Groupe URD - Emergencies, reconstruction housing and urban development Topics

- Aid to Afghanistan
Monitoring of the post- conflict reconstruction process 2007-2008
- The ‘Kaifiat’ project that will include theme-based studies for the urban sector:
    • The case of Mazar-e-Sharif, north of Kabul
    • Analysis and report on the state of the urban sector in Afghanistan

Mid- term monitoring of the post- conflict reconstruction process 2004-2007
Between 2004 and 2007, Groupe URD experts and consultants carried out a number of studies in several disciplines as part of the ‘Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development’ project, a global multi-sector study financed by the European Commission. A large number of individual sector and cross-sector analysis reports were produced. Analysis of the housing sector and urban issues was the subject of individual chapters in general reports and was also the subject of specific studies, reports and articles.
- Context: global LRRD study including the theme-based studies 2005-2007
    • Conclusion of global cross-sector study: Linking relief, rehabilitation and development in Afghanistan to improve aid effectiveness: Main successes and challenges ahead, by Amélie Banzet, Christine Bousquet, Béatrice Boyer, Agnès De Geoffroy, François Grünewald, Domitille Kauffmann, Peggy Pascal and Nicolas Rivière, January 2007, Groupe URD.
    • Article on the urban sector drawn from the above report: The urban sector development in the LRRD context: in the LRRD main successes and challenges URD, January 2007, Béatrice Boyer, chapter 4-1, pp 20 to 25
- Context: Intermediate cross-sector analysis of the LRRD project, including the issue of housing reconstruction in the North and North-East of Afghanistan
    • Cross-sector analysis general report (chap.I): A Review based on a Multi and Cross Sector Approach, Chapter 1: Cross Cutting Issues, by Amélie Banzet, Christine Bousquet, Béatrice Boyer, Agnès De Geoffroy, François Grünewald, Domitille Kauffmann, Peggy Pascal and Nicolas Rivière, Groupe URD, April 2006.
    • Cross-sector analysis report (Chap.II): A review based on a Multi and Cross Sector Approach, Chapter 2 : SECTOR ISSUES : Urban Development, Water & Irrigation, Agriculture, Nutrition, Health, Education, by Amélie Banzet, Christine Bousquet, Béatrice Boyer, Agnès De Geoffroy, François Grünewald, Domitille Kauffmann, Peggy Pascal and Nicolas Rivière, April 2006, Groupe URD . 116 p.
    • Article on the urban sector drawn from the report above: Urban development, in A review based on a Multi and Cross Sector Approach, Chapter 2 : SECTOR ISSUES : Urban Development, Water & Irrigation, Agriculture, Nutrition, Health, Education, April 2006 Béatrice Boyer , Chapitre 2 pp 15 to 35
    • Evolution de la situation entre Aide humanitaire & secteur urbain, 20 pp (French version of chapter 2 above ). Béatrice Boyer. April 2006.

Specific analysis of changes in the urban sector in Afghanistan in LRRD
By the end of 2006, aid from the international community to improve living conditions in urban areas had not visibly improved the situation for the population. The following report attempts to identify the actors involved in urban reconstruction, what kind of aid is provided, how decisions are taken between Afghan and international actors, where things are being held up and what advances have been made up till the beginning of 2007.
- Research reports:
    • Urban Sector Review 2001-2006, Béatrice Boyer, 2006, Groupe URD, 84 p. december 2006.
    • Presentation of study conclusions to the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing in Kabul, August 2006

Analysis of case studies of Afghan cities under reconstruction
The case of Kabul
There is no official data for the population of the capital, and estimates vary between 3 and 4 million or more. Over 50% of Afghanistan’s urban population lives in Kabul. Its growth is exponential and is not being controlled in any way. Almost 70% of construction is considered by the Afghan authorities to be illegal. The question of priorities for reconstruction has been the subject of endless debates between aid actors and the Afghan authorities, and has considerably delayed aid operations (and the release of funds) for the city. Isolated operations have been carried out (wells, secondary networks), but aid has been hindered by the need to reorganise the whole urban sector and to create an urban planning policy; the present policy is still based on terms of reference established during the Soviet era (the 1978 Master Plan). Very few, if any, urban studies are carried out. The research below analysed the different spatial and institutional issues involved and presented a certain number of ideas about how to approach this deregulated situation in terms of urban development, programmes currently being considered, institutional roles and international aid.
    • Presentation of the case of Kabul to an audience of French urban planners in Paris: ‘The urban situation in Kabul, from relief to development’, Cafés Urba, 23 October 2007, Paris
- Article:
    • Kaboul, le processus de reconstruction, Béatrice Boyer,' les Nouvelles d'Afghanistan', n°117, June 2007, pp.3 to 7
- Research reports:
    • Kabul Urban Survey, Béatrice Boyer, Autumn 2006, Groupe URD, 83 p.
    • Article from an initial study in Kabul in 2005: From the spreading of the Pakistani architecture to the urban expansion of Kabul into the surrounding hills, what will Kabul look like in the near future? Claire Mariani, 2005

The case of Jalalabad
Compared to the harsh winters in the mountainous regions of the North, this mid-sized city in the South East of Afghanistan has a mild climate. This former traditional resort is currently faced with two major problems due to the proximity of the Pakistani border:
1 - A large number of enormous lorries from Pakistan pass through the centre of the city every day, bringing food and consumer goods to Kabul and the rest of Afghanistan on the only road that links Pakistan and Afghanistan. This road has been the cause of clashes between local politicians and the international aid community. In their impatience to improve traffic and security, the local politicians have widened the road, cutting down trees which are over a hundred years old, and which are an important environmental asset of the city. The EC has made a commitment to finance the construction of a deviation by the South East but this has been held up by the complexity of the aid process.
2 - The urban and spatial integration of large numbers of refugees, and particularly those from refugee camps in Pakistan which have been closing since 2003.
- Research reports:
    • Jalalabad: a resort town of change, case study of Jalalabad, Rafika Mahmoudi, under the supervision of Béatrice Boyer, 98 p, Juillet 2006, Groupe URD
    • University report in connection with Groupe URD’s LRRD research project: Urban survey of Jalalabad, Afghanistan IFU M2 Pro , Do the urban projects implemented in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, are in keeping with the economical, social and géographical contexts, Rafika Mahmoudi, Dissertation for Master 2 Professionnel, Aménagement et Urbanisme, parcours opérateur urbain et expertise internationale – Ville en développement, academic year 2005- 2006. 138 p.
- Article:
    • Jalalabad: a resort town of change, Rafika Mahmoudi, under the supervision of Béatrice Boyer, July 2006, Groupe URD.

The case of Bamiyan
Bamiyan is a small rural town in the centre of Afghanistan situated in a high valley in Hazarat province and known internationally for the giant buddhas which the Taliban destroyed in 2001. The study hypothesis asked the following question: ‘Is building a city an appropriate response to development issues in Bamiyan ?’ This study shows that Bamiyan does not have typical urban characteristics or problems. It argues that urbanisation of the plateau would not solve the problems of the territory, and that on the contrary, what the territory needs is coherent inter-village development. The analysis of planned projects revealed that these were not in any way adapted to the local context, and would not improve the living conditions of either the traditionally rural local populations or refugees and displaced people, who had recently been settled by the government in isolated sites without roads or water. At the time of the study in 2005, these people had been excluded from discussions between politicians about urbanisation strategies.
Since this study was carried out, new in-depth feasibility studies about the global development of the valley have been led by a multi-sector group of experts from the German University of Aix la Chapelle in connection with UNESCO. Many of the points raised in the Groupe URD study have been taken into account in this study and in its development strategies for development. It argues that there is a need to support local development at the same time as preserving and developping tourism around the Buddha cliffs.
- Research reports:
    • Is building a city an appropriate response to development issues in Bamiyan? Claire Mariani, 2005, Groupe URD, 50 pp.
    • University research in connection with Groupe URD’s LRRD research project: "Une ville à reconstruire", Afghanistan IFU M2 Pro, C. Mariani, Rapport DESS Urbanisme et Aménagement. Option « Expertise Internationale, villes en développement », Université Paris 8 - Institut Français d’Urbanisme, academic year 2004-2005
    • Article: Is building a city an appropriate response to development issues in Bamiyan?, Claire Mariani, July 2006, Groupe URD. 7 pp
    • Document presenting research results at the Ministry of Agriculture in Kabul, December 2005.

The case of Mazar-e Sharif
Mazar-e Sharif is a major city north of Kabul. It is situated at an altitude of almost 4000m on the other side of the Hindu Kush mountains, and is accessible via the Salang tunnel. Mazar-e Sharif plays an important role in the region. It is close to borders with the neighbouring countries in the north (Tadjikistan, …), and the city has always attracted a lot of people with the beautiful large blue mosque in its centre… The problems faced by the city are indirectly, rather than directly, linked to the conflicts as they are due to the influx of refugees. There is a serious shortage of infrastructure, and this within a context where there has been no urban planning for several decades, as is the case in most urban areas in Afghanistan. The situation is comparable to that of Kabul – real estate has reached a critical point with almost 70% of self-built makeshift housing and new neighbourhoods being privatised.
Field visit planned for early 2008.