Turning Data into Better Cities Jordans Integrated Approach to Housing, Services

Jordan has demonstrated strong national commitment to the 2030 Agenda through its Voluntary National Reviews (2017, 2022) and the pioneering Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) of Amman and Irbid. These efforts align with the Kingdom’s Economic Modernization Vision, which places quality of life and sustainable urban development at the center of national reform. This is further supported by the Jordan National Urban Policy (JNUP)—the country’s first integrated urban framework—structured around six themes: Environment and Water, Economy, Development Form, Quality of Life, Mobility, and Governance, enabling cities to localize national priorities and strengthen multi-level coherence. To operationalize these priorities: Ministry of Interior (MoI) is advancing reforms to national administrative and spatial data systems, as it redefined and updated the administrative boundaries, while working with the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDC) to develop land-use maps covering residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural areas. In parallel, MoI collaborates with the Department of Statistics (DoS) to establish criteria for classifying cities and rural areas. These efforts are being technically implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship (MoDEE). Collectively, these initiatives enhance interoperability across housing, population, and spatial datasets, forming the foundation for integrated planning and service delivery across the housing, health, education, transport, energy, and governance sectors. These reforms underpin Jordan’s transition toward administrative-record–based population data and geospatially enabled planning, including the 2026 census. They also demonstrate how such collaboration can be expanded to other ministries, improving data comparability, strengthening evidence-based decision-making, and reducing inefficient or misdirected public spending—particularly critical as Jordan faces rising housing and service costs, alongside accelerating urban sprawl at the expense of agricultural land and food security. The session will showcase Jordan’s emerging integrated data governance model and practical pathways for scaling inter-ministerial collaboration to improve basic services, enhance housing and urban planning outcomes, and accelerate SDG localization through a cohesive, people-centered national data ecosystem.