Governance and Representation in the Afghan Urban Transition

Between September 2010 and April 2011, AREU conducted the scoping and preliminary phase of a research project on urban governance in the Afghan cities of Herat, Charikar and Jalalabad. The research was designed to test the hypothesis that Afghanistan’s urban transition is precipitating a crisis in existing local governance arrangements, stifling representation of new and old urban groups and interests, and leaving current regulatory mechanisms incapable of addressing the challenges of city growth. Specifically, the study focused on how this crisis is affecting land use regulatory mechanisms, such as city plans, and the processes of implementing urban planning provisions by local administrations.

This first stage of research involved 82 structured and semi-structured interviews and 14 focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted by a research team of ten members. Fifteen guides for structured interviews and two templates for FGDs were developed, along with a specific participatory mapping methodology. The fieldwork also included a threeweek participant observation scheme, with the development of a research journal. Although it was ultimately not possible to continue beyond this phase of the project, initial investigation produced the following set of findings, which can potentially inform policymakers in the area as well as be used to define a future research agenda.