The research treats one of the obstacles related to the management of heritage
buildings in the city of Al Salt, Jordan. Many buildings are vacant due to a situation
involving co-ownership which prevents achieving a consensus on decisions related to
the rehabilitation of the heritage context, and thus impedes the development
operations in the city. In parallel, authorities in Al Salt are not used to effectively
engaging stakeholders in problem-solving and planning for development initiatives,
due to the lack of knowledge of authorities about community participation, and the
awareness level of the local community.
The approach of the research relies on community participation through engaging
different categories, including authorities, buildings’ co-owners, non-governmental
organizations, donors, and professionals. The theoretical background investigates
literature related to the management of built heritage, community participation, and
management of co-ownership, in addition to national and international practices that
enrich the research’s approach.
Techniques of a high level of participation were used to explore the attitudes of coowners
and authorities toward the obstacle of co-ownership, arrive at a consensus on a
solution, and then develop a management plan for a pilot building. The management
plan considers international guidelines issued by reputable organizations, and the
research uses techniques of interviews, mini-focus groups, a consensus meeting, and a
participatory planning workshop. Management of co-ownership has been inducted and
found applicable through using cooperative associations and transferring shares of
ownership into shares in the association’s capital. Multi-purpose cooperatives were
proposed to co-owners of the pilot building, and then approved for their
appropriateness in solving the co-ownership obstacle.
For the purpose of supporting the proposed association, six representatives of more
than one hundred co-owners of the pilot building participated in developing a
management plan with other stakeholders. The plan included consensus on the
problem’s definition, and proposed functions inside the building. It also proposed
partners that might be interested in providing necessary fund.
Accordingly, the research has evaluated the participation process and developed a
community participation toolkit. The toolkit can be used by authorities and other
parties interested in handling participation activities with the local community in
general, and co-owners of heritage buildings in specific