Shobak Ecotourism Masterplan
Urbanism
The Shobak Masterplan was the result of a 1.5 year long collaborative research project between the Designing Ecological Tourism Lab at the University of Toronto, the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature in Jordan, and the Rift Valley Project which is funded by the World Bank. Using the master plan of the Shobak Protected Area in Jordan as a case study, the project presents a multi-scalar approach to the planning and design of conservation areas in combination with ecological management plans. The Shobak Masterplan empowers local citizens to act as stewards of their protected areas without the involvement of outside institutions. The Shobak Masterplan empowers citizens to protect their natural heritage by using non-deterministic approaches and advocating for social ecology, viewing protected areas as naturally evolving resilient entities and using acupuncture-like conservation strategies which simultaneously improve the environment and local socio-economic conditions.
​
The Shobak Special Protection Area masterplan promulgates a participatory approach, based on an in-depth site analysis and collaboration between experts and local stakeholders. The participatory methodologies developed to create Shobak’s masterplan act as a case study for the future protection of natural heritage worldwide.
​
Learn more about the interactive masterplan here.
​
Link to interactive masterplan:
