Al-Nammari, F and Alhanbali, F (2025) Housing adaptations for COVID-19 lockdowns in Amman and policy implications. Building Research & Information, 53(5), pp. 600-619. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
Despite extensive research on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the adaptability of apartments, there remains a gap in understanding adaptability as a process: What were the adaptive measures adopted in apartments? Why? And how can that inform policy? Consequently, this exploratory study investigates apartment adaptations in Amman, Jordan, during COVID-19 lockdowns by employing mixed methods, including focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with 142 participants in a longitudinal assessment covering 30 months. The analysis revealed four main themes: mental well-being, physical health and safety, functionality within the home and normalization of homestay. Findings demonstrate that residents successfully adapted interior plan layouts and objects but faced significant challenges with the site, physical plan and shell adaptations. While residents succeeded in manoeuvring around varied barriers in a continued change process, housing policy ignores adaptability as an essential variable for resilience. Specific priorities for policy change were identified based on respondents' input. This study calls for policy changes to bolster the resilience of urban housing by acknowledging adaptability as an objective in health emergencies.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | adaptability; apartments; COVID-19; housing policy; qualitative methods; resilience |
| Index terms: | policy implication, Jordan, housing policy, Amman, adaptation, mixed method, pandemic, housing, adaptability, well-being, qualitative method, exploratory study, functionality, health and safety, focus group, COVID-19, interview |
| Subjects: | health risk and incident analysis, data collection methods, mental health and wellbeing, research design and methodology, research methods, Geography, health safety and environment, public policy, design features, construction type, policy studies, user focus |
| Topics: | Health and Safety, Geographical Context, Construction Technology, Governance, Research Practice, Design Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
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