*1.3. The Coverage of the Stream*

The radical changes began when implementing the 1967 initiative plan, in which the government worked on a project for land acquisition adjacent to the stream. The project converted the stream into a culvert whose top became Quraysh Street. In addition, the initiative converted the residential land use to commercial and central business uses, aiming to improve the situation of the downtown and make it the commercial center of the capital. After the implementation of the plan (early 1970s), the radical changes began to take place (see Figure 3).

**Figure 3.** Blueprint of the planning modifications of 1967, excerpted from Greater Amman Municipality archives, recolored by the authors.

The municipality's policy of covering the stream continued even after the 1970s. The target area was from the Roman amphitheater towards Ein Ghazal, as demonstrated through the 1971 modification plan prepared by the municipality to redistribute land and to change the uses to commercial land use (Supplementary Materials).

In a report conducted by the Al-Rai newspaper about the coverage of the stream of Amman, Al-Azra'e [11] summarized the several threats which The Greater Amman Municipality hoped to overcome by covering the stream:


Accordingly, the coverage of the stream stretched in phases to 10km; extended between Ras Al-Ein and Ein Ghazal (Supplementary Materials). The plan included organizing the area on the stream between the former Amman Municipality building and Raghadan Bridge, which will turn into a square where the public library, exhibitions, theaters and other cultural facilities will be built. The plan also included the rehabilitation of the area through the establishment of commercial buildings. The Municipality proposed future land use plans that included central business and central commercial uses to enhance the commercial character of the downtown (Municipality archives). The seventies' policy aimed to solve the problems of traffic, winter flash floods and pollution, as well as to develop the downtown to become the commercial center of Amman by covering the stream and converting it to a culvert under Quraysh Street.
