Kabul Urban Survey - Groupe URD

P. Pathak is the Urban Planning and Policy Advisor in Kabul Municipality, formerly the Senior
Urban advisor in UN-HABITAT. She has been working on urban issues since 2004 and has
produced several drafts for discussions amongst urban stakeholders, analysis and
recommendations about the urban situation in Kabul, Municipal Law, Urban Policies and
Urban Priorities. In 2004, she produced a draft for the reform of “Municipal Law of
Afghanistan”; in 2005 a text on “KM-Planning Institutions, Roles and Recommendations for
Kabul City”; and in 2006 a draft for discussion on “KM-Urban Policy Issues, Priorities and
Recommendations for Kabul”. We present below the main components of her analysis, most
of the time in her words in order to remain true to the complexity of the situation. Kabul urban
issues encompass a variety of different aspects, such as urban population and settlements,
urban institutional context, issues and priorities.
4.2.1 Kabul urban issues at present
The population has increased dramatically over the last five years without any development
of basic urban services. The population is estimated at between 3 and 4 million, depending
the different stakeholders’ understanding of where the city boundaries lie. No recent census
has been carried out and “large urban areas continue to attract migrants as places with
better livelihood opportunities, urban services amenities and grater security”. KM has to cope
with a permanent population growth. Among the various urban problems, it is possible to
highlight the following issues as being critical in this transitional period toward reconstruction.
• Informal urban population
Most of the new inhabitants (returnees, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)) have settled
anywhere they could find available land. In consequence, “…Rapid population growth has
resulted in large-scale informal land and housing development. About 70 per cent of the city
is informally developed.” This means that more than 70% of Kabul population needs to
regularise their administrative rights to occupy the land on which they have settled and to
secure their own land property.
• Lack of basic urban infrastructure and services
The majority of Kabul inhabitants, in both informal and formal settlements, suffer from poor
living conditions and lack of basic urban services such as: insufficient access “… to safe
piped water supply (30%) …no sewerage network system (10%)… any solid waste collect
organisation … acute shortage of power and communication facilities…damaged and no
asphalted roads (60%) …traffic jams and air pollution”.
• Need for a globally coherent urban policy for rehabilitation and development
The physical urban issues are challenging and require a coherent policy but the most
important challenge lies in the KM’s urban planning ability. “…damaged and destruction of
numerous buildings and streets are added to those lacks issues. The bad urban situation is
due as much to the consequences of the last decades of war for a part, as to the inability of
urban responsibilities to manage the city. Urban situation in Kabul needs an urgent but
coherent reconstruction programme. According to huge financial need, and to the very few
ability of Kabul Municipality’s income, a think about prioritising was necessary.”
4.2.2 Urban policy issues
• Institutional actors slow to develop urban policy
In 2006, no clear national urban policy has yet been formulated, as highlighted in the Groupe
URD survey “Urban Sector Review” 7 . Urban issues were at first not seen as a priority within
the reconstruction process nor as a coherent domain, but were nonetheless present at each
step of the rebuilding of national institutions. Pathak confirms below in the short synthesis
about urban issues the long process for urban sector to establish itself in the national
reconstruction process.
7 Groupe URD, “Urban Sector Review“ for LRRD programme, 2006
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