Planning New Afghan Cities

Tommaso Giovacchini explored initial findings from AREU’s urban governance research in Charikar, Jalalabad and Herat. His roundtable examined how urban governance is negotiated across a range of different areas from centrally imposed masterplans to spontaneous settlements along with relations between the state and non-state actors involved. He outlined how series of factors-including weak legislations and fiscal constraints are creating incentives for municipal administration to set up as property dealers in the real estate markets they regulate and discussed the opportunities that updating urban masterplans create for greater transparency and citizen participation, and how the existing interest of entrenched powerholders might obstruct this process. The presentation was followed by a lively open discussion.