street system

As the site I near a main street so, the traffic is mainly high to medium specially in the morning and evening, this traffic is around the street. The traffic on the street front the siteis low traffic almost alldaytime .

Figure 10 : Main Street and views

Figure 11 : Traffic maps of the site.

Temperature & direction

The wind is most often from thewest for 10 months, from January 6 toNovember 9, with a peak percentageof 92% on July26.Thewind is most often from the east for 1.9 months, from November 9 to January 6, with a peak percentage of 37% on January1.

In Irbid, the summers are long, hot, arid, and clear and the winters are cold andmostlyclear.Overthecourseofthe year, the temperature typically varies from 42°F to 89°F and is rarely below 35°F or above94°F.[11]

Figure 12 : : Temperature and Wind Direction [11]

Sun and wind movements

Figure 13 : Sin and wind direction.

Strength and weakness

The most challenging aspect when design for autism is the noise and distraction elementsof the site.

Figure 14 : SWOT analysis.