The urban geography of Jordan has been profoundly transformed by the long-term settlement of forced migrants on its soil. Whole neighbourhoods in Amman have built up around the Palestinian refugee camps that are now an integral part of the Jordanian capital. The Palestinian experience largely determines the way that Jordanian authorities construct and implement policies related to the arrival of new refugee groups. Local authorities fear a repeat of the situation they have experienced with the Palestinians, which in the Syrian case could result in the permanent settlement of a large number of Syrian refugees in the kingdom, which would bring along with it potential political and security troubles. In 2012, Jordan faced a mass arrival of Syrian refugees, and the Jordanian authorities decided to open camps close to its border with Syria. The decision to open refugee camps was partly related to the fact that Jordanian authorities wanted to give visibility to the Syrian refugee crisis and to attract funding from the international community. Nevertheless, this camp policy concerned only a limited proportion of the Syrian refugees.