Anticipating the unexpected: Urban refugee programming in Jordan

Refugees have found their way to foreign cities throughout history, but the numbers residing in urban
centers have grown exponentially since the early part of this decade. Often able to blend in and
surrounded by the city’s existing local public services and social networks, the self-sufficiency of
urban refugees can be easily taken for granted. The fact they tend to be scattered widely across an
urban sprawl merely adds to the perception that they are too difficult to identify and target for direct
humanitarian assistance.