While a number of studies in recent years have sought to analyse urban livelihoods and governance, little is known about how displaced people negotiate their way in the urban environment, their relationships with host communities and governance institutions and their specific vulnerabilities as compared with other urban poor. Likewise, the role of humanitarian and development actors in supporting these populations, and the strategies and approaches best suited to address the assistance and protection needs of urban IDPs, are poorly understood.

This study explores the phenomenon of displacement in the urban environment and the implications and challenges it poses for humanitarian action in Amman, Jordan.

This study is part of a series of studies on urban displacement, which so far has included case studies on Nairobi, Yei (South Sudan), Damascus and Kabul. The study aims to:

• Deepen understanding of the drivers and history of displacement in Amman.
• Review policies and legal frameworks for refugees, including housing and land policies.
• Discuss the specific protection threats affecting displaced populations living in Amman and how they compare with other urban poor.
• Assess the specific vulnerabilities of the displaced particularly in relation to access to basic services, urban infrastructure and livelihood opportunities and how they compare with other urban poor
• Identify how international aid actors can best engage with displaced people living in Amman, and the implications for humanitarian and development programming in this regard.