| "With cities taking the brunt of the war in Afghanistan, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the damaged and destroyed municipal infrastructure and urban services have become a priority. The growth pressures they experience compound the problems facing Afghan cities in this area. Besides the natural growth, which was always believed to be high, a large number of displaced people that had taken refuge in neighbouring countries are returning to the cities. The experience in cities during the last few months substantiates this. The decades of neglect have also reduced drastically the number of competent staff and the technical capacity of municipalities. Understandably, the neglected city institutions and destroyed city infrastructure will not be able to cope with this exploding city population, and their demand for services." |
|
--opening paragraph of the Summary Report of the
International Conference on Kabul and the National Urban Vision, which took place in Kabul on September 21-24, 2002. |
San Francisco, California, 18 December 2002
The San Francisco Bay Area Friends of Afghanistan (now Afghan Friends Network) hosted Mr. Rashid Janbaz, Director of Planning for the Municipality of Kabul, for a three-week visit to California and Nevada in January 2003. The working schedule was updated daily to coordinate events in San Francisco, Reno, and Irvine.
Timor Rafiq, Alia Hokuki, and myself (Pietro) functioned as an Afghan Planners Support Committee to develop a training program for professionals functioning as planners in Kabul. During December 2002 we drafted a needs assessment questionnaire for Afghans to let us know what they are looking for. Next we will develop a series of coordinated training modules, from 5 to 8 weeks long, that each of us can teach in Kabul.
I am also trying to find organizations and people who are involved in City and Regional Planning, Housing Policy, and Technology Support for Afghanistan. If you can assist us in these areas please email me (Pietro).
June 2, 2006:
Since this page was posted I have gone on to pursue a PhD in City and Regional Planning at U.C. Berkeley, focusing on household tenure in Kabul. As I update this, I am in Kabul making arrangements for my dissertation fieldwork.