Little Ecosystem in Harsh Asphalt

A Municipality crew in white coats landed in this Amman hood on Shanqeet mid November 2007.  They left behind this hole and grate.

Then the winter 07 rain came.  The hole that was filling with autumn leaves and trash, started to fill water and not drain much.

Finally, one day in August 2008, I got what this is for and the vision behind it!  The hole was put in to collect the trash that rolls half way down this road - a mini landfill.  The grate is there to catch the larger items like this can to stop it from rolling down, and to separate it for easier recycling.  And the water collection underneath is to green the patch - notice the sprouts above.

I get it now.  It's an initiative!  Part of the Municipality's Enviro/Greening with an organic neighborhood sustainability plan:  Street Green - Multipurpose Creative Eco-Thinking.  They're looking for a sponsor to implement city-wide.  The prototype locations are now part of the eco-tour route of Amman, a first in the urban enviro circle.

The words in this post are fiction.  The images are fact.