Amman is the capital of the Kingdom of Jordan, which is located on the East Bank of the River Jordan and bordered by Saudi Arabia to the southeast, Iraq to the northeast, Syria to the north and Israel to the west. In 2010, the city, which is situated in northeast Jordan and covers area of 1,680km², had a population of 1,919,000.

The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) joined the UN Global Compact in 2008. In the same year, the Municipality established the Amman Institute for Urban Development (AI) to advance the development and promulgation of urban governance at local and national levels. The AI is currently focusing on urban challenges related to land management, planning, public policy, civic leadership, tourism development and environmental management.

In 2011, the GAM launched its ‘Strategy and Action Plan for Environmental Sustainability in Amman’, with the support of the European Union. The overarching aim of the Action Plan is to strengthen the institutional framework within the GAM for the preparation, implementation and monitoring of an Urban Action Planning and Management for Sustainable Development project in the City of Amman.