Sandra Hiari

DPhil in Sustainable Urban Development

Thesis

Urban Policymaking: Local Actors, Bureaucratic Institutions & the Embedding of Urban Policy in Amman

Research abstract

Hiari's research seeks to investigate urban policymaking in governmental and municipal administrations in Jordan. It specifically looks into urban policies that were developed by international consultants and organizations. Her research draws on both postcolonial thinking and urban policy mobilities to redraft a place for cities like Amman to claim a place in the world.

Supervisor(s)

Dr Nigel Mehdi

Dr Pedro Marques

Biography

Hiari is an urban development consultant. She consults for the World Bank and other international organizations. She has been involved in multiple urban development policies, regulations, and projects in Jordan. Notably, she was a member of the Royal Hashemite Court’s Economic Modernization Vision and the Prime Minister’s Committee for reviewing the City of Amman Law. She was Jordan’s country advisor for the International Growth Centre (LSE & Oxford). She served as the Head of the Planning and Design Unit at the Ministry of Tourism and coordinator of the World Bank & USAID portfolios. She previously taught at the American University of Madaba. She holds dual graduate degrees in urban design from the City College of New York (CCNY/CUNY) and urban planning from the Jordan University for Science and Technology.

Publications

Selected publications include:

Reports:

• Hiari S. et.al. (2021) Prospectus of city growth: Rethinking planning in Amman. London: International Growth Centre. 
• Al-Asad, M. & Hiari, S. (2013) City Management in Jordan: Challenges Awaiting Solutions. Amman; Center for the Study of the Built Environment.

Editorial Support for:

• Al-Asad, M., & Musa, M. (2007). Architectural criticism and journalism: global perspectives: proceedings of an international seminar organised by the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in association with the Kuwait Society of Engineers, 6-7 December 2005, Kuwait. Geneva: Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Selected Articles: 

• Hiari, S. "The Woman, the Mosque and the Mall" in Jo Magazine (2008), 75-77.
• Hiari, S. “Gridlock”  in JO Magazine (2010): 70-71. (Won the 2nd prize in the European Award for Excellence in Writing granted by the European Union Delegation in Jordan in 2011.)

Publishing Coordination:

• Al-Asad, M. & Al Hiyari, S., Sahel Al Hiyari Projects (2006) Introduction by Portuguese Pritzker Prize-winning architect Alvaro Siza prepared for the Rolex Mentor & Protege Arts Initiative. Amman; Center for the Study of the Built Environment.

Research interests

Urban policy, policymaking, policy localization, postcolonial urban theory, urban development, urban archives.