Urban Governance: An Assessment of the Urban Development Programme in Afghanistan

Afghanistan faces a wave, largely uncontrolled, of urban growth in the form of ‘informal’ settlements, without the most basic infrastructure, i.e., water supply, waste water and solid waste management and accessible schools and playgrounds, but also without suitable places of work for both men and women. All these are included in the notion of what a ‘good city’ is, and are intended to be created by the close cooperation of international and national agencies and the residents concerned, with specific roles for the city’s administrative structures from the municipality down to the nahiya (district), the gozar (street) and the CDC (community development council).