Tracing the cityscape transformation under capitalism: The case study of Amman

摘要

Political, sociocultural and socioeconomic processes play a vital role in shaping and reshaping the built environment. The transformation of cities under global capitalism has changed the sociospatial meaning of the cityscape and has led, directly or indirectly, to a layered city withhuge social and spatial gaps. This paper discusses the production of urban spaces under global capitalism. It traces the relation between the political and the economic aspects in transforming the morphology of the city, and in creating new means of spaces in the shape of urban regenerationprojects, high-rise buildings, gated communities and shopping malls which are transforming the urban landscape of several Middle Eastern cities today. This paper focuses on the case study of Amman, the capital of Jordan, and studies the impacts of these investments on the physical and socioculturalsetting of the city. Amman is just one example, and illustrates the recent transformation of the cityscape under the influence of capitalism.