Urban Planning Functional Review
Southwest Kabul
- MUDH HR capacity, Organizational Chart, Facility and Level of ICT Assessment - MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review - Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework - Recommendations and Action Plan July 2019
Urban Planning Functional Review
- MUDH HR capacity, Organizational Chart, Facility and Level of ICT Assessment - MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review - Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework - Recommendations and Action Plan July 2019
Foreword : Afghanistan is experiencing historically significant moment in taking steps towards rebuilding its cities and war-stricken built environment. It is intended that in coming decades the country’s built environment will transform into predominantly urban economies as the process of urbanization takes hold and the potentials of growth and social progress will bring improved livelihood to the majority of its population. Managing the planning and growth of the cities is a powerful tool to improve the economic and social wellbeing of the cities and towns. Embracing the potential of productive urbanization can be achieved by putting in place measurable planning policies and regularity tools in order to boost economic and social conditions of the cities by providing its population with security of shelter, improvement in public services and provision of efficient infrastructure. The World Bank Group has been one of the key donors of Afghanistan’s post-Taliban reconstruction efforts since 2001by providing the government of Afghanistan (GOA) technical assistance as well as financial support in different development projects. Recently, it has funded the Urban Development Support Project (UDSP) for MUDH with objectives: (i) create an enabling policy framework and enhance the urban policy making capacity in relevant agencies at the national level; and (ii) strengthen city planning, management, and service delivery capacity in five Provincial Capital Cities (PCCs). Current grant is considered as the first phase of a program that will first delve into foundational policy and institutional capacity to strengthen and evolve over time into a broader investment program. UDSP has been designed with four components: 1. Urban Information (Building UMIS), 2. Urban Institutions (Institutional and capacity development), 3. Urban Integration (Strengthening UP at National & Local Levels) and 4. Integration Institutions (Institutional & Capacity Development). The L&Z International LLC, a US based architectural, planning and engineering firm, was awarded the ‘Functional Review of Urban Planning Framework’ project under UDSP component 2: Urban Institutions. The current project is expected to be a fundamental exercise necessary to form subsequent tasks formulated for the Urban Development Support Project (UDSP) by World Bank. It will
serve as a detailed baseline diagnostic of the current institutional setup, legal mandates, and functional responsibilities of the MUDL, IDLG, local governments and other relevant agencies. For the first time, the scope of work of the project is required a deep assessment and analysis of former MUDH’s human capacity and resource assessment; and functional review of urban planning framework in the light of existing legal and regulatory framework in the country. Recently, the Afghanistan Land Authority-ARAZI has been melded with MUDH and become Ministry of Urban Development and Land (MUDL). The merger of two large organizations does not impact on the outcomes and recommendations of the current project. Consultant and WB recommendations are to set up a taskforce by MUDL to be reviewed project recommendations and priority tasks for further implementation. A team of Afghan-American experts with extensive work experience in Afghanistan and abroad in the field of urban planning successfully completed the objectives and tasks set by the project scope of work. Professor Rafi Samizay, Professor Bashir Kazimee and Dr.Terry Ryan with professional background in both design practices and academic fields played key role in preparation of final recommendations. The L & Z International team of consultants express their gratitude and appreciation to H.E. Jawad Paykar, Minister of MUDL, H.E. Roshan Wolusmal, Deputy Minister for Urban Affair, UDSP World Bank team leader Dr. Sateh Chafic Alarnout and his designated team for their constructive feedback and comments during the different stages of project deliverables. The outputs of the project were not possible to achieve without the help and support of Dr. Abdul Sami Abduraheemzay, UDSP Director at MUDL and Mr. Mirwais Rahimi, senior urban planning specialist at UDSP. The L&Z International team would like to express deep appreciation to UDSP’s above mentioned individuals for their inputs and help in organizing meetings with different stake holders, data collection from various sources, video conferencing, seminars and presentations.
L & Z International is looking forward working in implementation of current project’s recommendations and priority tasks with MUDL and UDSP leaderships in the near future.
Mahmoud Samizay, Ph.D L & Z International Team Leader
Urban Planning Functional Review for Ministry of Urban Development and Housing
Internal Organization Review MUDH HR capacity, organizational chart, Facility and Level of ICT Assessment
Table of Contents Part I: Data Collection Approach and Methodology 5 Introduction 6 System Approach for Data Collection 8 Data Collection Methodology 12 Part II: MUDH Background 13 MUDH Background and ToR 13 MUDH Government Institutional Structure 16 MUDH Organizational Chart 17 MUDH Human Capacity 18 Part III: MUDH Provincial Directorates 23 Part IV: MUDH Finance and Administration Deputyship 26 Finance Directorate 27 Administration Directorate 28 Human Resources Directorate 30 Procurement Directorate 33 Gender Directorate 35 ICT Directorate 37 Part V-Urban Affairs Deputyship 39 Town Planning Directorate 43 Design of Regional Development Plans Directorate 47 Urban Affairs Deputyship Coordination with IDLG-DMM 50 Part VI: MUDH Construction Affairs Deputyship 51 Engineering Services Directorate 54 Design of Technical Infrastructure Directorate 54 Development of National Codes Directorate 53 Part VII: MUDH Housing Affairs Deputyship 57 Technical Housing 60 MUDH Policy and Plan Directorate 61 Part VIII MUDH Development Projects and Programs 62 SDP 66 MUDH Programs 68 PGBP 71 ASP 74 NHP 76 Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex 78 Part IX: MUDH Facility and Level of ICT Assessment 80 MUDH Facility Assessment 81 MUDH Archive and Library 83 Level of ICT Assessment 84 Results of Questionnaires 85 Part X: Annexes 87 2
Abbreviation AFN Symbol of Afghan National Currency ARAZI Land Authority (Afghanistan Land Authority) CRIDA Capital Region Independent Authority KM Kabul Municipality KP Kabul Province MoF Ministry of Finance GoIRA Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan GoA Government of Afghanistan IDLG Independent Directorate of Local Governance IDLG-DMM Deputy Minister for Municipalities MUDH Ministry of Urban Development and Housing MRRD Ministry of Rehabilitation and Rural Development NHP National Housing Program ASP Afghanistan Stabilization Program PAMA Central Institute of Projects (former semi government enterprise) PCC Provincial Capital City PGBCP Public and Government Buildings Construction Program SDP Strategic Development Plans UDSP Urban Development Support Project WB World Bank USAID United States Agency for International Development Afghan Government Rank and Positions Terminologies Wazir Minister Moueeniat Deputyship Moueen Deputy Raees President, Head of Directorate Riasat Directorate Ameriat Department Amer Head of Department Moudeer Umumi General Manager Moudeeriat Management Moudeer Manager Wali Governor Sharwal Mayor Tashkeel/Tashkeelat Personnel organization/composition
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Internal Organization Review
MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment
برسی تشکیالت داخلی تسهیالت و سطح اطالعات معلوماتی، نیروی برشی،ارزیابی تشکیالت داخلی
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Part I: Data Collection Approach and Methodology میتادولوژی و شیوه:بخش اول جمع اوری ارقام
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Part I: Data Collection Approach and Methodology Introduction Introduction In recent years, there have been several changes in regards to organizational structure and human capacity at the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MUDH) in Afghanistan. A new town planning law has been ratified by presidential decree in 2017 where the MUDH’s terms of references are clearly defined in both urban development and housing directions. The town planning law was prepared by the MUDH and received approval by the Afghan government and the president himself. However; in most clauses, the law has contradicted the terms of reference by the MUDH which was initially supposed to act as policy maker and monitoring body. In 2014, the Ministry of Urban Development Affairs (MUDA) was changed to Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MUDH). At that time, many clauses in the ToR of MUDH in the new town planning law were added to give the organization more authority to be more involved in the design and construction for housing, government, and public buildings. An initial assessment of its current activities shows MUDH’s main ToR, which is to be a policy maker and monitoring body in the field of urban planning and housing, has been in question. On the other hand, many independent authorities and programs involving in urban development have complicated the legal and regulatory framework of urban planning in general. Independent authorities and programs such ARAZI (Land Management Authority), Capital Region Independent Authority (CRIDA), Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex and Provinces Program, Public and Government Buildings Program (PGBP) and Strategic Development Project (SDP) have created challenging issues when it comes to coordination of projects, Terms of References and top-down reporting. Independent authorities and programs directly report to the president and the newly established High Commission for Urban Development (HCUD). Some projects report to the H.E. Minister of Urban Development and Housing. The coordination takes place vertically, while coordination amongst departments and agencies are very weak or in most cases does not exist. This issue is a hot topic between the center and provinces. A comprehensive review of its human capacity, resources, and level of technology is essential and helpful to determine further direction of its activities. The scope of work for the project Task 1: MUDH Internal Organization Review is limited only to those entities, MUDH’s system and its sister systems’ involvement in urban development. Project Task 1 (Internal Organization Review) has two deliverables to be reported in two separate sub-tasks: Subtask 1: MUDH Internal Organization (charts), Human Capacity, Level of ICT and Facility Assessment Report (10%). Subtask 2: Urban Planning Functional Review- Full Report (20%) A summary of key findings is included at the end of each section.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable Introduction This 10% project completion deliverable includes a comprehensive review of the MUDH’s human capacity, organizational charts, as well as its facility and level of ICT assessment. Data for this assessment was collected from different sources: MUDH Directorate of Human Resources, Directorate of Finance, office of deputies, departments, programs and projects databases through series of brainstorming sessions with leadership, meetings and interviews with individual technical employees and administrative staff. Questionnaires and surveys have been conducted to identify the gaps and deficiencies in physical spaces, tools and technology. Activities Completed In Subtask 1: MUDH HR Capacity, Organizational Chart, Facility and Level of ICT Assessment. (10% Work Completion Deliverable)
a) Data Collection for Subtask 1: MUDH Capacity, Facility and Level of ICT Assessment. A Comprehensive Review of The MUDH’s System, Sub-Systems, Deputyships, Directorates (Riasats), Departments (Ameriats), Relevant Urban Development Programs and Projects, Human Capacity, Organizational Charts and Resources were carried out in different levels. i) The MUDH’s system and its affiliated branches’ terms of references, organizational charts, administration and management systems were reviewed for the purpose of work performance evaluation and functionality. ii) Facility assessment: work environment assessment at the MUDH HQ and affiliated locations were conducted by visiting each site, measuring physical spaces, and evaluating tools and equipment. Deficiencies and shortages are identified during the facility assessment. iii) Checklists, surveys, and questionnaires were developed and completed by the head of departments as well as individual employees for the purpose of finding gaps and deficiencies in ToRs. The level of employees’ work environment satisfaction and benefits (samples are included in the Annexes portion of the report) were also surveyed. iv) A detailed assessment of MUDH’s level of ICT skills and computerization process of the organization was conducted including an assessment of ICT hardware and software.
b) Data Collection for project’s Task 2: Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework i) Laws, presidential decrees and directives relevant to land management, urban development and local municipalities were collected from the sister systems, ARAZI, CRIDA, HCUD, IDLG-DMM for further review and analysis in Task 2. ii) Guidelines, project documentations, design samples of strategic plans, master planning, regional plans, detailed plans, urban codes and standards were collected from the MUDH’s urban affairs deputyship and urban development department for the purpose of MUDH’s urban planning functionality assessment and finding gaps and deficiencies in ToR and human capital. The result of the analysis will be reflected in final report of Task 1.
c) Presentation and Findings Seminar:
H. E. Roshan Wolusmal, MUDH Acting Minister and Deputies at the presentation, August 12, 2018.
Internal Organization Review
A presentation-seminar for deliverable of Subtask 1 was held on August 12, 2018 at the MUDH’s Conference Hall. H.E. Roshan Wolusmal, acting minister, the Deputy Minister for Construction Affairs, Deputy Minister for Housing and UDSP director, Dr. Abdul Sami Abduraheemzay and Mirwais Rahimi attended the presentation.
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Part I: Data Collection Approach and Methodology Introduction At the beginning Dr. Abduraheemzay introduced the agenda and then Dr. Samizay, project team leader, presented the slides of the project’s first Subtask 1 of Task 1, the data collection for Internal Organizational Review. H.E. Acting Minister shared some of his comments regarding findings of the capacity assessment of the MUDH. Deputy ministers agreed to continue the discussion about the future organizational structure of the MUDH. Separate brainstorming sessions with deputy ministers will be held for the purpose of exchanging ideas on key issues of the MUDH’s restructuring and ToR.
I.1. System Approach For Data Collection Studying complex organizational systems in highly connected process environments is challenging. A systems approach provides two distinct advantages: 1. A framework and comprehensive checklist for information gathering 2. An organized reporting structure not only for the client (MUDH) but also the team members who are tasked with the assignment After a careful review of the project’s scope of work, a system approach was developed to be inclusive of the whole MUDH organization and its programs and projects substructures.
Presentation and Discussion on August 12, 2018.
Boundary Determination: The MUDH’s organizational structure includes deputyships, directorates, departments, and sections. A number of programs and development projects have been structured around the MUDH system. The boundary of the assessment and level of review is the MUDH’s sub-organizations involving in urban development projects and activities. Hierarchical Modeling: The government of Afghanistan is considered as a super-system. Systems will also have “siblings” referred to as sister systems, that are a similar level of responsibility or power as the system being modeled. Systems always have components, or subsystems, and are usually components of yet larger systems themselves. Thus, the systems are nested and the more desegregated or broken down the system is, the more detailed the understanding can be developed. The hierarchy of the MUDH, based on the ToR, suggests the following: Superior System: Government of Afghanistan (GOA) {black dashed boundary} System Name: Ministry of Urban Development and Housing {black solid boundary} Sister Systems: Directorate for Local Governance (IDLG), ARAZI (Land Authority), Cities, etc. {Orange boundaries} Components: Housing, Admin/Finance, Urban Affairs, Construction Affairs, Enterprises, Planning (assumed from online information). {light blue boundaries} A graphical model of this hierarchy is displayed below:
Seminar-presentation for MUDH Employees on Project Management, Dr. Gul Afghan Saleh, LZ team member, September 25, 2018.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable I.1. System Approach For Data Collection
Data Validation Approaches: For the purpose of collecting valid and reliable data, the same data and information was collected from the MUDH Human Resources department as well as from each individual department, MUDH’s Programs and Development Projects’ HR departments also. In most cases, due to lack of a central database system, the data on human capacity, budget, and expenses are confounding and not fully reliable.
Dr. Terry Ryan, Ph.D, P.E , Project team member
Targeted Sources of Data Collection: The targeted organizations that involve urban planning and urban development activities identified in this assignment are: 1. MUDH System (deputies, directorates, departments and sections) 2. Sister Systems (ARAZI, IDLG-DMM, CRIDA) 3. MUDH Programs and Projects. 1) MUDH System: In terms of organizational structure, the MUDH System includes 4 deputies: (1) Finance and Administration; (2) Construction Affairs; (3) Urban Affairs and (4) Housing. Under each deputyship there are number of directorates (Riasat) and departments (Ameriat).
LZ International Project Team, June 15, 2018, USA.
Internal Organization Review
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Part I: Data Collection Approach and Methodology II.1. System Approach For Data Collection
2) Development Programs and Projects
Some of programs and projects have been created by special decrees of the President. Among key programs and projects involving in urban planning and housing activities are: MUDH Programs: 1) Afghanistan Stabilization Program (ASP) 2) National Housing Program (NHP) 3) Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex and Provinces Program 4) Public and Government Buildings Construction Program (PGBCP) MUDH Development Projects 1) Strategic Development Plans (SDP) 2) Design and Development of Urban Plans 3) Preozi-the 20,000 Housing Units in Deh-Sabz 4) Preservation of Historic Monuments (PHM) project (Renovation) 5) Carpet Residential and Industry Township 6) Teachers Townshps (Townships Planning) 7) Administration and Technical Skills Development 8) Training Center and Urban Resources (Research Center and Development of Urban Capacity) 9) Kabul Waste Water Recycling 10) Pre-fabricated Housing Plant
3) Sister Systems (ARAZI, IDLG-DMM, CRIDA) By the direct decree of the President 3 agencies involving Urban Planning and LandDevelopment have been created as independent authorities: ARAZI-Land Authority (Idar-e Arazi), High Commission for Urban Development (HCUD), Capital Region Development Authority (CRIDA). ARAZI is the highest authority for land management and ownership in Afghanistan. The authority was created by a Presidential decree in 2016. Previously, the Ministry of Agriculture of Afghanistan had such mandate and authority. HUCD is the highest legal authority for approval of all urban planning programs and projects at the national level. Approval of Master and Regional plans are the authority of HUCD. The Chairman of the Commission is the President of Afghanistan. MUDH has the secretariat mandate of the commission.
Meeting with Mr. Tahiri, ARAZI Technical Deputy, july 13, 2018.
CRIDA is an independent urban planning authority involved in development of regional plans, upgrading and urban development projects within the Kabul region. The Capital region is consisted of adjusting provinces to the capital city of Kabul such as Logar, Parwan, Kapisa, and Kabul provinces. IDLG-DMM The Deputy Minister for Municipalities is under structure of Independent Directorate of Local Governance. Local municipalities are expected to have key role in implementation of urban development projects. By the newly adapted Municipalities Law (2018), the development of cities master plans and relevant detailed plans also are the responsibilities of local municipalities. Meetings with IDLG-DMM Technical Director
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable I.1. System Approach For Data Collection
Nationwide Key Actors of Urban Planning in Afghanistan, 2018.
Kabul Municipality: Kabul Municipality is responsible for implementation of Kabul Master Plan as well as upgrading of informal areas within urban boundary of Kabul City. Kabul Municipality shall be in close coordination with MUDH in implementation of different urban development projects. However; the issue of overlap of responsibilities and interference in responsibility of each other has not been regulated so far.
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Part I: Data Collection Approach and Methodology I.2. Data Collection Methodology
1. Brainstorming Sessions and Meetings with MUDH Leadership
For the purpose of necessary data collection, a series of brainstorming sessions and meetings were held with MUDH’s leadership, deputies, head of directorates and departments. The brainstorming sessions included meetings with H.E. Roshan Wolusmal, the acting Minister of MUDH and acting Deputy Minister for Urban Affairs, Mr. Nasim Khaleeq; the Deputy Minister for Construction Affairs, Mr. Shafiqullah Roghmal; the Acting Deputy Minister of Finance and Administration, Mr. Hamayoun Faiz, Deputy Minister of Enterprises and Policy, Mr. Aziz Ahmad Gulestani, Deputy Minister for housing and Mr. Khoshnood Nabizada, the office of chief of staff. Individual meetings were held with the head of the following directorates: Human Resources; Finance; Administration; Internal Auditing; ICT; Town Planning; Regional Development Plans; Master Planning and Detailed Plans; Preservation of Historic Monuments, National Construction Codes and Standards; Construction Buildings; Design of Infrastructure; Survey and Studies, Housing and Properties, and Plan and Policy.
2. Meetings with Independent Authorities + Programs + Key Projects (MUDH Sister Systems)
A series of meetings and discussions were held separately with Mr. Abdul Baqi Popal, Deputy Minister of Independent Directorates of Local Governance (IDLG) for municipalities (IDLG-DMM), Mr. Tahiri, Deputy Technical of ARAZI (Land Authority), and Mr. Tawab Yousufzai, Deputy Technical of Capital Region Independent Development Authority (CRIDA).
Brainstorming sessions with head of MUDH directorates: Design of Infrastructure and Master Plans
Terms of References, organizational charts, projects and budgetary resources, coordination of the above agencies with urban planning stakeholders and MUDH were discussed in detail. Necessary hardcopy and soft copy of documentations were collected for further analysis and functional reviews in the next stages of the project implementation. The functionality and organizational structure of the above authorities will be discussed in details in Task 2: Legal and Regulatory Urban Planning Framework.
3. Checklists and Questionnaires Meeting with Mr. Tawab Yousufi, CRIDA
Checklists with specific questions relevant to the organization’s ToR, internal organi- Deputy, July 20, 2018. zation (organizational chart), existing work plans, guidelines, employees training and capacity building programs, adequacy of technology hardware and software were submitted to the head of directorates and departments to fill out for the purpose of finding gaps and deficiencies in functionality of these directorates and departments. Questionnaires in English and Dari languages were given to individual employee to express his or her own concerns and comments regarding work benefits, work environment, relationship with manager, training program and level of satisfaction working at MUDH and future employment status.
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Part II: MUDH Internal Organization and Human Capacity
تشکیالت داخلی و نیروی برشی وزرارت شهرسازی و مسکن:بخش دوم
Part II: MUDH Internal Organization & Human Capacity II.1. MUDH Background and ToR Background: The current name of Urban Development and Housing has been changed a number of times in the last 20 years. In 1984, it was known as “Central Institute of Projects” or PAMA ( )پــا. PAMA was renamed “Central Authority of Town Planning” in 1989. Two years later in 1991, the Afghan Government decided to restructure the organization as “Ministry of Urban Development and Housing.” MUDH was reorganized back to its original status as Central Institute of Projects in 1996. The organization’s terms of reference did not change significantly through the course of those name changes.
H. E. Roshan Wolusmal, MUDH Acting Minister.
MUDH has been established based on institutional structure of the semi-private government enterprises PAMA after the creation of New Afghan Government in 2002. Once again in 2006, the ministry was renamed to Ministry of Urban Planning until 2010. It became Ministry of Urban Development Affairs (MUDA) in 2010 and finally re-named Ministry of Urban Development and Housing in 2014. MUDH ToR: The MUDH’s Terms of Reference defined by Town Planning Law adapted in 1391/2012 and by the latest updated version of the law in 1396/2017 which approved by Parliament and signed by the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The law defined that MUDH’s activities are based on 4 principles: 1. Creation of urban establishment (system) in all districts of the country 2. Creation of cities with urban services based on sustainable and balanced growth 3. Solution of housing needs through preparation of housing plans and policies 4. Provision of access for all citizens to essential urban services through design of policies and plans
I. Urban Planning Law (Adapted September 2017): 7th Clause of the Law defines MUDH’s Terms of References: 1. Design and preparation of strategies and programs in urban development and housing as well as monitoring of their implementation. 2. Design, preparation and management of country’s master plan, regional plans, cities’ master plans, detailed plans, emergency plans, and strategic plans 3. Determination of location of cities, towns and future population centers, and determination of boundaries of development and capacities in urban areas with the consideration of conservation of natural, agricultural, environmental and historical areas under country-wide master plan and regional plans. 4. Preparation and development of reconstruction plans, improvement plans, renovation plans, land re-arrangement and cultural-historic areas’ plans for protection of cities’ identities according to economic, social, and urban tourism growth. 5. Approval of guiding, strategic, detailed, amendment, reform, improvement, cities and residential complexes plans and monitoring their implementation.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable II.1. MUDH Background and ToR 6. Design and preparation of plans for infrastructure networks and transportation networks within cities of the country. 7. Design and preparation of plans for public facilities and basic urban infrastructure. 8. Design and preparation of national housing policies and programs and monitoring their implementation. 9. Provision of standard and affordable housing with the consideration of needs of the citizens. 10. Development and implementation of housing provision plans, and management of housing construction projects funded by the government and monitoring of their implementation. 11. Design and development of cities, townships and new residential complexes with more than 100 apartments in coordination with local municipalities. 12. Establishment and development of construction enterprises (tasadi) and provision of housing. 13. Monitoring of private sectors’ activities in the area of construction of cities, townships and construction complexes. 14. Creation of a housing trust fund (credible bank) in agreement with Ministry of Finance and with other relevant agencies based on relevant legislative documents. 15. Joint venture with private (national and foreign) sector in the field of cities development and provision of housing. 16. Preparation and provision of urban codes, norms, standards and technical specifications, and examining the issues related to building and construction materials in cooperation with National Standards Authority (NSA). 17. Addressing the violations in the area of construction of cities, townships and construction complexes and prevention from non-standard growth of cities. 18. Conduction of technical, topographic, socioeconomic and environmental surveys and studies for the preparation of effective plans of cities development and provision of housing. 19. Conducting conferences, meetings, exhibitions, bidding and competitions related to urban development and architecture with the coordination of relevant agencies. 20. Provision of scientific and technical assistance in the field of urban development for national and international scientific and academic agencies. 21. Regulating activities related to urban water supply and sewerage services. 22. Issuing business licenses to private water supply and sewerage companies and monitoring of their activities according to relevant legislative documents. 23. Performing other responsibilities in the area of urban planning according to relevant legislative documents.
MUDH Obligations (Clause 8th)
1. Ministry of Urban Development and Housing is obliged to design non-military government construction projects, implement and monitor 2. Ministry of Finance (MoF) is obliged to transfer the budget of projects mentioned above to MUDH.
II. Urban Planning Law (Adapted June 9, 2012)
The old urban planning law defined all responsibilities of MUDH and its authorities Note: A detailed Review of Town Planning Law will be discussed in Task 2: Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework.
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Part II: MUDH Internal Organization & Human Capacity II.2. MUDH Government Institutional Structure A comprehensive assessment of MUDH and its deputyships, directorates and departments’ existing organizational structures, human capacity (including level of professional skills), adequacy of resources, and facilities carried out as part of Task 1: Internal Organization Review. Institutional Structure of Ministry of MUDH defined by the old Urban Law ratified in June 2012 (the updated law ratified in 2017 did not clarified in details MUDH’s institutional structure) :
Organization (tashqilat): 1. Ministry of Urban Affairs is a central authority unit in which the Minister is at the top of leadership (executive power). 2. Ministry of Urban Affairs has central and provincial organization and they are created according to the law. Deputies: Ministry of Urban Affairs has deputies whose scope of responsibilities and authorities are determined by the Minister. Leadership Committee: 1) Ministry of Urban Affairs has a leadership committee including the Minister as the Chairman, deputy or deputies, advisers, and head of departments are the members of Leadership Committee. 2) The minister of Urban Affairs can assign selected employees with technical expertise and experience as members of Leadership Committee. Convening of Management’s Meeting: 1) The leadership meetings are held once every 15 days and emergency meetings are convened upon the Minister’s discretion. 2) Leadership meetings are held in presence of the sum of its members and the decisions are made based on a majority ruling only after obtaining the signature of the Minister. Duties and Authorities of Leadership Committee: 1. Analysis and review of issues related to the ministry’s performances and activities. 2. Discussion about existing obstacles facing central and provincial offices and the necessary solutions. 3. Review and approval of policies, strategies, and annual plans of relevant offices 4. Review and assessment of departments and relevant offices’ reports 5. Review and approval of terms of references for departments and related offices. 6. Evaluation of issues related to hiring and training of personnel. 7. Discussions regarding positions and annual budgets. 8. Analysis of legal documents, preparation, and related guidelines. 9. Review of miscellaneous issues that the Minister assigns to leadership. Hierarchy of Reporting and Top-down Power The name and ToR of MUDH have been changed number of times during the course of last 20 years. Currently, the overall organizational structure of MUDH has been enlarged in terms of both human capacity and projects. The government structure of MUDH is determined by Town Planning Law. The highest judiciary power at MUDH organization belongs to the Minister and subsequently deputy ministers, head of directorates, and departments.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable II.2. MUDH Government Institutional Structure The obligations and responsibilities of MUDH’s hierarchy of power was determined by the Town Planning Law adapted in June 9, 2012. However, the definition of legal authorities of the Minister and deputies did not include in the new law of Town Planning adapted in September 12, 2017. The hierarchy of top-down power echelon, government employee ranking and steps system is defined and approved by the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Services Commission (IARCSC) which was established in early 2002 after creation of new Afghan Government. This hierarchy of government structure, employee ranking, and steps are unique in all government agencies. The budget for approved positions is determined by the Ministry of Finance annually. The top-down ranking hierarchy is: Minister (wazir); Deputy Minister (moueeniat); Directorate (riasat); Department (ameriat); General Manager (moudeeriat umoumi); and Manager (moudeeriat). In some government agencies this hierarchy is slightly different: Minister (wazir); Deputy Minister (moueeniat); General Directorate (riasat umoumi); Directorate (riasat); General Branch (ameriat umoumi); Department (ameriat); General Manager (moudeeriat umoumi); and Manger (moudeeriat). There is a need for addapting officially unique terminologies for government ranking and steps compared to common English terminologies. The following chart shows the hierarchy of reporting at MUDH institutional structure.
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Part II: MUDH Internal Organization & Human Capacity II.3. MUDH Organizational Chart In the 2002 approved organizational chart, MUDH had two deputies positions; Deputy Minister for Town Planning Affairs and Deputy Minister for Construction. Since 2015, MUDH has had four depytiships positions; Deputy Minister of Finance and Administration, Deputy Minister of Urban Affairs, Deputy Minister of Construction Affairs, and Deputy Minister of Housing. This chart is officially approved by the Government of Afghanistan and Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Services Commission (IARCSC).
MUDH Organizational Chart, August 2018
4 to 6 directorates are under internal organization of each deputyship. Subsequently each directorate consists of departments and sections. In addition, the Internal Auditing, Communication and Public Relations, and the Office of Councilor are independent directorates that report directly to the MUDH Minister.
Note: Organizational chart of each deputyship and directorate will be discussed in the next few chapters in details together with human capacity data.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable II.4. MUDH Human Capacity Data Source: MUDH Human Resources (HR) Directorate
a. Government hired Personnel
The Human Resources (HR) directorate database shows that as of July 2018 a total of 480 employees are listed as government employees at MUDH HQ in center (Kabul) and 426 are listed as MUDH employees at Provincial Directorates (riasat). The total amount of MUDH’s government hired staff is 906 employees.
b. Human Capacity by Deputyships (moueeniat) and Directorates (riasat)
The largest number of government hired employees belongs to the Finance and Administration deputyship at 190 personnel. The administration directorate (riasat) has 103 people while the finance only has 24. The second largest government hired staff is the Construction Affairs deputyship with 117 people followed by the Urban Affairs Deputyship with 71 employees. The Housing Deputyship falls last with 42 government hired employees.
c. MUDH Human Capacity by Key Directorate (riasat)
The following chart illustrates the number of official government employees by key MUDH directorates. The administration directorate has the largest number of personnel with 103 people following by Engineering directorate of Construction Affairs deputy with 59 people and procurement directorate with 38 people. The smallest directorate in terms of human capacity is the Gender directorate and Information-communication Technology (ICT) with 8 people. From total of 480 government employees at MUDH center, the Town Planning directorate has 27 personnel. The rest of directorates have from 10 to 15 staff personnel each. The Town Planning Directorate (riasat) has 27 registered government personnel. This number is extremely low for such a key urban development directorate with a huge ToR. The Gender Department has the most minimal staff with only 2 personnel. Because of the importance in the role of gender and the increase of its capacity this must be a priority on the agenda of the MUDH leadership. A detailed analysis of organizational chart and human capacity of each directorate are discussed in the following next few chapters.
Internal Organization Review
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Part II: MUDH Internal Organization & Human Capacity II.4. MUDH Human Capacity
d. MUDH Programs and Projects Contractors Additionally, 1,384 people work as contractors for the MUDH which were hired through development projects and programs. Between government employees and contractors, the total number of personnel of the MUDH sits at 2,290. The actual total may be higher as the data is not coordinated with development programs and projects. In most cases, the development programs and projects do not update the changes to MUDH human resources directorate on time.
e. MUDH Total Employees (Government + Contractors) In this context, the data obtained from the HR Directorate shows that the total personnel at the MUDH headquarters is 793 (government and contractors) and 606 personnel at the provincial offices.
f. MUDH Total Employees (Government + Contractors) by MUDH Directorates The following chart shows the distribution of total government and contracted employees by directorates at the MUDH center. The total staff number is 793.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable II.4. MUDH Human Capacity
g. MUDH Total Employees (Center and Provinces) Level of Education and Professional Background
The government employees’ levels of education as well as their professional background is reviewed in detail. The following comparative charts show the number of employees and the percentage of their education level. Data obtained from MUDH HR directorate illustrates that 65% or 587 people of the total 906 employees in center in Kabul and provinces have BSc and MSc degrees. If the data is reliable, the level of education shows a positive number compared to other Afghan Government agencies. 11% of the total government employees have either baccalaureate or post high school degrees and 16% have at least a minimum of 6 grade school education. Data shows that 51% of all government employees have a civil engineering background, while only 5% have architectural background with higher education degrees. Other disciplines such as electrical, HAVC, and computer science account for 7% of employees’ professional background. General education accounts for the high school graduates with general high school knowledge and forms 17% of the MUDH’s total employees (906). 16% of the total employees have minimum of 6th grade school education or less.
g. MUDH Employee in Center (480 people) i) Level of Education
The above chart shows that a total of approximately 60% of all government employees who work at MUDH center in Kabul have Bachelor of Science (BSc) and Master’s degrees (MSc). If these numbers are reliable, it shows a relatively solid, educated capacity for the MUDH’s current personnel composition. 19% of current government employees have either minimum school education of 6th grade or less. This category of staff is involved the service areas such as transportation, admin support section and office cleaning.
ii). Professional Background Among the total 480 current government employees at the MUDH center, only 5% have architectural background and 21% have construction and civil engineering background while other non-technical backgrounds total is 42%. The percentage of employees with an architecture and civil engineering background is unsatisfactory for an organization involving mostly urban development and housing ToR. The chart shows the shortage of technical professional staff.
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Part II: MUDH Internal Organization & Human Capacity II.4. MUDH Human Capacity
iii) Employee Age Category The data obtained for the MUDH’s human resources directorate shows a relatively younger employee staff composition. Approximately 68% of the current employees are 40 years old which it illustrates a very young staff. Only 6% of the current employees at MUDH center is within the retirement age category of 60-65 years old. The verification of level of education degrees as well as age has been a big challenge for the government agencies in Afghanistan.
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Part III: MUDH Provincial Directorates Internal Organization and Human Capacity (riasat shahrsazi wolayat)
: بخش سوم ریاست های شهرسازی والیات وزارت شهر سازی و مسکن
Part III: MUDH Provincial Directorates Internal Organization & Human Capacity Part III. MUDH Provincial Directorates Preamble Ministry of Urban Development and Housing has a Provincial Directorate (Riasat-e Shahrsazi) in 33 provincial capital cities (PCC) in Afghanistan. The human capacity of provincial offices is not enough strong in terms of numbers and qualification to fulfill satisfactory responsibilities and ToRs. Communication and correspondences still take place on the old government procedures and systems. Official letters and project documentations take long time to reach local provincial offices. Shortage of resources, facilities and human capacity, communication and security are the main challenges that MUDH leadership face at center to properly address the above problems.
a) Terms of References (ToRs)
As policy maker government agency in urban sector in Afghanistan, the provincial offices is expected to play key role in implementation of urban projects, cities master plans, detailed and emergency plans at the level of provincial cities in close coordination with local municipalities (IDLG-DMM). Another important role of Provincial Directorates the monitoring of housing projects and government funded townships in coordination of different stakeholders including Provincial Government, Governor (wali) Office, IDLG-DMM (local municipalities), private sector and international donors funded projects. Both MUDH and IDLG-DMM shall determine the priority projects in PCC urban development needs. As the capacity of local provincial offices is low, the detailed plans requesting by IDLG are not available on time. This creates more challenges as the ILDG capacity and resources also are very insignificant. However; MUDH’s provincial offices face enormous challenges such as shortage of resources, human capacity, technology and communication with MUDH center. The following chart shows the project the steps of processing and coordination channels by MUDH and local governance and municipalities.
b) Human Capacity Assessment
As of July 2018, there are a total of 426 government hired employees are lied in the MUDH HR database. An additional 80 contractors from different MUDH’s affiliated programs and projects work for provincial offices which the total of provincial personnel is counted 606 employees. The number of employees in each provincial office varies maximum from 8 to 12 government employees.
c) Level of Education Review of MUDH’s provincial directorates educational level shows that 80% of employees have higher education with BSc degrees (67%) and Master’s degrees (13%) d) Professional Background If the numbers recorded at MUDH HR are reliable, the above chart shows an encouraging trend of employees technical background. More than 48% of current staff have civil engineering background while only 6% have architecture background. Other disciplines such as electrical engineering, geology, geography and social sciences form 23% of total personnel. The profession of architecture and planner is very low.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable Part III. MUDH Provincial Directorates
e) Gender Human Capacity at Provincial Offices The participation and low profile of female professionals in urban sectors is a serious challenge for local governments, municipalities and MUDH provincial offices. From a total of 426 government employee at provincial directorates of MUDH only 9 people or 2% are female in 33 provinces. This number should not be acceptable for MUDH’s leadership. Data records show that in some capital centers such as Mazar-i-Sharif, Herat, Kunduz where women widely work for government offices, only one female employee is listed. A large number of female students are graduated from engineering and architectural institutions who can be attracted in provincial offices of MUDH.
Findings: 1. Shortage of resources for implementation of urban projects 2. Shortage of human capacity, qualified engineers and urban planners 3. Poor coordination with other local urban development stakeholders including donors’ funded projects 4. Poor communication with MUDH’s relevant departments in center 5. Role of women in the urban sector is not significant and women are not enthousiastic in working at provincial offices. 5. MUDH has no clear gender agenda, particularly in local governance offices
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Part IV. MUDA Finance and Administration Deputyship Internal Organization and Human Capacity
معینیت مایل و اداری وزارت شهر سازی:قسمت چهارم تشکیالت داخیل و منابع ش ب�ی
MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable Part IV: Finance and Administration Deputyship Preamble:
The finance and administration deputyship is the largest organizational structure of MUDH in terms of human capacity. The directorate has 190 personnel from total of MUDH’s 480 employees in centre. There are 5 directorates under Finance and Adminis�tration Deputyship: 1) Finance, 2) Administration, 3) Procurement, 4) Human Resources and 5) Gender. Each directorate consists of departments and sections.
Meeting with Head of Finance Directorate: Mr. Shafiqullah Roghmal
Like most of Afghan Government agencies the Finance and Administration directorates function strictly according to the Afghan Government Civil Services and Procurement laws and regulations. Management and computerization of routine administrative activities such as inter-departmental correspondences, archiving of official documents are in the priority of Afghan Government institutional reforms agenda. Although, some successes have been achieved in some areas but still lot of old fashion bureaucratic paperwork in many administrative and finance routines still common and must be seriously to be addressed. Official letters still take time to be sent from one department to another department while official communication between center and provincial directorates via government post takes longer and insecure way. Electronic correspondences are not used because such communication is not recognized as official document and also because of lack of technology resources.
The Finance and Administration Deputyship Internal Organization The Finance and Administration Deputyship ( معینیت مالی و اداریMoueeniat Mali wa Adari) consists of five directorates: Finance, Administration, Procurement, Human Resources and Gender The internal organization and human capacity of directorates are reviewed in details in the next few chapters.
IV.1. Finance Directorate The Finance directorate consists of Finance, Accounting and Budget departments. The directorate uses MS Excel for preparation of balance sheets, budgets and accounting until now rather than more advanced accounting software. According the data obtained from the Finance Directorate, the total budget of MUDH for fiscal year of 1397 (20182019) is 358 million AFN and for the next 3 years will be 2500 million AFN. The total budget of MUDH’s development projects is 4.8 milliard AFN. MUDH currently has a total of more than 2000 employees and contractors in the centre and provinces. A strong finance and accounting system is needed for managing of all finance operations particularly employees’ on time payrolls.
MUDH Finance and Administration Internal Organization Chart
The government uses the adapted Ministry of Finance’s AFMIS program for some finance operations. But the invoice processing take place in the same old system with complex of steps and procedures. The new finance and accounting programs such as Quick book software are not used in payrolls and other finance activities such as data recording and transactions due to shortage of professional finance and accounting personnel and relevant training programs.
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Part IV: MUDH Finance and Administration Deputyship: Internal Organization IV.1. Finance Directorate
a) Terms of References The following are the key responsibilities and ToR of Finance Directorate:
Meeting with Head of Finance Directorate
1. MUDH’s finance transactions management 2. Preparation of MUDH’s annual budget and expenditure with the help of Planning Directorate 3. Preparation of balance sheets and transactions of projects 4. Control of MUDH’s development projects and programs financial operations 5. Management of employee payroll 6. Close coordination activities with relevant directorates such as plan and policy, procurement and human resources 7. Preparation of financial reports to MoF and Afghan Government 8. Computerization of financial transactions and accounting system according to accepted Afghan Government and MoF financial systems 9. Capacity building of employees in finance and accounting 10. Hiring of qualified finance and accounting personnel
b) Human Capacity
The government employees of Finance Directorate are currently listed 24 people.
The chart below shows that more than 60% of current staff of Finance directorate are high school graduates with general knowledge. From 24 entire personnel crew only 3 people have BSc in finance and banking, 3 people in literature and 2 people in geology with BSc degrees. The human capacity of directorate certainly does not meet the volume of work in finance and accounting for such a large organization with more than 2200 employees in center and provinces.
IV.2. Administration Directorate The administration directorate of MUDH consists of two departments: 1) Technics and Transportation, and 2) Administration.
a) Human Capacity and Professional Capacity More than 90% of 103 total employees of Administration directorate are supportive personnel with minimum of school grades (< 6th grade).
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable IV.2. Administration Directorate The majority of staff at administration department are employees and contractors in the field of services. Only 1 person, the head of directorate, has MSc, 3 people have BSc degrees and 8 people have high school diploma. 84.4 % or 87 people have either none or minimum of elementary school education. The directorate has no a working system for its routine activities. There is a need for serious changes in organizational structure and computerization of directorate in performance of daily tasks and routine activities.
b) Results of Questionnaires
Results of questionnaires responded by finance and administration directorateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s employees show that: 1) Only 10% of current employees are interested in technology and use of new finance and accounting software. 2) 30% of employees complain about lack of professional training programs and poor facilitation of leadership in organizing such needed trainings 3) 35% of recipient of questionnaires complain regarding of work environment and shortage of facilities, benefits and salary. 4) 25 to 30% have no idea and comments (See details in Part X: Facility Assessment)
Findings:
1. Shortage of professional and qualified personnel in finance, accounting and banking fields 2. Over staffed due to lack of systems and administrative reforms 3. Shortage of latest accounting and finance software 4. Lack of database for processing of payrolls, vacations and records activities 5. Confounding data relevant to cost and budget of development projects and expenditure 6. Lack of professional database specialists for data retrieval and data entry 7. Lack of a proper mechanism for updating finance data simultaneously with changes in employee records and project documentations in the center, provinces and development projects 8. Lack of professional training programs for employees in finance and accounting fields 9. Low professionalism, motivation and capacity of administrative employees 10. Poor working conditions, low salaries and employment status 10. Lack of internal processes and procedures and job descriptions
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Part IV: MUDH Finance and Administration Deputyship: Internal Organization IV. 3. MUDH Human Resources (HR) Directorate Preamble The Human Resources directorate is one of the most important directorates in any organization. HR has responsibilities for hiring of qualified people, strengthening of organization’s capacity, developing capacity building programs, evaluation of employees’ annual work performance. Current MUDH’s organizational structure with more than 2,200 personnel at the center and provinces need a strong and solid HR directorate with professional qualified personnel to handle the above mentioned responsibilities. Shortage of qualified personnel and computerization of administrative and technical activities are the key challenges of MUDH leadership and HR staff should play significant role in strengthening of MUDH in a long-term.
a) HR Terms of References The following are key responsibilities and ToR: 1. Supervision of government employees recruitment process 2. Development of procedures and guidelines for recruitment process and screening of applicants’ application and request for employment
Meeting with Head of Finance and HR : Directorates: Mr. Shafiqullah Roghmal and Mr. Farid Alamyar
3. Marketing for attracting of qualified people available at the job market working for MUDH
4. Attracting of young graduates from higher educational institutions of the country for employment with MUDH 5. Need assessment for recruitment of qualified professionals and coordination of activities with relevant departments 6. Development of short and long terms capacity building programs 7. Organization of training courses and foreign scholarships 8. Updating of Human Resources database 9. Annually evaluation of employees’ work performances 9. Working on gender issues and employment 10. Solving employees’ family issues
b) Internal Organization MUDH Human Resources consists of 3 departments: 1) Recruitment, 2) Training and Organizational Administration Development, 3) Assessment and Employee Records. Current internal organizational chart of HR directorate is considered for 19 positions within 3 above mentioned departments. 30
MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable
IV. 3. MUDH Human Resources (HR) Directorate
c) HR Human Capacity The organizational chart of MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Human Resources includes 19 personnel from which currently 15 people are officially employed by the HR directorate. Another 4 positions are still vacant. The size of current HR directorate does not meet the volume of responsibilities and terms of references that the directorate have for such a huge and complex organization such as MUDH.
d) Level of Education From current 15 government employees 8 people have BSc, one employee has MSc, one employee has a 14th grade of post high school and 5 people have high school diploma.
e) Personnel Professional Background The organizational chart of MUDH human capacity shows that none of current employee has professional HR or administration background. 3 people have foreign languages background and 2 people have law background. The shortage of professional is obvious at MUDH HR directorate. The current capacity may not sufficient to perform the complex tasks and responsibilities of directorate.
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Part IV: MUDH Finance and Administration Deputyship: Internal Organization IV. 3. MUDH Human Resources (HR) Directorate Findings: 1. Shortage of HR professionals and qualified personnel 2. Professional background of current staff is not relevant to HR ToR and scope of work 3. Current human capacity does not meet the complex and huge terms of references of the entire MUDH’s organization with more than 2,200 employees 4. Poor coordination with MUDH’s development projects’ HR in recruitment process 5. Weak coordination with relevant directorates and departments for recruitment of professional and qualified employees 6. Lack of marketing in recruitment of qualified experts 7. In most cases, the recruitment of new employees takes place without consideration of actual needs of the directorates 8. The recruiting process including job announcement, short listing of candidates, preparation for interview panel, and interview process take place in a long time frame and in non-professional manner. The transperancy of the process is in question 9. Lack of employee database and compatible software for HR purposes 10. Massive delay in processing of salary payment due to poor coordination between HR department and Finance Directorate 11. Lack of resource center and central databases
12. Lack of professional staff for development of capacity building programs, evaluation of employees’ level of education and training needs 13. HR data are not updating according to each directorate, department and MUDH development projects data records
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable IV. 4. Procurement Directorate Preamble Procurement is a sensitive directorate in each Afghan Government entity. The importance of procurement directorate or department depends on the size and volume of projects that the agency carries out. The Afghan Government has made some relevant successes in procurement activities through applying new rules and procedures. In recent years, the National Procurement Authority (NPA) has been established to control the transparency of large projects’ procurement at the national and international level. The President himself is the chairman of the NPA commission. However; the transparency in procurement and reform in this field is a huge challenge that Afghan government agencies face to be addressed. Due to traditional and old government laws and rules, carrying out the reform is always time consuming, lengthy and sometimes impossible. The responsibilities and works of MUDH’s procurement directorate is becoming more complex and lengthy due to fast growing involvement of ministry’s in various large development projects and nationwide programs. Today, MUDH has large buildings and housing construction, rehabilitation and renovation projects as well as consulting services that carry out by national and international companies. The level and degree of international donors’ support and assistance depends on the application of reform and transparency in finance and procurement system of government agencies. In this context, MUDH must exercise all necessary efforts to standardize its procurement activities and implement the rule of law.
a) Terms of References (ToR) The following are the key responsibilities and ToR of Procurement Directorate: 1. Preparation of guidelines for official procurement activities 2. Preparation of projects Expression of Interest (EoI), Request for Information (RFI), Request for Proposal (RFP) or shart-nama documentations 3. Preparation and organization of pre-bidding conferences 4. Setting up the bidding evaluation commission and its members 5. Screening and short listing of bidders 6. Preparation of contract for specific projects award 7. Participation in procurement of goods, materials, office supplies requested by departments and directorates 8. Close coordination of activities with Finance and HR directorates 9. Analysis of local market and availability of procurement goods and supplies
A significant part of directorate’s activities is the procurement and contract management of construction projects. MUDH programs and development projects are expected to coordinate their procurement activities and contract award with MUDH’s Procurement Directorate. This process is not transparent and coordinated.
b) Internal Organization The internal organization of procurement directorate is structured of 4 departments: 1) Construction Procurement, 2) Procurement of Goods and Services, 3), Planning and Reporting, and 4) Facilitation of Contracts. Subsequently each department consists of sections and units. The procurement of construction projects is a large part of the directorate’s activities. MUDH currently has number of mid-size and large construction projects all over Afghanistan. The two departments of Construction Procurement and Facilitation of Contracts both involve in procurement of construction projects.
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Part IV: MUDH Finance and Administration Deputyship: Internal Organization
IV. 4. Procurement Directorate
MUDH Procurement Directorate Internal Organizational Chart
c) Human Capacity
Procurement Directorate Human Capacity Data Analysis
Data obtained officially from MUDH directorate of Human Services shows that a total of 38 government hired employees are listed with MUDH Procurement directorate internal organization. However; data obtained from Procurement Directorate shows a different number 49 hired government employees. The number of contractors loaned from other MUDH programs and development projects is 34 people. Therefore; the total number of directorate’s staff has been increased to 83 people. These numbers are confounding.
d) Professional Background The government employee records obtained from MUDH’s directorate of Human Resources illustrate that all 38 employees have BSc degrees. From the total of 38 employees 9 people have civil engineering background, 6 people have law, 5 people have economy and 8 employees have business and management background. If the above data records are correct then it shows a strong human capacity for the directorate. However; the data shows that the majority of employees have only 1 to 5 years of work experience. MUDH faces serious challenges in recruiting high qualified personnel. Verification of personnel’s higher education degrees must be a priority of MUDH’s Human Services directorate agenda.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable IV.5. MUDH Gender Department Capacity Assessment Preamble
The gender issue is on top of the Afghan Government’s priority agenda. A pre-condition for International communities’ assistance to Afghanistan is to promote the role of women in society. The government of Afghanistan put efforts to increase the role of women in society through active participation and leading government offices. Ministry of Urban Development and Housing has some relative success in recruitment of professional females at MUDH center in Kabul while MUDH faces challenges in its provincial directorates through 33 provinces.
Zainab Khalili Head of Gender Department
MUDH Gender Department has only two official government employees. The department’s ToR is not clear and approved officially. MUDH has no adapted gender vision. Female employees form only 2% of MUDH’s total employees in center and provinces. Almost 20% of total employees in center are female. Therefore; lot of work to be done by the directorate in both at the center in Kabul and provinces to attract more female with professional backgrounds working for MUDH. The department has submitted a capacity building proposal to MoF for increasing role of women at professional work. The department has prepared a new organizational chart to promote the department to a directorate.
a) MUDH Female Personnel Human Capacity Data obtained from MUDH HR directorate, from a total of 906 personnel at the MUDH’s center and provincial offices, the percentage of male staff is 98% and female is 2% which shows slightly large gaps between the two categories of employees.
b) Female Personnel Human Capacity at Center Kabul Data obtained shows of an approximate 19% female personnel at the center in Kabul while the percentage of male employees is 81%. The 19% female staff is still not a satisfactory level for gender equality in general at MUDH organization. Among this 19% of female employees a 10% work on non-technical spheres such as administration and services.
c) Female Personnel Human Capacity at Provincial Directorates . The situation of gender at the MUDH’s provincial offices is alarming and unacceptable. Only 2% or 9 people of the total 426 employees are female. Although, in some provinces such as Balkh, Herat, Kandahr and Kunduz the participation of women in government offices is very high. Balkh University, Herat University are the two largest universities in the country where a large percent of female students is graduated from these institutions. MUDH has lot opportunity to attract young female graduates from technical institutions. The reason for this fact is that MUDH has no a clear vision and strategy in promoting gender policy.
d) Level of Education and Professional Background If the data are reliable, from total of 480 government employee hired at MUDH center, 25% or 23 people of female employees have Master’s and 23% or 21 people have Bachelor of Science degrees. A total of 32% of personnel either have high school diploma or post high school education. 20% of total employees at MUDH center has no or minimum of school education.
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Part IV: MUDH Finance and Administration Deputyship: Internal Organization IV.5. MUDH Gender Directorate Capacity Assessment From total of 480 government hired employee at MUDH center, 91 people are female. From total of 91 female personnel only 20 females (4%) with higher education have Civil and 8 (2%) people architecture and one 1 person has urban planner (Urban Geography) background. The other professions including literature, agriculture, economy, administration and policy with higher education form 3% (15 people) .
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable IV.6. MUDH Information-Communication Technology Directorate Preamble
ICT directorate is under the Finance and Administration Deputyship internal organization. Until recent years, IT activities have been limited to the setup of email accounts for employees, hardware and software, and design of MUDH’s web site. From an organizational standpoint, ICT has been just a section in Finance and Administration Deputyship. Less attention has been paid to the role of ICT and cyber (electronic) links of MUDH HQ with its affiliated branches by leadership of the MUDH in the past. The shortage of capacity and resources has always been a contributor the lack of serious attention to the computerization of MUDH. Although some successes have been made in addressing the issues of technology, still MUDH needs to do make strides to have a more modern and standard technology organization. Solving urban planning tasks cannot be done without new technology and tools. To achieve this, capacity and resources are needed. The other reason for deficiencies ICT is that MUDH has no clear vision and long-term strategy for addressing information technology terms of references. Around 2004-2007, some efforts were made to establish relevant activities such as an IT department, GIS lab, and resource center for the purpose of computerization of design activities particularly at Urban Affairs Deputyship. For the first time, a copy of Arc GIS 9 and a large scanner to digitize MUDH’s archive of drawings were purchased with the help of UN Habitat. A number of young employees were trained on how to use the new technology and GIS tools including GPS and TotalStations. A significant percent of old projects’ drawings was digitized and saved in digital archives. Under framework of the resource center, MUDH’s library was established. A three-year strategic plan for GIS was developed to enlarge the use of GIS tools in the development of master and detailed plans by the Town Planning Directorate. Unfortunately, due to a shortage of resources and lack of strategies in ICT the above-mentioned achievement has been dissolved through the course of recent years. Still today MUDH has no full-service GIS department. MUDH’s web site needs to be improved and enriched with useful information. Meeting with Head of ICT, Mr. Ahmad Samim Faqiri, July 20, 2018.
a) Terms of References (ToR) The ICT directorate still does not have an officially approved ToR. Some activities and tasks are carried out by the order of MUDH’s leadership. ICT mainly manage the ministry’s internet server, employee email addresses, and the repair of hardware and software. A majority of employees use their private commercial email rather than the MUDH’s government issued email account. The use of government email accounts is limited to a few head of directorates and departments only. The following are the main responsibilities of ICT directorate:
1. Running MUDH’s government server and network
2. Employee email account setup 3. Installation of software 4. Repair of hardware 5. Updating MUDH’s website and Facebook account 6. Printing employee ID cards 7. Controlling employees’ electronic attendance system 8. Inventory of IT equipment
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Part IV: MUDH Finance and Administration Deputyship: Internal Organization IV.6. MUDH ICT Directorate
b) Internal Organization Recently, the IT department promoted from a department to a larger directorate ICT under the Finance and Administration Deputyship internal organization.
The current organizational chart of the directorate consists of two departments, technology and administration. The technology department includes three sections, networking, administration information systems, and urban information systems. ICT Directorate current internal organization chart
Proposed Extended Organizational Chart Although the MUDH has no a long-term strategy for computerization of the ministry, an extended organizational chart was proposed to expand ICT activities.
ICT Directorate Personnel Work Environment
MUDH ICT Directorate Internal Organizational Chart, July 2018.
The proposed organizational chart includes 15 positions for two departments, ICT and Systematization. Each department is divided into two sections.
c) Human Capacity The current staff of the ICT directorate is counted at eight government employees. From the total current personnel 5 people have BSc and one person, the head of ICT, has MSc in computer science. The human capacity is not sufficient enough to perform the huge responsibilities of the directorate. Currently, MUDH has more than 2,200 employees at the center and provinces settled in 5 different locations in Kabul.
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Part V: Urban Affairs Deputyship معینیت امور شهری:قسمت پنجم
Part V: MUDH Urban Affairs Deputyship: Internal Organization and Human Capacity Part V: MUDH Urban Affairs Deputyship Preamble: The urban affairs deputyship is one of the key branches of MUDH’s organizational structure. By the ToR of the MUDH which were defined by the town planning law in 2017, urban affairs deputyship plays an important role in the implementation of urban development projects, design and development of the country’s master plan and strategic plans of Afghan cities in 33 provinces. In addition, this deputyship is responsible for design of cities’ emergency plans, master plans and detailed plans. Monitoring and control of urban development projects, development of urban policies and guidelines, urban codes and standards are the terms of references of the urban affairs deputyship. The approval and review of urban development projects, particularly the design of new townships (shahrak) are the responsibility of the MUDH’s urban affairs deputyship. The High Visa Commission has the authority to visa the urban development projects for implementation by the private sector. The MUDH’s deputy minister for urban affairs is the chairman of the High Visa Commission.
a) Terms of References (ToR) The terms of references of the MUDH, urban affairs deputyship, and particularly, town planning directorates are defined by the town planning law ratified by the president’s decree and were published in the official government Gazette in September 2017. Among key responsibilities of MUDH and Urban Affairs deputyship are the following: 1. Design and preparation of strategies and programs in urban development and hous ing as well as monitoring of their implementation. 2. Design, preparation, and management of the country’s comprehensive (master) and regional plans, cities’ master plans, detailed, strategic and emergency plans. 3. Preparation of site development plans including landscaping and greenery plan 4. Determination of the location of townships in cities and creation of future population centers as well as the determination of the boundary of development and capacity in urban areas according to prioritization of the protection of essential natural, agricultural, environmental, and historic areas within the country’s master and detailed plans. 5. Preparation and development of reconstruction, renovation, upgrading, land rearrangement, and cultural-historic areas’ plan for protection of cities’ identities according to economic, social, and urban tourism growth. 6. Review, issuing permit and approval of emergency, strategic, detailed, rezoning and upgrading plans as well as rearrangement of land, townships and housing complexes and monitoring of their implementation. 7. Design and preparation of a cities’ infrastructure network, urban water supply, and transit circulation and technical plans.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable Part V: MUDH Urban Affairs Deputyship
b) Internal Organization Urban affairs deputyshipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s internal organization is structured in four directorates: Town Planning, Design of Regional Development Plans, Water Supply and Environment, and Survey and Investigations. Each directorate consists of two to five departments. The town planning directorate consists of six departments: master plans, detailed plans, Kabul city plans, database, and administration. The Water Supply and Environment Directorate Consists of two departments: urban water supply and environment. The Survey and Investigation Directorate consists of Engineering Geodesy, Civil Engineering and Geology Departments.
MUDH Urban Affairs Deputyship Internal Organizational and Human Capacity Chart as of July 2018.
c) Human Capacity Currently, 71 government employees are listed under the Urban Affairs deputyship internal organization (tashkeel) in four directorates. The Town Planning Directorate has 28 employees, Survey and Investigation directorate has 24, Regional Plan directorate has 9, and Water Supply and Environment directorate has 10 government employees.
d) Personnel Age Category The chart shows that approximately 80% of Urban Affairsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; deputyship employees are under 50 years old. The 58% of employees are in the age category of 30-50-year-olds and 20% of the personnel are in the category of less than 30-year-olds. Only less than 3% of the staff are at the age of retirement. It shows relatively a young composition of staff.
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Part V: MUDH Urban Affairs Deputyship: Internal Organization and Human Capacity Part V: MUDH Urban Affairs Deputyship
e) Professional Background From the total of 71 government employees at the Urban Affairs deputyship, 15 people have a civil engineering background which form 21% of total employees. The architectural background accounts for 14% and urban planner forms 1% of the total government employees. These numbers are unsatisfactory compared to the 23% of the non-architectural or planner professions such as economy, agriculture, geology, and accounting. It is alarming that only one person has an urban planning background in composition of urban affairs internal organization.
Findings: The following deficiencies are highlighted as a result of an internal organization assessment of the Urban Affairsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; deputyship: 1. The current organizational structure does not reflect the mandated ToR of deputyship defined by the town planning law. 2. Directorates and departments such as: Pre-planning and Data Collection (Town Planning Fundamentals), Urban Infrastructure and GIS and Mapping, Capacity Building, and High Tech Support Team (Help desk) are missing in the latest organizational chart 3. Lack of land use and zoning codes directorate. 4. Shortage of human capacity overall. 5. Shortage of professional urban planners, landscaping and urban designers.
Example of Typical Housing Design
6. Shortage of public transportation, road design, environmental management, water management and utility professionals, and socioeconomic and demography experts. 7. Lack of GIS and mapping analysts.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable V.1. Town Planning Directorate Preamble:
The Town Planning Directorate is one of the key directorates in the structure of the Urban Affairs deputyship which has complex terms of reference for development and implementation of urban projects. The two key departments of master planning and detailed planning bear the responsibilities and ToRs of the Urban Affairs deputyship to provide services to 34 Provincial Capital Cities (PCC) and other small cities in 34 provinces in the country. In addition to design and development of various urban plans, the directorate is responsible for the development of guidelines and procedures for implementation of the MUDH’s ToRs and urban projects nationwide.
Brainstorming session with TP Directorate, Head Ahmad Zaki
As a result of discussions with IDLG-DMM and the head of the Town Planning Directorate both sides are responsible for late implementation and low quality of projects. The following gaps are identified in the process of urban projects’ implementation: 1) Planning and Coordination: Preparation and development of cities’ detailed plans are the responsibility of the Town Planning Directorate; the implementation of detailed plans is the responsibility of local governments and municipalities. Early stages of detailed plans must be done in close coordination with local municipalities; and the need assessment shall be done additionally with the Provincial Government-the office of Governor (Wali).
LZ International team met with Technical Director of IDLG-DMM, Mr. Sadat to discuss coordination of activities with Town Planning directorate.
2) Poor Municipalities Capacity: In most cases, the early coordination is loose and weak because local municipalities do not have sufficient capacity to implement the projects by themselves. 3) Shortage of capacity and resources at MUDH: The human capacity and resources of the Town Planning Directorate is very low. The directorate does not able to provide services such as detailed plans and emergency plans to local municipalities for implementation on time and when needed. 4) Land shortage and ownership: In some cases, municipalities have no control over available land. Detailed plans are prepared by the Town Planning Directorate but the land is not available. 5) In other cases, the Town Planning Directorate carries out the project implementation without consultation and coordination with local municipalities.
a) Terms of Reference
The Terms of References of Town Planning directorate is mainly the same as the MUDH’s overall urban planning responsibilities. Town Planning directorate’s key responsibilities are: 1. Preparation of cities’ master plans, detailed plans of residential areas and emergency plans 2. Preparation of zoning and land use plans 3. Development of urban guidelines for implementation of master and detailed plans 4. Development of urban codes and standards 5. Control of urban projects implementation 6. Review and approval of new site development owned by private sector (townshipsshahrak) 7. Pre-planning and feasibility studies of urban projects Note: Town Planning directorate’s ToR and urban planning functionality is reviewed in details in the next subtask 2 report of Task 1: Internal Organization Review.
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Part V: MUDH Urban Affairs Deputyship: Internal Organization and Human Capacity
V.1. Town Planning Directorate b) Internal Organization Current Organizational Chart
The organizational chart of the Town Planning Directorate consists of five departments (ameriat): Administration, Detailed Plans, Master Planning, Kabul Urban Plans engineering group and Database. The current organizational chart is considered for 28 government positions where the number of positions have not been filled for a variety of reasons. Such small organizational structures may not respond to huge ToR and the responsibilities of the directorate and deputyship.
MUDH Town Planning Directorate Internal Organizational Chart, July 2018.
It is necessary to admit that the Kabul Urban Plans Department consists of three technical positions. The responsibilities and ToR of the departments may duplicate the ToR of Capital Region Independent Development Authority (CRIDA) and Kabul Municipalitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Kabul Master Plan Architectural Department. This team shall be a coordination body with Kabul Municipality in implementation of urban projects within Kabul urban boundary. The above chart shows the distribution of positions in five different departments. The detailed plans department has the largest technical staff with 11 employees following by Master Plans department with 7 employees. Approved Organizational Chart (tashkeel) A new tashkeel organizational chart has been approved by the MUDH leadership and IARCSC for the fiscal year of 1397 (2018-2109) with a total of 52 positions. The Town Planning Directorate has not been able to fill 24 vacant positions from the total of 52 approved positions. The current organizational chart still may not meet the needs of the directorate in terms of professional staff as the directorate challenges with complexity of the task orders and development of various plans. There is a need to review the terms of references of each department and position.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable V.1. Town Planning Directorate
Brainstorming session with Town Planning Directorate technical staff and head of directorate Mr. Ahmad Zaki.
Proposed Organizational Chart An enlarged organizational chart with the same structure as the approved organizational chart with 71 additional positions has been proposed for approval by officials. In the new internal organization, the Detailed Plans Department is extended with five groups of urban designers in a range of different expertise such as: residential, education and health, commercial and industrial, and landscaping backgrounds. The Department of Master Plans is divided into two sections (moudeeriat): Urban Geography and GIS where the staff are expected to be expertise in town planning and GIS related disciplines. The second branch is a group of technical personnel with expertise in residential, education, commercial and environment design skills. This would be a reasonable staff composition.
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Part V: MUDH Urban Affairs Deputyship: Internal Organization and Human Capacity V.1. Town Planning Directorate The latest proposed chart has some deficiencies in terms of line of expertise in urban planning. The land use and zoning specialization has not been considered as separate department. The justification for having four sociologist specialists rather than having urban planners and architects in one department is not clear. The GIS and mapping expert team are not considered as separate department while the database has its own department. Note: A detailed analysis of each organizational chart and ToR of the Town Planning Directorate will be discussed in the next final report of Task 1: Internal Organization Review.
c) Professional Background The above chart illustrates that the total number of personnel with architecture and civil engineering backgrounds is approximately 65% (19 people) of total current 28 government employees at the Town Planning Directorate. Of the total 28 people only six of them have just a high school diploma with general education. The directorate still suffers from a shortage of qualified experts. The total number of technical personnel is unsatisfactory for a directorate with huge ToR and responsibilities as well as volume of urban projects.
Departments of Master Plans and Detailed Plans
Brainstorming session with Department of Master Plans, July 5, 2018.
Department of Master Plans has only 10 technical staff and Department of Detailed Plans has 11 personnel. Both departments suffer from shortage of professional planners and resources. The lack of the latest tools such as GIS technology, software and hardware, aerial photos, and satellite imagery products create a serious challenge for the departments as there is no budget or clear strategy by the MUDH. Both departments are responsible for the design and development of cities master plans and detailed plans. Typically, only a maximum of three people work for the design and development of a citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; master plan rather than a team full team of 20 to 25 people with different urban planning expertise.
Urban Master Plan Design and Development Process The directorateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team of architects and engineers follow the three key steps in the development and design of the master or detailed plans: 1) studies and data collection, 2) SWOT analysis and 3) proposed master plan design. Note: A detailed review and analysis of the master and detailed plansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; design and project documentations will be discussed in Sub-task 2 of Task 1.
Master Planning Design Process Stages
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable V.2. Design of Regional Development Plans Directorate (DRDP) Preamble: The current head of directorate claims that the directorate was just one of the Ministry of Urban Development Affairs’ (MUDA) urban planning projects in 2011. Later on, during the leadership of H.E. Minister Hessary, the organizational structure of the project first promoted to a directorate then to a department. In its early activities, per the order of the Minister, an investigation was conducted on the Urban Management Information Systems (UMIS) and the application of ArcGIS software in urban planning used by the municipality of Mehsahd City, in Iran. The purpose of such investigation was to bring the latest GIS technology ArcGIS in urban development projects at MUDH. LZ Team meeting with DRDP head of directorate, August 1, 2018.
The leadership of the directorate claims that a lot of useful data had been collected on the regional development of Afghan provinces but due to the lack of resources, the data collected could not be saved in a geographic online database and subsequently was saved in hardcopy versions. Since its creation, the Design of Regional Development Plans Directorate’s activities have been focused on three directions: • Regional studies (small scale) • Provincial studies (medium scale) • District studies (large scale) The directorate also claims that currently it’s activities cover 20 provinces and more than 800 pages of necessary urban data collected from the field. The data includes information relevant to the infrastructure, economy, geography and natural disasters of most provinces. Unfortunately, due to the shortage of budgets the directorate has not been able to publish the regional geographic data. The capacity assessment team received some of the publications and data from the directorate that would be analyzed in the next stage of urban planning functional review of the MUDH.
a) Terms of References -ToR
The directorate’s main responsibility is the data collection for preparation of regional devlopment plans from different sources such as the MUDH’s Provincial Directorates, local municipalities, other sectorial ministries’ provincial directorates, and donors’ published reports and studies. The leadership of directorate describes the following activities as the directorate’s terms of references: 1. Design of regional development plans 2. Design of urban districts (woulswali) plans 3. Design of provincial urban plans 4. Regional studies on a small scale 5. Provincial socioeconomic studies 6. Socioeconomic studies at the large-scale district levels (woulswali) The directorate’ terms of references may duplicate responsibilities and activities of the MUDH’s Town Planning Directorate and Strategic Development Plan project.
b) Internal Organization
The internal organization of the directorate is structured into two branches: Design of Regional Development Plans (DRDP) and the Survey and Analysis department. The database directorate or moudirat is under the umbrella of the directorate’s head.
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Part V: MUDH Urban Affairs Deputyship: Internal Organization and Human Capacity V.2. Design of Regional Development Plans Directorate (DRDP)
As the directorate’s key responsibility is data collection and mapping, therefore, the geographic information system, geo-data system, and GIS database department are missing from the internal organization of the directorate.
c) Human Capacity
Currently, the directorate has nine government employees from which only seven are technical and the other two have high school diplomas. The current human capacity does not meet the volume of projects and terms of references of the directorate. It is obvious that such a minimal number of staff will not be able to produce the complex regional plans with the time constraints and shortage of resources. With such a small sized staff, the directorate may be more efficient to be a department under urban planning directorate of MUDH.
d) Level of Education
Seven out of nine people have BSc and MSc degrees and the remaining two people have a minimum high school diploma and are not technical staff. For a small department or section, this level of education is encouraging considering the condition of Afghanistan.
d) Professional Background
The chart shows that only 2 staff members have geography and urban geography backgrounds, two have economy backgrounds, and two have civil engineering backgrounds. Two people have a minimum of high school general education. The directorate suffers from a shortage of professional staff, particularly urban planners, urban systems engineers, GIS analyst and experts.
DRDP Directorate Findings 1. Less attention has been paid to the directorate’s ToR, internal organization, and resources by the MUDH’s leadership 2. Overlap of ToR and responsibilities with MUDH’s Town Planning Directorate, SDP Project, Center for Research and Studies Project and CRIDA 3. A lack of coordination with relevant urban planning and urban development stakeholders 4. The definition of some terms such as “National Comprehensive Plan”, “medium scale studies”, or “large scale studies of districts” are unclea
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable V.2. Design of Regional Development Plans Directorate (DRDP) DRDP Directorate Findings (continued)
5. In terms of the internal organization, a team of only nine people may not be efficient to have the ToR of a whole directorate (riasat) and rather should be a department 6. The size of human capacity does not match the directorate’s scope of work 7. Shortage of qualified architects, GIS experts, urban planners, and designers 8. Departments such as GIS tehnology, database and urban systems engineering (communication, transportation, energy) are not considered in the internal organization of the directorate 9. Lack of resources, budgets, work orders and plans 10. Lack of technology, hardware, and software
V.3. Survey and Investigation Directorate
Survey and investigation directorate is the backbone of development and preparation of urban plans. Using satellite images and GIS technology, the surveyors can prepare plans with coordinates and determine the boundary of the site for next stage of design. The directorate has been able to produce some useful analytical 3D surveying maps.
Meeting with head of Survey and Investigation directorate, July 20, 2018.
City of Faizabad, Badakhshan Province, 3D Survey Map, 2018.
a) Terms of references The main terms of reference of the directorate is to provide surveying services to master and detailed plans directorates. Although, the directorate uses available online aerial photos for surveying purposes, the directorate faces serious challenges obtaining new surveying technology equipment and software. UDSP provided the latest aerial pictures of the country to various MUDH directorates for use of design and surveying team. The following are the key ToRs: 1. Preparation of topographic site survey and collection of geographic data 2. Preparation of satellite imagery plans for GIS analysis 3. Field observation and detailed site survey for cities’ detailed plans preparation 4. Socioeconomic, environmental and demographic data collection b) Internal Organization The directorate is divided into two departments: Engineering and Survey, and Investigation. In terms of capacity, the Survey and Investigation Directorate is the largest structure within the Urban Affairs Deputyship internal organization. The directorate currently has 24 government hired employees from which nine of them have engineering geodesy backgrounds, five have civil engineering and four have geography backgrounds with higher education degrees.
V.4. Water Supply and Environment Directorate
The water supply and environment directorate is responsible for preparation of cities’ master plans and site plans urban water supply system. It is expected to have close coordination with Afghanistan Uraban Water Supply and Sewerage Coroporation (AUWSSC) which was one of MUDH’s enterprises in the past. Mainly, the directorate has been involved in preparation of water supply system for MUDH’s townships such as Kwadja Rawash, Qassaba and Teachers townships. As a result of poor coordination with AUWSSC and shortage of qualified technical experts the above mentioned projects has encountered with series of serious design and implementation issues.
a) Terms of references The main terms of reference of the directorate is to prepare urban water supply and environmental analysis for MUDH and government sponsered urban projects. While such ToR duplicates with the responsibilities of AUWSSC.
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Part V: MUDH Urban Affairs Deputyship: Internal Organization and Human Capacity V.4. Urban Affairs Deputyship Coordination Activities with IDLG-DMM
DMM-Deuty Minister of Municipalities A series of brainstorming sessions and meetings with both IDLG Deputy Minister Mr. A. Baqi Popal and IDLG-DMM Technical Director Mr. Sadat as well as the Town Planning Directorate and other relevant departments were conducted to identify the deficiencies and gaps in the implementation of urban development projects in PCC. Both organizations have their own deficiencies and challenges. A shared issue is the lack of human capacity and resources in the first place but also the lack of strategy and terms of references are hurdles in efficient implementation of projects. Meeting with IDLG -DMM Mr. Baqi Popal, July 7, 2018.
Meeting with IDLG Technical Director Mr. Sadat, July 7, 2018.
Challenges:
As result of brainstorming sessions and meetings with the head of directorates and departments as well individual technical staff, the following challenges were identified to be addressed for potential solutions. 1. Local municipalities are unable to properly plan their needs and collect the necessary data for the development of urban projects 2. As the first step of pre-planning, local municipalities are unable to distinguish land for urban development activities as well urban master and detailed plans. In most cases when the urban plan is ready for implementation the land is not available for different reasons. 3. There is practically no involvement of local municipalities in the development of master and detailed plans. 4. Public awareness and the local communitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; role in the implementation of urban projects is either very insignificant or none at all. 5. There is poor coordination of activities between local governance and municipalities in the implementation of urban development projects by MUDH Provincial directorates (riasat shahrsazi).
Note: A detailed role and responsibilities of local governance and municipalities will be discussed in the next deliverable report subtask 2.
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Part VI: Construction Affairs Deputyship معینت امور ساختامنی: قسمت ششم
Part VI: MUDH Construction Affairs Deutyship, Internal Organization & Human Capacity Part VI: MUDH Construction Affairs Deputyship Preamble: The Construction Affairs and Urban Affairs Deputyships have been the two key organizational structures of the MUDH since early in its establishment in 2001. The ToR of the MUDH’s Construction Affairs Deputyship is mainly the implementation of the Public and Government Buildings projects. In this context, the monitoring and evaluation of construction projects is one of the key responsibilities of the deputyship. In addition, a high technical commission was set up to review the government and private sector’s construction projects, design documentations and to issue technical permits for construction. Most of construction projects are implemented and monitored by MUDH’s Construction Affairs Deputyship in the provinces. Some of government projects are designed with the help of engineers and architects loaned from development projects and MUDH’ programs.
MUDH Deputy Minister for Construction Affairs, Mr. Nasim Khaleeq
Per orders of the president, all government construction projects have been mobilized in one program labeled the Public and Government Buildings Construction Program (PGBCP) with close coordination and supervision of the MUDH’s Construction Affairs Deputyship since 2014. The PBGCP is expected to be under the MUDH’s functionality and supervision. However; since the implementation of such a large program with a huge mandate, the role of the MUDH’s buildings directorate in the design and implementation of construction projects has been diminished. The issue of project planning and implementation has also become complicated due to poor coordination. Meetings with the leadership of Construction Affairs reflect that issues such as coordination, duplication of responsibilities between MUDH, and development projects are to be addressed properly in the near future. Some other concerns are: • There are still some incompatible employees who lack motivation to do the job properly. The reasons for this should be identified. • Big differences and unfair salaries for government employees and contractors have created ethical concerns for employees and have impacted productivity and project implementation datelines. As result, qualified engineers are unwilling to work for the MUDH. • The only effective directorate is the monitoring and evaluation of projects. This is the only directorate which has a clear ToR. • There are questions such as, “should the MUDH’s Construction Affairs Deputyship only play the role of monitoring and implementation of construction projects? Or should they be involved in the design activities to be addressed at the high level of MUDH’s leadership?”
a) Terms of References
1. Design and implementation of government buildings 2. Monitoring and evaluation of construction projects in the center and provinces 3. Development of construction codes and regulations 4. Development of guidelines and procedures of project submittal 5. Enforcement of construction codes 6. Addressing violation of construction codes and regulations by private sector 7. Review and approval of buildings’ permit and visa process Parallel executive bodies and structures have appeared inside the MUDH’s internal organization that overlap responsibilities. Some directorates and departments still do not have appropriate and officially approved ToRs.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable Part VI: MUDH Construction Affairs Deputyship
b) Internal Organizational Chart
The Construction Affairs Deputyship consists of four major directorates: Engineering Services, Technical Infrastructure, Development of National Construction Codes, and Monitoring and Maintenance. Each directorate consists of a number of relevant departments.
The ToRs of two directorates, Technical Infrastructure and Construction Codes, may duplicate some activities with other MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s directorates and departments. The activities in the Technical Infrastructure Directorate carry out in the context of urban development within detailed plans. Buildings are elements of urban development sites in terms of site planning.
c) Human Capacity
There is currently 117 government hired employees of deputyship. The largest directorate is the engineering services with 59 people, followed by monitoring and maintenance with 34, and construction codes with 16. There are vacant positions in each directorate and department that the MUDH has not been able to fill due to low salary and employee benefits.
d) Level of Education
The above chart shows that 45% of current technical staff have at least BSc, 30% have MSc and 13% of staff have post high school education. These numbers show a relatively high level of education amongst technical staff. However, the size of capacity and resources does not meet the volume of projects and monitoring activities that the directorates and departments carry out.
e) Professional Background
Data shows that approximately 56% of current staff at Construction Affairs Deputyship has civil engineering background. Other subjects such as geodesy, hydraulics, geography and HAVC form 27% of total current technical personnel of the directorates and departments. The percentage of architects and planners is 9%. The initial assessment shows that the overall picture of professional background is encouraging.
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Part VI: MUDH Construction Affairs Deutyship, Internal Organization & Human Capacity Part VI: MUDH Construction Affairs Deputyship VI.1. Monitoring and Maintenance Directorate
The monitoring and maintenance directorate is one of the important branches of construction affairs deputyship. The directorate is responsible for monitoring of all government buildings construction process. However; due to shortage of capacity and resouces the directorate faces many obstacles in performing properly its ToRs. Oversite monitoring of projects in provinces due to budget and security constraints are not conducted on time. Monitoring of construction projects take place by MUDH’s Public and Government Buildings Construction Program also. The directorate consists of four departments: Monitoring of construction complexes, 2) Monitoring o f Buildings 3) Monitoring of Urban Projects, and 4) Testing lab and quality control.
VI. 2. Engineering Services Directorate The Engineering Services directorate is the largest directorate of the Construction Affairs Deputyship. A full range of engineering services from architectural design, to design of structure, utility, HVAC and electric are performed on government ordered buildings. However, such activities are overlapped with the MUDH parallel development projects. The head of the directorate outlined a series of serious challenges that the directorate faces that need to be addressed by the leadership of MUDH in the near future: 1. The directorate has not surveyors or technology surveying equipment at its disposal. The survey team is under MUDH’s Urban Affairs survey directorate organizational structure and does not cooperate with Engineering Services Directorate. It takes months to carry out a survey task on the ground 2. There are parallel programs and directorates within the MUDH internal organization with similar scope of work and ToR 3. Overlap of responsibilities in A/E services 4. Unsatisfactory conditions of the work environment 5. Conflict of salaries with other engineers with the same qualification and work experience 6. Poor interdepartmental electronic links and communication, internet access. 7. Capacity building and specialized training programs
MUDH Monitoring and Maintenance Directorate Internal Organization and Human Capacity Chart, July 2018.
VI. 3. Design of Technical Infrastructure Directorate
This is a directorate with a minimal technical staff of only eight people. The ToR of the directorate is to design the technical infrastructure of sites where the building or complex of buildings are located within. Therefore, the design activities are part of the site development and detail plans. The design must be according to the land use and zoning requirement. The ToR of the directorate should be part of Urban Affairs Directorates and departments as part of the site development of projects.
VI. 4. Development of National Construction Regulations and Codes Directorate Preamble: The lack of construction and urban codes, standards and guidelines have created a number of serious obstacles in cities’ overall urban development, architecture, safety, and living environment. The government has been unable to enforce existing standards and codes to avoid unlawful construction and violation of guidelines and standards. Codes and guidelines have been in the development process throughout the course of years but they have never become a law to be enforced by the MUDH and relevant agencies. The government organizations and private design companies have been using construction and urban codes and standards of other countries when available. Engineers and architects still use the guidelines and standards of the countries they studied..
Meeting with head of Technical Infrastructure, Mr. Ramez Rayeq, July 20, 2018
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable VI.4. Development of National Construction Regulations and Codes The guidelines and standards of countries such as the former Soviet Union, India, Bulgaria, and partially the United States are common in design practices in Afghanistan. Attempts have made by different organizations for building codes and standards catered to conditions of Afghanistan. In 2005, the USTD funded a 500,000 USD project for building codes in Afghanistan to be implemented by the MUDH’s National Construction and Urban Codes Directorate. The objective of the project was to initiate the first steps toward building codes and standards in Afghanistan. In recent years, the Afghan government has created the National Standard Authority (NSA) as an independent government organization for the purpose of developing unique national codes and standards in the construction and urban development field. Meeting with Mr. Roshan Naweed head of National Construction Codes, July 20, 2018.
a) Terms of References (ToR)
According to the Town Planning Law of 2017, the preparation and provision of urban codes, guidelines, standards and technical specifications with help of the National Standards Authority (NSA); and observation of violations in the field of cities’, townships buildings and construction complexes and prevention from non-standard growth of cities are the ToR of MUDH. MUDH is responsible to develop guidelines and procedures to implement the above mentioned ToR. In the past, the directorate was labeled Urban and Construction Codes. Mostly, the directorate was responsible for development of regulations and guidelines rather than construction and urban codes and standards as internationally accepted. National construction codes expresses a wide range of activities soley in the development of construction codes at the national level while the MUDH’s official ToR is the preparation of urban codes and standards. Therefore, current MUDH’s Development of National Construction Regulations and Codes Directorate ToR conflicts with MUDH’s ToR as stated in the Town Planning Law of 2017.
b) Internal Organization Chart
The national construction regulations and codes directorate consists of four departments: Buildings Codes, Mechanical Codes, Planning and Urban Guidelines, and Construction Standards. The initial assessment illustrates that the Planning and Urban Guidelines should be part of the MUDH’s Urban Affairs Deputyship and Town Planning Directorate. Proposed Organizational Chart An extended organizational chart with 71 positions in four departments has been proposed for approval by the MUDH and MoF. How the directorate leadership came up with the additional 71 positions from its initial 16 positions is unknown. It is unknown which departments have ToR. This is a rather large organizational chart for the directorate compared to the Construction Affairs Deputyship organizational chart. Some of the positions are not under the proper departments’ boxes. For example, the Architectural and Urban Planner expert and the Landscaping Expert are under the Mechanical codes department. Generally, the ToR of departments are confusing.
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Part VI: MUDH Construction Affairs Deutyship, Internal Organization & Human Capacity VI.4. Development of National Construction Regulations and Codes
c) Human Capacity The total existing number of the directorate personnel is only 10 people. It is not a large enough staff for such a huge ToR and responsibilities that the directorate have. It is not known how the directorate leadership is proposed a new 71 positions internal organization for the directorate while the ToR of the directorate duplicates the Afghanistan National Standards Authority (NSA) terms of references.
d) Level of Education If the numbers are recorded correctly, almost 100% of the current technical staff at the Development of National Regulations and Construction Codes Directorate have MSc and BSc degrees. 50% of the current of technical staff have MSc degrees.
e) Level of Professional Background The chart shows that more than 90% of the entire technical staff of the directorate have a civil engineering and construction background. While only two people have an architectural background and one person has an urban planning background. The average age of a technical personnel is 45 years old with solid work experience.
Findings: 1. The overall ToR of the directorate is ambiguous and needs review 2. It is not known how the internal organization positions proposed from 18 positions to an increase of 71 positions. 3. The directorate’s ToR conflicts with the adapted MUDH’s ToR by the Town Planning Law 4. The proposed organizational chart’s distribution of responsibilities and positions are not properly organized by departments 5. The types of positions under the Mechanical Department are unfit to the ToR of department 6. While it may be part of the Town Planning Directorate at MUDH’s Urban Affairs Deputyship, the Planning and Urban Guidelines is not the scope of work of this directorate.
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Part VII: Housing Affairs Deputyship معینیت امور مسکن:قسمت هفتم
Part VII: MUDH Housing Affairs Deutyship, Internal Organization & Human Capacity
Part VII. Housing Affairs Deputyship Preamble: In the early years of MUDH’s establishment, the key government sectorial minister had only two deputies, the Deputy for Urban Affairs and the Deputy for Construction Affairs. According to the Ministry’s Terms of Reference, one of the main activities of the MUDH is the provision of affordable housing to all levels of Afghan population as well as the development of policies and guidelines in the housing sector. The Housing Factory of “Khnasazi’ enterprise produced pre-fabricated housing blocks in Kabul City and other Provincial Capital Cities (PCC) in the early 1970s. As the needs for affordable housing have increased, the shortage of housing has become a challenge for the newly established Afghan government. A new deputyship of housing has been created within the MUDH organizational structure to fulfill the terms of references and responsibilities of the MUDH according to new adapted Town Planning Law. By this law the housing affairs deputyship should study the planning and development of the low cost housing plants.
MUDH Deputy for Housing Affairs, Mr. Aziz Ahmad Gulestani
a) Terms of Reference
The responsibilities of the MUDH and the housing deputyship are defined by the new Town Planning Law adapted in September 2017. Among key responsibilities and terms of references of MUDH’s Housing Deputyship are: 1. Development and preparation of policy and national housing programs and the monitoring of their implementation. 2. Provision of standard and affordable housing according to citizens’ needs 3. Development and implementation of housing provision plans, and the management of housing construction projects funded by the government 4. Creation and development of cities, townships, and new housing complexes totaling more than 100 apartments in coordination with local municipalities 5. Establishment and development of construction enterprises (tasadi) and housing 6. Monitoring of the private sector’s activities in the field of building of cities, townships, and construction complexes 7. Creation of a housing trust fund (credible bank) in agreement with the Ministry of Finance and other relevant agencies based on legal documents. 8. Joint venture with private (national and foreign) sector in the field of cities’ development and preparation of housing. The development and preparation of housing policies and other related policies such as mortgage and trust fund for low income population are an important part of MUDH’s Housing Deputyship terms of references. Housing deputyships is expected to coordinate closely the development of housing policies with MUDH directorate of plan and policies.
New Housing Blocks Built by MUDH at Qasaba, Kabul, 2018.
The Technical Housing directorate is responsible the for design and implementation of housing projects funded by the government. This directorate’s responsibilities may duplicate MUDH’s Construction Affairs and Urban Affairs’ ToRs as design of housing complexes is part of cities’ master and detailed plans; and the design and construction of housing projects are part of the construction affairs task orders. The upgrading of informal urban areas and housing projects is conflicting with the responsibilities of the local governance and municipalities. The ToR of the Department of Land Technical Investigation may duplicate the ToR of the MUDH’s Construction Affairs deputyship, the Survey and Engineering department’s responsibilities. Geotechnical investigation is a pre-design requirement of building construction to be carried out by civil engineers from the Construction Directorate.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable Part VII. Housing Affairs Deputyship b) Internal Organization Chart The organization of the housing deputy consists of four directorates: Properties Coordination, Technical Housing, Upgrading of Informal areas, and Socioeconomic Studies of Housing. Each directorate is made up of two or three departments.
c) Human Capacity Currently, the Housing Deputyship has 42 government employees officially registered in its organizational chart (tashkeel). An additional 57 people have been loaned from the National Housing Program and other MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development projects. The total number of government and contractor employees who work for the deputyship is 99 people. There are 12 government employees working for the Upgrading Directorate. 10 personnel are organized for the remaining three departments including socioeconomic, technical housing and properties coordination. In general, the total current government professional staff size does not fulfill the scope of responsibilities carrying out by the deputyship mandates.
d) Level of Education The above chart shows that 57% of total personnel from the Housing Deputyship have BSc and 19% have a master degrees which illustrates a very positive trend.
e) Professional Background The number of professional urban planners and architects is recognizably very insufficient to fulfill the design and implementation of large housing complex projects. 8 out of 42 people have different technical backgrounds such as software engineer, geology, physics and biology and these expertise may not be relevant and efficient for the development of housing policies.
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Part VII: MUDH Housing Affairs Deutyship, Internal Organization & Human Capacity Part VII. Housing Affairs Deputyship VII.1. Technical Housing Directorate Technical Housing directorate is one of the key branches in MUDH’s housing deputyship engaging preparation of housing policies, housing projects implmentation and monitoring. By the Town Planning Law, the monitoring of new townships’ constructions are the responsibilities of the MUDH’s technical housing directorate. Per reference of technical housing directorate, the majority of technical personnel are contractors . Therefore, the process of monitoring of housing projects funded by government is not performed fully properly and transparent. In recent years, MUDH has invested and completed series of housing blocks in Kabul city such as Qasaba blocks, new 9-story blocks in Microrayon 4 and Politichnics blocks in Kart-e Mamourin. The official government employees of Technical Housing Directorate is 10 people with 5 people civil engineering and 2 architectural background.
Meeting with Head of Technical Housing Directorate Eng. Saeed Usman Sadat, August 2018.
VII.2. Upgrading of Informal Areas Directorate Informal areas and housing account for more than 70% of Afghan cities’ urban development sites. Upgrading of cities’ informal areas are on the priority agenda of the Afghan government, relevant authorities, and international community. International agencies such as the UN Habitat, World Bank, and USAID Citizenship projects have been involved in upgrading the informal areas in Kabul, Kandahar, and Mazar-i-Sharif. The upgrading of cities’ informal areas are the responsibility and ToRs of the local municipalities to implement the projects prepared by the MUDH and other relevant stakeholders. The MUDH shall identify the informal areas and plan the upgrading process per local population requests. Therefore; the engagement of local communities in the implementation of such important projects should be the priority of local municipalities. Local governance and municipalities should be involved in implementation and monitor the stages of upgrading process. Preliminary investigations show that the coordination amongst stakeholders is very poor and in some cases the MUDH has no knowledge of upgrading projects implemented by other stakeholders including donors.
VII.3. Socio-economic Studies of Housing Directorate
The directorate for socio-economic studies of housing is expected to prepare wide range of feasibility studies relevant to housing needs and recommendations how to solve shortage of housing in the country. New guidelines and policies should be developed based on a comprehensive socio-economic study according the government policies. The current human capacity of the directorate hired by government is 10 people.
Findings:
1. The terms of references of the deputyship have not been clearly identified or approved officially. 2. Overlap of responsibilities in the design and implementation of housing projects with other relevant offices such as the MUDH Construction Affairs deputyship and the Town Planning Directorate 3. Implementation of cities’ upgrading of informal areas and housing projects are the responsibilities of local municipalities 4. The Lack of Housing Policy and plans in the internal organizational chart 5. The lack of a Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate or department within the current organizational chart for housing projects 6. Poor coordination with other housing stakeholders and urban development agencies 7. Current human capacity unequal to the tremendous diverse Housing ToRs 8. Shortage of professional and qualified staff 9. Shortage of experts in the development of housing policies, banking (mortgages), and real estate.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable
MUDH Policy and Plan Directorate a) Terms of References
The policy and plan directorate is an independent directorate within MUDH’s internal organization that reports to MUDH office of the minister. The directorate is expected to be involved in variety of challenging activities such as developing policies for urban planning activities, study and analysis of development proects’ planning and budgets, review and preparation of directorates and departments’ terms of references. Currently, MUDH has 4 large programs and 10 development projects. The planning and budget of projects as well as coordination with other stakeholders, particularly with Meeting with acting director of policy and MUDH’s Finance Directorate and donors are the responsibilities of the Policy and Plan Plan, Mr. Isaq Akbari, July, 15, 2018. directorate. The current directorate of Policy and Plan has the position of secretariat at High Commission for Urban Development (HCUD) where the Minister or Director of Policy and Planning participate in monthly meetings to review and approve urban development projects.
b) Internal organization
Currently the directorate consists of 3 departments: 1) Policy and plan, 2) Urban socioeconomic statistics, and 3) Foreign relations. A 4th department of Monitoring and control of projects implementation has been proposed for approval.
c) Human Capacity Currently, the directorate has 13 hired government employees and 7 contractors of total 20 personnel. The new proposed organizational chart is considered a total of 33 positions in 4 departments. The 4th department of “Monitoring and Control of projects implementation” has been proposed for the next fiscal year to be approved by MUDH and MoF. d) Professional Background From 13 government hired employees 10 people have Bachelor of Science in administration and management (3 people), humanitarian sciences (4), civil engineering (1) , Law (1) and art (1). The directorate suffers from shortage of professional policy, management and administration staff to meet its terms of references. Internal Organization Review
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Part VIII: MUDH Development Projects and Programs برنامه ها و پروژه های وزرات: قسمت هشتم شهرسازی ومسکن
MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable Part VIII: MUDH Development Projects and Programs Preamble In recent years, a number of key programs and projects have been developed in the form of MUDH’s sister systems. Programs have been either directly approved by the president or transferred to the MUDH structure for implementation by the orders of the president. The scope of work, human capacity, and budget of the programs and projects have given tremendous functionality and ToR for the MUDH. Issues such as coordination with the MUDH as a policy making entity, budget, and quality of projects have created new challenges for the MUDH and possibly the Afghan government. Questions arise such as, “should the MUDH keep its original ToR as a policy making and monitoring organization or continue with the new reality of huge design and construction projects?” In this part, key programs and projects relevant to urban development and housing activities are discussed only from the perspective of ToRs, human capacity, resources, and budget. For the purpose of finding paralleled functionality and ToR, the newly established programs and projects are reviewed and compared to the MUDH’s core deputyships: town planning affairs, construction affairs and housing affairs’ organizational structure, human capacity, and resources. Our objective is to identify the gaps and deficiencies in the planning, coordination, and implementation of projects involving the MUDH. Task 1 and Task 2 of the Urban Planning Function Review project focuses only on the programs and projects that are involved in the implementation of urban planning projects that are directly supervised by MUDH’s deputyships. Hierarchy of Reporting by MUDH Programs and Projects
The above chart illustrates that the MUDH, as a key government entity, reports its ToR and activities to the highest executive powers in Afghanistan; the president, council of minister and the newly established High Commission for Urban Development (HCUD). The ministry of Urban Development and Housing has the poste of secretariat in HCUD. The 4 key programs: 1) Afghanistan Stabilization Program (ASP), 2) Public and Government Buildings (PGCP), 3) National Housing Program (NHP), and 4) Dar-ul Aman and Provinces Administrative Complexes have been implemented under MUDH’s monitoring umbrella. In cases of emergency, the programs get ordered tasks from the president and report directly to him.
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Part VIII: MUDH Development Projects & Programs, Internal Organization & Human Capacity VIII.1. MUDH Development Projects MUDH currently has 10 key development projects that are implemented by direct supervision of MUDH.Development projects directly report to the office of the minister.
a) List of current development projects are: 1) Strategic Development Plans (SDP) 2) Design and Development of Urban Plans 3) Preozi-the 20,000 Housing Units in Deh-Sabz 4) Preservation of Historic Monuments (PHM) 5) Carpet Industry and Residential Townships 6) Teachers Townshps (Townships Planning) 7) Administration and Technical Skills Development 8) Training Center and Urban Resources (Research Center and Development of Urban Capacity) 9) Kabul Waste Water Recycling 10) Pre-fabricated Housing Plant Note: The projects titles and statistics on human capacity and budget do not match in different documents and sources. Most of data are confounding. The urban planning functions of the development projects will be discussed in details in the sub-task 2 Urban Planning Functional Review.
a) Human Capacity There is no exact number of personnel and human capacity is available for some development projects at MUDH HR due to lack of a centralied database and poor coordination of development projects management with MUDH HR. MUD Key Development Projects for Fiscal Year 2018-2019.
Data obtained from MUDH HR shows that the Design and Development of Urban plan has the largest employees- 147, follow by SDP -132, Teachers’ township project- 126 and Preservation of Historic Monument-98 personnel. The carpet industry and residential township along with the teachers’ township are the two urban development projects that report directly to the MUDH. However, the coordination of projects’ planning, development, and implementation is not always consistent and has created serious issues in the quality of projects and budgetary spending.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable VIII.1. MUDH Development Projects
b) Development Projects Budget
The budge of development projects is allocated by MoF annually for MUDH. The largest budgetary project is the Pre-fabricated Housing Plant with an original of 2,025 million AFN (appx. 30 million USD). For the fiscal year of 2018/1397 the project budget is 403 million AFN (appx. 6 million USD) from which 268 million AFN or 66.5% has been utlized. The Historic Monuments and Mosques Renovation pooject has originally 275 million AFN (4 million USD) budget. For the fiscal year of 2018/1397 the annual budget of the project is 186 million AFN (2.8 million USD) from which an amount of 67.93 million AFN or 34.4% has been utilized as of September, 2018. The development of administration and technical skills project budget for fiscal year of 1397/2018-2019 is 33.5 million AFN (507,000.0 USD) from which 88.6% of the budget has been utilized.
In addition, MUDH has 44 ongoing small and mid size construction projects to be implemented during the fiscal year of 1396 (2017) and 1397 (2018) with a total budget of 5.9 billion AFN ( appx. 92 million USD). Most of construction projects are implemented by Public and Government Building Construction Program (PGBCP).
Findings:
1. The title and scope of work of some projects do not match in different reports & docs 2. The budget for construction projects is significantly higher than urban development. 3. MUDH involves in large construction projects compared to other types of projects. 4. The data on projects are confounding due to lack of database and poor transparency.
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Part VIII: MUDH Development Projects & Programs, Internal Organization & Human Capacity VIII.1. MUDH Development Projects: 1) Strategic Development Plans - SDP
پروژه طرح وتطبیق پالن های شهری
Preamble: The Strategic Development Plans (SDP) project was created in 2005 and funded from MUDH’s annual development projects budget. Initially its ToR was to develop strategic regional plans focused on Kabul’s regional zone. However, as the leadership of MUDH has been changed several times during the course of the last 10 years, SDP’s ToR has also been changed and the program has been involved many different types of projects. The Town Planning Directorate supervised the activities of SDP for three consecutive years. But today such a supervision is less and sometimes at the lowest level. Elaha Ghafoori, Director of SDP
Recently, the project name and title has been changed to City Development Strategy (CDS), in Farsi it reads پــروژه طــرح وتطبیــق پــان هــای شــهری “Design and Development of Urban Plans Project”. This makes confusing the exact title of the project and its ToR. Subsequently, it is difficult to follow the projects’ activities. SDP is also involved in urban development projects covered the same regional zones as the Capital Region Independent Development Authority- CRIDA urban development projects. One of the key concerns from project leadership is the lack of an approved ToR. The MUDH’s Urban Affairs Deputyship is expected to formulate a relevant ToR for SDP. Currently, SDP has no officially approved ToR. The project leadership has requested Urban Affairs Deputyship to assign a technical team to review the project’s ToR and long-term activities. As the SDP management claims, it did not happened. The working plan of SDP for the fiscal year of 1397 (2018-2019) shows the development and design of a number of strategic, emergency, and master plans for the first, 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters of 1397 (2018-2018) fiscal year. Projects such as Kandahar, Herat and Ningarhar master plans are in the work plan of SDP. The MUDH’s Town Planning Directorate has also been involved in development of master plans for the above-mentioned cities. This is a repetition of activities with other players involved in urban development projects. The responsibility assigned to the SDP projects kept the township department technically incompetent and maintain long lasting conflict between both departments. SDP shall coordinate its urban planning activities with the MUDH’s Town Planning Directorate as well as the Regional Development Directorate. Although coordination of project implementation with CRIDA is crucial, it is very weak and in most of cases nonexistent.
a) Terms of References ToR and Activities 1. Design and development of regional strategic plans 2. Design and development of cities’ master plans 3. Review and update of strategic and master plans 4. Feasibility studies and pre-planning data collection 5. Capacity building in urban planning
b) Internal Organization Chart The SDP organizational chart consists of eight departments. Each department has one or two technical teams of experts with different expertise.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable VIII.1. MUDH Development Projects: 1) Strategic Development Plans - SDP
c) Human Capacity Currently, a total of 74 personnel is listed in the internal organization chart of SDP as permanent employees. Another 58 people are loaned from other projects and programs on a temporary basis. Key departments and their staff of SDP are: Urban Development15, GIS-11, Urban Environment- 7, Urban Geography- 6, Socioeconomic- 7, Transportation- 5, Urban Water Supply and Sewerage- 5, and Administration and Finance -11. The personnel of SDP is 132 people including 58 are loaned staff from other MUDH’s programs and projects.
d) Professional Background There are seven Urban Planner Engineers, three Urban Water Supply and Sewerage (UWSS), and six Transportation Engineers. This composition of technical and professional staff does not satisfy SDP’ huge terms of references and its annual work plan.
Findings: 1. SDP still has no clear and approved ToR 2. The title and name of the project still causes confusion. Different project names appear in different document. 3. The urban planning activities of SDP overlap with MUDH Design of Regional Development Plans, Afghanistan Stabilization Program (ASP) and CRIDA 4. There is poor coordination of activities and project planning with the Town Planning Directorate 5. There is poor coordination of activities and project planning with CRIDA 6. The design and development of most of master and regional plans projects are duplicated with MUDH’s Town Planning Directorate and CRIDA 7. A lack of capacity building and training programs 8. A shortage of technology, tools, software, and hardware (GIS Analysts) Note: Functional review of SDP will be discussed in Sub-task 2 of Task 1 deliverable Report in details.
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Part VIII: MUDH Development Projects & Programs, Internal Organization & Human Capacity VIII.2. MUDH Programs There are 4 key nationwide programs under MUDH umbrella: 1) Public and Government Buildings Construction Program (PGBCP)
a) Human Capacity In terms of human capacity, the largest programs are the Public & Government Buildings Construction Program (PGBCP) with 588 personnel followed by Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex and Provinces with 157 personnel. The National Housing Program (NHP) has 98 people in its personnel staff organization.
2) National Housing Program (NHP) 3) Afghanistan Stabilization Program (ASP) 4) Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complexe and Provinces
b) Programs Budget The PGCB Program has the largest original budget, 2,343,08 millions AFN followed by Afghanistan Stabliation Program (ASP), 2,742 millions AFN, Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex and Provinces, 1,053 millions AFN. The original budget of National Housing Program (NHP) is not available. However, its budget for fiscal year of 1397 is 613 million AFN. These numbers are being changed as new projects are added to the programs.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable VIII.2. MUDH Programs
c) Differences of Salary Scale and Conflict of Interest in Employee Compensation There are mainly two types of personnel at the MUDH organizational structure: government employees and contractors. Government employees refer to personnel who are hired by HR for a vacant position on the organizational chart and has a government salary based on rank. Contractors are employees hired by the development projectsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; HR department with MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s HR approval. Contractors have high salaries based on an existing salary scale of the project approved by HR and finance directorates. Some of the salary rates are determined by the Independent Administrative Reform of Civil Services Commission (IARCSC) and their super skill ranking and CBR. Staff of national programs and development projects are paid much higher than government hired employees. The reason for such variances is due to the overall higher budget of development projects. The average salary of a government employee with a technical background is $150 to a maximum of $250 per month. A managerial position such as head of a directorate (Rais Riasat) is a maximum salary of $300 per month. On the other hand, an engineer working for a development project or national program will earn a minimum of $300 and maximum of $1,000 (75,000 to 90,000 AFN). The variance in salaries have created a challenging conflict that has impacted productivity and loyalty of staff to the government jobs. The Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Services Commission (IARCSC) has an old salary scale procedure and guidelines for super scale employees based on competition. However, the existing procedure in some cases is not followed transparently and fairly.
d) Hierarchy and Hiring Process of Government Employees and Contractors
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Part VIII: MUDH Development Projects & Programs, Internal Organization & Human Capacity VIII.2. MUDH Programs Findings: 1. The data show serious inclination of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing towards construction projects rather than towards the implementation of urban development projects. 2. The percentage of investments for Urban Development Projects is very insignificant in terms of human capacity and budget compared to construction projects. 3. Some of the programs and projects are not growing proportionately compared to the MUDH’s relevant deputyships and directorates’ organizational structures. 4. The responsibilities and ToR of some projects overlap and identical with each other 5. Lack of a control mechanism of projects budget and expenditure costs at MUDH. 6. No approved salary scales for development projects and programs employees. 7. Different salary scales for personnel of programs and development projects than government-hired personnel that created conflict of interest. 8. The hiring processes in most cases take place independently by programs and development projects’ HR department and leadership without proper coordination with MUDH’s Human Resources directorate.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable VIII.2. MUDH Programs: 1) PGBCP VIII.2.1. Public and Government Buildings Construction Program (PGBCP) Preamble Although the Public and Government Buildings program is not directly involved in urban development activities, its human capacity and ToR are reviewed to identify gaps and duplication with the MUDH’s other institutional structure and development projects. In some cases, the program’s large, complex projects’ design and implementation could have indirect involvement with site and urban development. Per the decision of the Afghan government and the president’s order, in 2015 the design and implementation of all government and public buildings’ construction projects are centralized under one umbrella the PGBCP. With this decision, the authority of all ministries’ construction departments with the exception of law enforcement agencies (Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior and National Security Directorate) were transferred to the PGBCP program. Among those ministries, the Ministry of Education has the largest buildings’ construction directorate, Infrastructure Services Department (ISD), with thousands of school projects. The same construction department of Ministry of Public Health has hundreds of hospital, clinic, and healthcare center construction projects.
PGBCP Head of the Program Eng. Hakim Ayoubi
Today the PGBCP is one of the largest construction programs in the country in terms of human capacity and budget with full architectural and engineering services for design, construction, monitoring and evaluation of activities. It has a 1.6 billion AFN budget for three years. The program hires qualified technical staff and loans to MUDH’s different directorates and departments. Therefore, due to availability of budget the program plays the role of a recruiting agency as well as a capacity builder for the MUDH. The ToR of PGBCP is identical to the ToR of the MUDH’s Construction Affairs Deputyship. In this context, the big question up for discussion is “should the MUDH stay as a policy maker body by monitoring and implementing of construction projects or also be involved in design and construction as the PGBCP is?” On the other hand, PGBCP is one of the MUDH’s programs that needs its activities to be supervised and monitored by the MUDH’s construction affairs deputy.
a) Terms of References: Key responsibilities of the Public and Government Buildings Program (PGCP) are as following: 1. Pre-planning and coordination of construction projects with relevant government ministries, agencies, and organizations 2. Recruitment process and allocation of budgets for government projects with consultation with the MUDH construction affairs deputy 3. Planning, survey, design, and construction of all Public and Government Buildings projects 4. Monitoring and evaluation of construction projects 5. Maintenance, QC and QA of all Public and Government Buildings projects 6. Development of construction guidelines and regulations
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Meeting with Director of PGBCP, Eng. Hakim Ayoubi
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Part VIII: MUDH Development Projects & Programs, Internal Organization & Human Capacity VIII.2. MUDH Programs: 1) PGBCP
b) Internal Organization The PGBCP is under direct supervision of the MUDH’s Finance and Administration Directorate and HR department. That means the Program must coordinate all its HR and finance activities with MUDH’s relevant directorates and departments. The program consists of three deputyships: Technical, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Finance and Administration. The PGBCP technical deputyship has full engineering services including architectural, engineering, survey and cost estimation departments. At the same time, the MUDH’s Construction Affairs Deputyship also has Engineering Services, and Monitoring and Evaluation directorates.
c) Human Capacity Currently, the program has 588 employees from which 316 have been loaned to MUDH’s different directorates and departments. The hiring process takes place at the program’s HR department. The current PGBCP number of personnel is higher than the total of MUDH’s government employees in center and provinces (see the chart below). The program has hired 466 personnel from 588 that were considered in the internal organization chart. Still, 122 positions are vacant and need to be filled by the end of this fiscal year. The current number of personnel at the GPBC Program HQ is 150 people.
d) Loaned Employees and Differences of Salary Rates The program loaned 316 technical personnel to MUDH’s different directorates and departments. The largest number of loaned employees is 176 for MUDH’s provincial directorates to oversee monitoring and evaluation of constructions projects in 33 provinces of Afghanistan. An additional of 48 employees have been loaned to the Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate of the MUDH. The list of loaned personnel to MUDH’s different directorates and department is not avaliable for detailed review. The loaned staff working at the MUDH center and provinces have created two issues: conflict in salary payments and reporting. The employees who were hired by the program have a much higher salary than MUDH’s government employees. This gap has impacted both the productivity of the technical staff and personal interest towards jobs and assignments. The second serious issue is regarding reporting. Loaned employees hired by the program’s HR feel more responsible to his or her original employer than to then head of section or department at the MUDH. Both employees and head of the directorates have a perception of only a temporary job assignment which effects efficiency.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable VIII.2. MUDH Programs: 1) PGBCP
Findings: 1. Low quality of projects due to emergency requests by the government in a short project completion dateline and high volume of projects in sequences 2. Poor coordination with the MUDH inolving implementation of construction projects in provinces (MUDH M/E directorates and MUDH Provincial Directorates) 3. Lack of detailed plans at the municipal levels to implement construction projects 4. Urban development gaps 5. Poor coordination with MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relevant branches in the planning, implementation and funding of construction of projects 6. Conflict in salary payments 7. Negative impacts on productivity of work as a result of loaned employees 8. Administrative and management issues with loaned employees
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Part VIII: MUDH Development Projects & Programs, Internal Organization & Human Capacity VIII.2. MUDH Program 2) Afghanistan Stabilization Program (ASP)
Preamble: Afghanistan Stabilization Program (ASP) was established in 2003 (1382) after the creation of new Afghan government. The program was under Ministry of Interior umbrella in the beginning of its establishment and involved in construction of military garrisons and posts for Afghan National Police (ANP). The Program has three parts as referenced by ASP leadership: 1. Infrastructure of provincial administrative buildings (garrisons) 2. Personnel training and capacity building (Ministry of Interior’s police staff) 3. Public welfare programs such as construction of bridges and culverts The program was transferred to Independent Local Development Governance (ILDG) in 2007 (1386) and mostly was involved in local governance activities such as construction of provincial guest houses and administrative buildings. In 2015 (1394) per decree of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan President, Ashraf Ghani, ASP was transferred to Ministry of Urban Development and Housing. Its budget and human resources are part of MUDH’s Finance and HR directorates organization. Meeting with Deputy ASP, August 2018.
The Program mainly reports to MUDH’s directorate of Plan and Ministry of Economy (MoE). One of its largest projects is the new Kabul Province administrative HQ at 180 jreeb land in Kabul funded by the Government of India and part by MUDH’s development budget. This activity may duplicated the ToR of Capital Region Independent Authority (CRIDA) that involves in Kabu Province region’s development projects. ASP’s financial budget for fiscal year of 1397 (2018-2019) is 809.9 million AFN (12 million USD) where the program has spent approximately 44.6% of its fiscal year budget. 24 development projects have been completed in 1397 (2017-2018) and 68 projects are under implementation. 36 development projects to be implemented by the ASP are under design and planning.
a) Terms of References (ToR) The following are the key responsibilities and ToR of ASP: 1. Strengthening of local governance at the provincial (woulayat) and district (wolouswali) levels through construction of infrastructure of government administrative units 2. Increasing of government administrative agencies work capacity and productivity for the purpose of better services 3. Coordination of development activities for strengthening of government agencies, creation of jobs and development at the provincial and district levels 4. Planning, development, design, construction and implementation of infrastructure projects at the provincial and district levels
ASP Rented Office in Wazir Akbarkhan, Kabul
Some of infrastructure and construction activities of the program overlap with activities of Capital Region Independent Authority (CRIDA), Public and Government Buildings Construction Program (PGBCP) and MUDH’s Construction Affairs Deputyship.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable VIII.2. MUDH Program 2) Afghanistan Stabilization Program (ASP)
b) Internal Organization The program is structured of two branches: 1) Plan and Implementation, and 2) Finance and administration. A deputy director leads each branch. The plan and implementation branch consists of 3 directorates: Design management, Monitoring and Evaluation, Coordination with Donors. The Finance and Administration branch consists of Finance management, HR, ICT, Admin and procurement directorates.
c) Human Capacity The total number of personnel counts 110 technical and administrative employees. The program suffers from shortage of qualified personnel. The current number of personnel does not meet the volume of projects and activities the program has.
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Part VIII: MUDH Development Projects & Programs, Internal Organization & Human Capacity VIII.2. MUDH Programs: 3) National Housing Program (NHP)
MUDH Deputy Minister for Housing Affairs, Mr. Aziz Ahmad Gulstani
Preamble: The shortage of housing is continuing to get worse due to security and socioeconomic conditions in the country. An estimate given by the Afghan government is that there will be a need for another 15 million housing in the next 20 years in Afghanistan. In addition, the lack of proper housing policies, legal and regulatory laws, housing financing and mortgage, and poor quality of housing construction in the country are key challenges that Afghan government and international communities face for at least next 10 years. Therefore, the government of Afghanistan has initiated the National Housing Program (NHP) in the context of Urban National Priority Program (U-NPP) and National Development Strategy (ANDS) to solve the shortage of housing. The MUDH is the key stakeholder and responsible for implementation of the NHP. The National Housing Program consists of six components: 1) national housing survey; 2) policy and regulatory framework; 3) housing finance and private sector engagement; 4) Access to land for housing development; 5) Housing design, technology, and construction materials; and 6) Housing projects development and implementation . The National Housing Program (NHP) is a 13 year (2017 - 2030) program under the Urban National Priority Program (U-NPP) pillar two “Adequate Housing For All Afghans.” U-NPP was developed in alignment with the Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF) (2017 – 2021), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (in particular SDG 11), and the New Urban Agenda (NUA) (2016 -2036). The implementation of all six components is a challenge that the MUDH is faced with. The current capacity at the MUDH’s Housing deputyship may jeopardize the full implementation of such complex and multi-scope program in a timely manner.
a) Internal Organization The internal organization of NHP consists of three large units: Technical Units, Operational Units, and Housing Projects Implementation Units. The structure of each unit was designed in a logical sequences connected with each other.
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable VIII.2. MUDH National Programs: 3) NHP
b) Human Capacity A total of 170 people work for the National Housing Program. However, the program has temporarily loaned 57 people to the MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s housing deputyship. The loaned personnel are mostly designated to work on the housing projects implementation in the field. The current NHP number of employees is calculated at 113 people.
d) Budget The initial budget for the program over the next 13 years is estimated 620 USD. This planned budget is expected to be funded by the Afghan governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s national budget as well as international community assistance to the housing sector of the country. The budget for fiscal of 1396 (2017-2018) and 1397 is 613 million AFN from which a 90% of this budget (552 million AFN / 8.5 million USD) has been invested in the housing needs of Kabul and some major cities in Mazar-i-Sharif and Kandahar.
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Part VIII: MUDH Development Projects & Programs, Internal Organization & Human Capacity Part VIII. 2. MUDH Programs, 4) Dar-ul Aman and Provinces Administrative Complexes Program (DACP) Preamble In 2005 the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing initiated the idea of moving most of the existing Afghan government ministries and authorities from downtown Kabul in order to ease the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s traffic congestion and security. However; implementation of this kind of plan requires enormous resources and investment. The only available land to accommodate government ministries that are currently located in downtown is the south part of the city, Dar-ul Aman district. First, the Informal Planning Areas Department which was an organization with 90 personnel converted to a larger directorate and named Dar-ul Aman the Administrative Complex. Initial estimates show that to move 15 ministries and government agencies such as banks and independent authorities need 100 ha land. The estimated government land is 50 ha at Dar-ul Aman district while another 50 ha of land must go under acquisition. The issue of acquisition in Afghanistan is very complicated and time consuming. In most cases the government has always been unable to solve it. An estimated of 1.4 billion USD needs to be implemented the future plan. An estimated of 55,000 government employees will commute from different parts of Kabul towards the Dar-ul Aman District. These are the key issues to be solved and the current Afghan Government faces these challenges in conditions of poor financial resources.
Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex Program Director, Mr. Shkib Rafi
The detailed plan (master plan) of the Government Administrative Complex District in Dar-ul Aman was subcontracted to an international design firm. Some 3D conceptual architectural designs for a number of ministries including MUDH have been developed by the program authority and the above-mentioned consulting firm. However, there are very serious issues involved in the land acquisition. The surrounding areas of Dar-ul Aman District include many private residential houses. The problems with public transportation have not been addressed, which will likely be faced with stagnation and failure like the New Kabul City Master Plan (developed by JAICA) implementation due to the lack of planning and resources. Currently, in addition to the Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex, the design and implementation of provincial administrative complexes have also been added to the ToR of this program. The program has a rented two floors of a private six story building in Kabul Kolola-poshta district where MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Public and Government Buildings Program (PGCP) is also located in the 5th and 6th floor.
a) Terms of References (ToR) Key responsibilities and terms of references of the program are as following: 1. Urban improvement of Capital Region (Kabul Provinces and surrounding provinces) through urban design 2. Preparation of master plans, site plans of administrative complexes in Capital Region and provinces 3. Architectural and engineering design of administrative buildings and complexes 4. Design and development of infrastructure plans for development of administrative complexes 5. Pre-planning and feasibility studies of administrative complexes sites and regions 6. Urban development projects implementation and monitoring 7. Capacity building and urban planning design training 78
MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable Part VIII. 2. MUDH Program, 4) Dar-ul Aman Admin Complex
b) Internal Organization Chart The program internal organization is composed of three deputy positions: 1) Construction Affairs and M/E, 2) Finance and Administration, and 3) Technical. Subsequently, each deputy position consists of three to four departments or groups.
c) Human Capacity
Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex has 171 official personnel staff of which 113 are technical personnel and 58 are support and services. The above numbers show that in each government sponsored program or project a ratio of 1:5 (40% to 50%) makes up the support and services category including drivers, helpers, and non-essential personnel. This is an irrational expense of the program or project’s budget.
d) Professional Background The percentage of architects and urban planners is relatively low compared to the huge terms of references and urban development projects the program is expected to carry out. For a specialized design organization having 34 % support staff and 44 % nontechnical backgrounds other than architectural and urban planning is a point of concern. It may illustrate the ineffective way the organization visions and strategizes towards long-terms goals. Having only approximately 22% professional staff may not be sufficient enough to implement colossal nationwide government projects in 33 provinces of Afghanistan.
Findings 1. Enormous terms of references and responsibilities in the design and implementation of projects 2. Overlapping of non-technical and support personnel within the program 3. Development of government administrative complexes in the center and provinces should be part of MUDH’s master and detailed plans. 5. Paralleled urban development activities with MUDH’s Urban Affairs’ directorates and departments overlap responsibilities 6. Direct reporting to the president and implementation of urban development projects without coordination with the MUDH 7. Duplicate activities such as construction monitoring and construction of buildings with other MUDH’s affiliated branches and directorates.
Internal Organization Review
MUDH New HQ Complex Design Concept by DACP
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Part IX: MUDH Facility and Level of ICT Assessment ت ارزیا� تسهیالت و سطح اطالعات معلوما� قسمت نهم: ب وزارت انکشاف شهری و مسکن
MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable Part IX: MUDH Facility and Level of ICT Assessment IX.1. MUDH Facility Assessment Preamble: Due to the growing number of personnel at MUDH’s center, development projects, and programs, the ministry faces serious challenges in providing of proper work environment for all employees. This is very important as MUDH is a large organization with high quality technical personnel and staff. Currently, MUDH has a total of 906 government employees and more than 1, 200 contractors. In addition to MUDH’s HQ in Microrayon 3, employees are settled in different locations of Kabul city. Remote locations from the center created problems and concerns among employees. In this section, physical assessments of work environment and level of access to the technology are conducted for the purposes of finding gaps and deficiencies. Methodology of Assessment: The facility assessment is carried out by: 1. Visiting the sites 2. Measuring the physical spaces 3. Assessing the work environment and availability of equipment 4. Organizing brainstorming sessions and meetings with head of directorates and departments 5. Conducting meetings individually with technical, administrative, and support staff 6. Distributing of questionnaires to be filled out by individual employees to identify the level of employees’ satisfaction at work environment. 7. Distributed checklist to be filled out by the head of departments and directorates
a) MUDH Branches Work Locations
Currently, MUDH employees are settled in five different locations in Kabul. The majority of locations are the properties of government and MUDH’s enterprises. Some locations are private owned commercial buildings.
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Part IX: MUDH Facility and Level of ICT Assessment IX.1. MUDH Facility Assessment
MUDH Center, Microrayon 3, Kabul Location 1
The assessment shows that the longest distance is the Qassaba (pre-fabricated Khanasazi Plant site) with a 9 km commute from MUDH HQ. The second longest commute distance is Houtkhail, the Afghani enterprise site, with a 7km commute from MUDH HQ. MUDH Rented Building Kololaposhta, location A rented building named The Salam Pohantoon is in city center with 5 km commute distance from MUDH HQ. 6.
b) Physical Assessment of MUDH HQ in Microrayon 3 A full physical assessment of MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s HQ site was carried out. The floor sqm area and the number of employees in each office were inspected and summarized in a table.
MUDH Rented Building in Wazir Akbar Khan district, ASP HQ.
Note: For detailed physical assessment and measurement see Annex 3. 82
MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable IX.1. MUDH Facility Assessment Findings
1. Shortage of appropriate workstations 2. Poor conditions for work environments (lack of amenities including HVAC) 3. Shortage of proper office supplies and furniture 4. Long distance commutes from home to work 5. Poor communication between MUDH HQ and remote offices 6. Serious security concerns by employees with two remote sites Qassaba (Airport area) and Houtkhil (Poli-Charkhi Road) 7. Daily communication with relevant offices 8. Inadequate amenities 9. Inconvenient for customers 10. Lack of high tech support services at remote locations
MUDH Achieve Director, Former Aybak City Mayor, July 18, 2018.
c) MUDH Archive MUDH’s archive department is one of the oldest branches of the ministry where government projects’ drawings and maps have been saved since 1965. Cities’ master plans and detailed plans as well as drawings of government buildings designs are stored in the archive. Due to shortage of budget the archive has not been digitized fully in a centralized database. Currently the archive is located at the basement with very poor climate and environmentally hazardous conditions for its employees. The conditions are not ideal for the storage of maps and drawings also. An old blueprint machine is used for production of largeformat drawings. The use of chimical is a life-threatening for employees who work at the archive. Recently, a plotter has been purchased by the UDSP but it is not fully operational due to software issue and lack of technical support by MUDH’s ICT directorate.
MUDH Achieve, UDSP Director, July 16, 2018.
Findings
While visiting the archive location, the following findings were identified: 1. Lack of modern tech hardware and software for storage of mapping documentations 2. Poor storage conditions and facilities 3. Obsolete blueprint equipment 4. Lack of colors and cartridges for Printing 5. Low standards of work environment and use of hazardous chemical materials 6. Lack of adequate physical spaces for archive storage 7. Lack of a high tech support team and capacity to digitize maps and drawings
d) MUDH Library Location The library is one of the most popular physical spaces that people spend spare time for reading and researching. Unfortunately, MUDH’s library is in a very poor condition. It is located in a container outside main buildings far from public accessibility. The library is expected to provide services for more than 2,000 MUDH’s personnel as resource center. Discussion with the Director of Library shows some serious issues to be addressed by MUDH’s leadership: - Less attention by MUDH leadership to the importance of having a library site - Shortage of resources and budget - Shortage of professional staff-librarians
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MUDH LIbrary Container Entrance
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Part IX: MUDH Facility and Level of ICT Assessment IX.2. MUDH Level of ICT Assessment Objectives For the purposes of identifying the level of ICT and the employeesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; accessibility to the new technology, questionnaire and checklist were designed and distributed to the head of the directorates and also to individual employees to express their level of satisfaction with access to the technology and facilities as well as work environment. An inventory of available technology hardware and software was carried out at the MUDH HQ.
Data shows that approximately 468 sets of desktops and laptops have been registered with the MUDH ICT directorate. This number shows that a set of computer is available for almost every one of the MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personnel. There are also 142 printers but it is unknown how many of them are operational. However, there is shortage of other important technology hardware such as plotters and scanners that play significant role in high quality production of drawings and maps. Level of ICT at MUDH Provincial Directorates MUDH has Provincial offices in 33 provinces of Afghanistan. All Provincial Directorates have the responsibility to implement projects in provincial capital cities. Each provincial office is expected to have daily contacts and coordination activities with MUDH HQ. However, the means of contacts and coordination are not satisfactory and take place in low level.
Human Capacity Each Provincial Directorate which is located in a Provincial Capital City (PCC) has eight to 12 personnel. (See Part II: MUDH Provincial Directorates Human Capacity) The routine and daily work coordination takes place by; 1. Traditional government pathway-official letters sending and receiving 2. Government sponsored business travel. 3. Private commercial phone calls (with phone card expenses) 4. Private email accounts The most common way of communication with provincial offices is sending official letters through government channels. It is too much time consuming and, in some cases, unreliable. As a result of analysis and assessment the following deficiencies were identified relevant to the MUDH Provincial Directorates activities:
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable • The level of ICT and IT end users in MUDH’s provincial directorates is very poor. It usually takes at least a month to deliver design materials to local offices for implementation. • The organization of business travel to provinces is also time consuming due to procurement paperwork processing and availability of budget. Employees do not want to spend on their own phone cards unless somebody contacts from the HQ. • Poor Internet connection is an obstacle for communication between MUDH HQ and provincial offices. • Due to lack of power or internet access, such communication does not take place on time when it is needed. For various reasons, such communication usually takes two or three days for a recipient to reply the emails.
Findings:
1. MUDH has no clear ICT vision and strategy for addressing new technology challenges 2. Shortage of ICT capacity and resources 3. Shortage of technical equipment / software required for planning and other engineering operations in MUDH 4. Lack of IT capacity building programs (short and long term) for IT end users 5. Lack of a policy for use of hardware and software platforms 6. Lack of vision and strategy for GIS and mapping technology in urban development 7. Lack of a central database 8. Lack of an Urban Management Information System (UMIS) 9. Lack of a high-tech support (help desk) team Results of Questionnaires The results of the questionnaires filled out by employees and brainstorming sessions with the head of directorates and departments show the general concerns of employees, complains about the work environments, unfair employee evaluation and salary compensation, shortage of facilities. The followings are deficiencies and gaps in the productivity and quality of projects expressed by employees: 1. Unfair salary payment compared to contractors and development projects’ staff 2. Uncertainty relevant to the future in terms of job and employment 3. Poor evaluation of employee work performance and ranking by managers 4. Not encouraging relationship between managers and staffs (low level) 5. Poor workstations, work facilities and supplies 6. Security concerns relevant to long-distance of work location compared to MUDH HQ 7. The amount of high-tech hardware such as plotters, scanners, GPS, and surveying tools are insignificant compared to the volume of task orders and projects. 8. The majority of the high-tech hardware are not operational due to lack of funds for purchasing of necessary parts, cartridges, and software. 9. Work order processing for purchase and repair of hardware is time consuming. 10. Access to the internet and use of technology is a big concern- it is a big obstacle for routine work performance. 11. Employees use their own private email accounts which are not secure for sending government propriety materials 12. Majority of personnel complain about the lack of a help desk or high-tech help desk to respond to work orders such as installation of software and repair of hardware in an timely efficient manner. 13. Shortage of daily power and lack of generators to run the technology equipment
Internal Organization Review
New plotter but not operational
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Part IX: MUDH Facility and Level of ICT Assessment Key concerns expressed by employees through questionnaires and survey sheets:
Key Technical Departments
Administration + Finance
1.
Salary + Benefits
1.
Salary + Benefits
2.
Security + Commute ( Location 5, Houtkhail, Location 6, Qassaba)
2.
Lack of Specialized Training in Finance (30%)
3.
Inter-departmental Coordination
3.
Computer Programs (10%)
4.
Work Environment + Amenities
4.
5.
Mangers & Employees Relationships
Work Environment (Shortage of Spaces)
6.
Lack of High Tech Help Desk + Tech
5.
No Idea (25%)
7.
Lack of Capacity Building Programs
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Part X: Annexes
قسمت دهم:ضمایم و اسناد
Part X: Annexes Annex 1: Employee Data Collection Sheet
MUDH Current Staffing Data Sheet-Sample Deputyship: Department Name:
No
Name
Status (Employee, Ajeer, Employment Contractor, Part-time Start Date
Position
Age
Education Level (PhD,MSc, BSc, 14th, 12th)
Field of Study
Qualification Computer (Yes/No)
Training Yes/No)
Work Date of Last experience Training (year)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
LZ International LLC, Legal and regulatory review of urbn planning framework Project
Task 1: MUDH Internal Organization Review
Deputyship:____________________ Deputy:________________________ Division-Subdivision:______________ Head of Division:_________________ Employee Category
Number
MUDH Employee Capacity Assessment Personnel Data
Position/Rank Manager
Employee Servant
Age-year Over 50
30-50
Under 30
Work Experience-Year Over 10-20 3-10 1-2 20
Education PhD
MS
BSc
< 12 Grade
Knowledge of Computer MS Eng. Internet Office Software
Basic
Male Female Total Head of Division Signature:___________________
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable Annex 2: Directorates ToR Checklist Department of Urban Planning - Capacity Assessment and Urban Planning Functional Review Checklist __________________________________________________________________________________________
Checklist
Comments
I.
II.
III.
Activities & Category
Yes
Administrative Management Department Official ToR Proposed Organizational Chart
Y Y
Needs review and update
Current Organizational Chart Future Expansion/HR Plan
Y Y
Needs review and update
Quarterly Report
Y
Annually Report Management Policy and Guidelines Employee Datasheet
Y
Employee Evaluation Sheet/Annually
Y
HR Activities and Employment Guidelines Weekly, Monthly Meeting Schedule & Records Meetings resolution and Action Plan Work Plan/Projects Implementations Long-term and Short-term Programs
Y Y
Work Plan for 2018-2019/Action Plan Projects Implementation Plan, Budget and Resources
Y Y
List of Projects and assigned resources
Y
Organizational Structure Zoning and Planning Section GIS and Mapping
Y
Y
No
Its being proposed but not accordingly provided
N
the HR plan should be reviewed and updated on yearly basis and according to demand, The existing HR is absolutely, both quality and quantity wisely, not according the demand and work load We report to department of Policy and Plan, which is accordingly being forwarded to MoEc and other related officials â&#x20AC;&#x153; A record is created and updated for each employee at the HR department There is an internal evaluation on quarterly basis and a yearly basis evaluation by the HR department. The internal one could not affect official records, the one from HR department is totally ineffective . the whole mechanism and efficiency Needs review and update Needs review and update
Internal meetings are frequent and by demand Needs review and update
Y Y Y
Y
If Yes, Needs Review or Update If No, Recommendation to Plan and Project
Our work plan is usually created based on decrees, orders from the top , the existing HR capacity can hardly keep up with them, the plan is mostly reactive , the whole process Needs review and update
In the context of this directorate and preparation of spatial plans, we need to establish an effective project implementation templet Our work plan is attached. Resources are scares , no project has specific budget N
There is a GIS section under survey department, but it is not well functioning .
LZ International LLC, MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review Project, July 2018
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Part X: Annexes Annex 2: Directorates ToR Checklist Department of Urban Planning - Capacity Assessment and Urban Planning Functional Review Checklist __________________________________________________________________________________________ Research and Resource Center There is a research center under umprella of MUDH, but it need substantial upgrade . It is role in working with our directorate not established Urban Norms and Standards Section Y Directorate of Codes exist but Needs review and ICT Section
IV.
V.
VI.
Y
Database Section
N
Helpdesk and Public Services Regulatory Framework and Laws Site Development/Shahrak Laws Project Submittal Guidelines Detailed Plans Guidelines Master Planning Guidelines Urban Project Control and Implementation Guidelines Monitoring and Evaluation Manual Hardware and Software Legal Software ArcGIS
N
Online GIS Account AutoCAD Map Legal Copy AutoCAD Legal Copy MS Office Legal Copy 3D Mapping Software Database SQL Software Mobile GIS equipment for Survey TotalStation GPS Plotter Large Format Scanner Training and Employee Capacity Building and Development Long-term Capacity Development Program Long-terms and Short-term Capacity Building Program Employee Technical Skills Evaluation Guidelines and Categorization Capacity Building Plans, Budget and Sponsor Programs
Y Y Y
update Exist under umbrella of MUDH. Needs review and update
Our department doesn’t have a functioning database No Needs review and update
N N N N
Y Y Y Y Y Y
N N N N N
The cracked / copy versions of drafting and designing, as well as GIS software are available and can be used “ “ “ “ “ “ At the survey department Recently prepared by UDSP
N N N N
The upper table is filled by the Department of Urban Development Affairs on 7/21/2018 .
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable Annex 3: MUDH Employee Questionnaire
MUDH Facility & Work Environment Evaluation Sheet-Questionnaires Deputyship:________________ Deputy:__________ Division-Department:_____ Head of Division:_________________
Scores 0
1. ICT
2. Job Benefits
1
2
3
4
5
internet Email Database Access Computer Scanner Copier Ploter Digital Camera Internal Phone Fairness of Salary/Compensation On time salary payment raise/Bonus Overtime Compensation Training/Capacity Building Phone card Transportation Lunch Vacation/Maternity
3. Work Environment Communication with Manager Abuse/threat/ Workload Work Plan /Schedule Team work Weekly meeting Monthly meeting Workstation Furniture Office supplies Satisfaction working for MUDH 4. Your Concerns & Comments:
Scores assigned to each capacity area include: 0=Nonexistent 1=Neutral, no improvement made 2=Needs improvement 3=Some progress made, only little improvement required 4=No need for immediate improvement 5=Excellent achievement, capacity fully achieved
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Part X: Annexes Annex 3: MUDH Employee Questionnaire
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable Annex 4: MUDH Facility Assessment- MUDH HQ Space Assessment
_____________________________________________________________________________________
MUDH Building (one-story) Facility Assessment Physical spaces measurement Project Name: MUDH Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework Task 1: Internal Organization Review Subtask 1: MUDH internal organization, human capacity, facility and Level of ICT Assessment No 1 2
3
4
Occupant/ Office 4th Floor Minister office + Conference Hall 3rd Floor Deputies, waiting room, UNESCO, Conference room, secretary 2nd Floor Deputies, Spokesman, Public Relations, Advisers, 1st Floor Archive, Office of Docs, counsellor, Security Total
Area (m2)
Staff No
Male
501.63
10
10
300.40
22
16
283
28
28
117.40
29
17
1,202
89
71
Female
Remarks
6
12 18
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Part X: Annexes Annex 4: MUDH Facility Assessment- MUDH HQ Space Assessment
_____________________________________________________________________________________
MUDH North Building (5th-story) Facility Assessment Physical spaces measurement Project Name: MUDH Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework Task 1: Internal Organization Review Subtask 1: MUDH internal organization, HR, facility and Level of ICT Assessment Floor No
Occupant / Offices
Area (m2)
Staff No
Male
Female
Basement
Archive آرشيف نقشه ها
238.55
6
4
2
1st floor
Plan and policy رياست پﻼن وپاليسی با پرسونل آن
238.55
19
17
2
2nd floor
Procurements رياست تدارکات با پرسونل آن
238.55
58
58
238.55
28
24
4
Including stairs, bathrooms , veranda and hall
238.55
15
9
6
Including stairs, bathrooms, veranda and hall
238.55
32
30
2
Including stairs, bathrooms, veranda and hall
1,431
158
142
16
3rd floor
4th floor 5th floor
Rehabilitation (Improvement) Provisional communication آمريت،رياست بهسازی ونوسازی رياست بهسازی، ارتباط وﻻيات اجراييه وآمريت،وساحات غير پﻼنی سه گانه Technical housing, A/E ، رياست تخنيکی مسکﻦ ودفتراجرايه مهندسی و انجنيری Improvement, Analysis of Economic and social, NHP رياست تحليل،رياست بهسازی اجتماعی واقتصادی وبرنامه ملی مسکﻦ Total
Remarks Including stairs, storage and hall Including stairs, bathrooms, veranda and hall Including stairs, bathrooms, veranda, and hall
Produced by: LZ International Assessment Team Date: 1 / 8 / 2018
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable Annex 4: MUDH Facility Assessment- MUDH HQ Space Assessment
_____________________________________________________________________________________
MUDH South (4-story) Building Facility Assessment Physical spaces measurement Project Name: MUDH Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework Task 1: Internal Organization Review Subtask 1: MUDH internal organization, HR, facility and Level of ICT Assessment Floor
Ground Floor First floor Second floor Third floor Ground floor Ground floor First floor Second floor Second floor Third floor Third floor
Area (m2)
Staff No
Male
Female
Building right wing Human resources پرسونل رياست منابع بشری
98
14
10
4
Including hall
Human resources رياست منابع بشری
98
16
14
2
Including hall
115
16
14
2
Including hall
155
18
16
2
Including hall
45
11
11
2
Including hall
240
32
9
23 children
297
43
4
Including hall
125
16
13
3
Including hall
85.36
8
7
1
Including hall
110
5
2
3
Including hall
52
15
13
2
Including hall
1,420
184
149
35
Occupant/Office
Properties پرسونل رياست امﻼک Properties رياست امﻼک وآمريت ا سﮑان Building left wing Finance Division پرسونل رياست ماﻟﯽ )مديريت عوايد ( مديريت کنترول، وسنجش Kindergarten کودکستان محل کار Finance Division رياست عمومﯽ ماﻟﯽ با پرسونل آن Information and publication رياست تﮑناﻟوژی اطﻼعات وارتبات واطﻼعات عامه Plan (PMU) and development projects رياست پﻼن وپروژه های انﮑشافﯽ Law Adviser مشاوريت حقوقﯽ مقام و آمريت نشرات World Bank بانک جهانﯽ Total
39
Remarks
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Part X: Annexes Annex 4: MUDH Facility Assessment- MUDH HQ Space Assessment
_____________________________________________________________________________________
MUDH Annex Building (One-story) Facility Assessment Physical spaces measurement Project Name: MUDH Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework Task 1: Internal Organization Review Subtask 1: MUDH internal organization, HR, facility and Level of ICT Assessment No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Occupant/ Office Health centre Service Staff Transport Drivers room Service Director Procurement staff Storage and Equipment staff Director of storage & Equipment procurements staff Head of procurement Lesion and Statistics Director of technics & transport Head of Administration Secretary of admin Registration room Guar room Bathroom (4#) Hall Total
Area (m2)
Staff N0
Male
Female
16.53 16.53 16.53 16.53 16.53 16.53
5 5 4 50 1 4
2 5 3 50 1 1
3
16.53
6
4
2
16.53
5
5
66 46.8 29.25
14 1 4
10 1 4
4
21.41
3
3
1
46.8
1
1
19.6 19 13.3 50 56 481
2 2 2
1 2 2 109
95
Remarks
3 1
1 3 2 14
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Urban Planning Functional Review for Ministry of Urban Development and Housing
Internal Organization Review MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review
Table of Contents
Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors 5 Preface 6 Introduction 7 I.1. MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review 10 I.2. Design of Rgional Development Plans (DRDP) Directorate 13 I.3. Town Planning Directorate Functional Review 20 I.4. Development Strategic Plans (SDP) Review 27 I.5. Detailed Plans Functional Review 33 I.6. Ten Reasons for Failure of Urban Plans in Afghanistan 37 I.7. MUDH Housing Affairs Function Review 39 Part II: MUDH Nationwide Programs 41 II.1. ASP 42 II.2. Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex 43 II.3. Public and Government Buildings Construction Program (PGBCP) 45 II.4. National Housing Program (NHP) 45 Part III: Urban Planning Key Stakeholders 46 III.1. IDLG-DMM Urban Planning Functional Review 47 III.2. ARAZI-Land Management Authority 48 III.3. Capital Region Independent Authority (CRIDA) 49 III.4. Kabul Municipality (KM) 50 Part IV: Private Sector Urban Planning Functional Review 51 IV.1. Construction of New Townships (shahrak) 52 IV.2. Building Complexes and Housing 55 IV.3. Summary of Urban Planning Functional Review 56 Part V: Urban Planning International Practices 59 V.1. Iran 61 V.2. Indonesia 66 V.3. Turkey 69 V.4. India 73 V.5. USA 75 V.6. Other Countries 77 V.7. Graphic Design and Color Coding Standards 77 V.8. Summary and Conclusions 80 References 81 Part VI: Task 1: MUDH Internal Organization Review Summary 82 VI.1. MUDH ToRs Review 83 VI.2. Overlapping Activities in Urban Planning 90 VI.3. MUDH Human Capacity Assessment Summary 96 VI.4. MUDH Facility Assessment 97
1
Abbreviation AFN Symbol of Afghan National Currency ARAZI Land Authority (Afghanistan Land Authority) CRIDA Capital Region Independent Authority KM Kabul Municipality KP Kabul Province MoF Ministry of Finance GoIRA Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan GoA Government of Afghanistan IDLG Independent Directorate of Local Governance IDLG-DMM Deputy Minister for Municipalities MUDH Ministry of Urban Development and Housing MRRD Ministry of Rehabilitation and Rural Development NHP National Housing Program ASP Afghanistan Stabilization Program PAMA Central Institute of Projects (former semi government enterprise) PCC Provincial Capital City PGBCP Public and Government Buildings Construction Program SDP Strategic Development Plans UDSP Urban Development Support Project WB World Bank USAID United States Agency for International Development Afghan Government Rank and Positions Terminologies Wazir Minister Moueeniat Deputyship Moueen Deputy Raees President, Head of Directorate Riasat Directorate Ameriat Department Amer Head of Department Moudeer Umumi General Manager Moudeeriat Management Moudeer Manager Wali Governor Sharwal Mayor Tashkeel/Tashkeelat Personnel organization/composition
2
Internal Organization Review
MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review
بررسی تشکیالت داخلی بررسی کاربردی پالنگذاری شهری
3
Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors بخش اول :بازیگران کلیدی پالن گذاری شهری وزارت شهرسازی ومسکن
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review Preface Preface
Afghanistan is experiencing historically significant moment in taking steps towards rebuilding its cities and war-stricken built environment. It is intended that in coming decades the country’s built environment will transform into predominantly urban economies as the process of urbanization takes hold and the potentials of growth and social progress will bring improved livelihood to the majority of its population. Managing the planning and growth of the cities is a powerful tool to improve the economic and social wellbeing of the cities and towns. Embracing the potential of productive urbanization can be achieved by putting in place measurable planning policies and regularity tools in order to boost economic and social conditions of the cities by providing its population with security of shelter, improvement in public services and provision of efficient infrastructure. This report is a detailed review of the urban planning, master planning cities documents in Afghanistan that are prepared by the MUDH (Ministry of Urban Development & Housing) and provided to us for review. As expected the review will adopt a normative approach, taking other relevant international models or examples as a basis for carrying out a gap analysis and identifying specific deficiencies concerning the document. The report will then try to put forward a set of recommendations and realistic measures to improve these planning deficiencies in task 3. This deliverable report focuses on MUDH’s urban planning functional review to identify gaps and deficiencies in ToRs and overlaps of responsibilities. The first part of report dedicated to MUDH’s terms of references as determined by recently adapted Town Planning Law in September 2017. In the second part of this report, examples of urban planning projects, regional plans, cities’ master plans, strategic plans and detailed plans were reviewed to look at deficiencies in design concepts, technical approaches in solving urban planning issues and quality of projects in general. At the end of each chapter there is a summary and findings. The third part of the report covers international urban planning practices relevant to Afghanistan. In this part examples of countries similar with conditions of climate/environment, historic/culture and economic/technology criteria is reviewed. The last part of the deliverable report summarizes the deliverables of both Sub-task 1(MUDH Internal organization review, Level of ICT and Facility Assessment) and Subtask 2 (MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review) of the Project’s Task 1: MUDH Internal Review. A summary of MUDH’s overall performance is presented in the form of charts based on a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is failure of ToR performance identified in Town Planning Law and 10 is excellent- no needs for improvement.
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors Introduction Traditional cities of Afghanistan grew in an incremental, spontaneous and organic pattern. Unlike European preindustrial cities, traditional Afghan cities lacked institutions like city halls as one sees in city squares of medieval European cities such as Siena, Italy. Herat and Kandahar had a Chouk that served as a public space with social and economic significance where official announcements were made, public punishment of criminals took place, sometimes social upheavals and protests started. In this case the bazaars that branched out from the center square, took an important role. There was a caretaker or of the center and the bazaars kalanter, but he had no planning jurisdiction or regulating authority over what was planned and built. With the emergence of European colonialism came concepts of planning which was applied in new sections of the city outside the historic center. It started with Abdur Rahman Khan in the last decade of 19th Century when he built his palace outside the old town. His grandson King Amanullah, planned boulevards and governmental buildings based on European models of formal geometric planning. It was mainly in the 1930â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that planned neighborhoods following a grid-iron system started appearing in the new districts of Kabul. This also lead to the formation of Municipalities. Among other responsibilities, these municipalities, assumed the authority for land-use planning, land subdivisions and parceling out and construction permitting. The nature of this authority changed with the evolution of the political system in the country. The push and pull between centralization and decentralization and territorial disputes between local municipalities and national authorities particularly in Kabul began. When the great game of Czarist Russia and Imperial Britain in the nineteenth century over Afghanistan ceased, in the twentieth century it was replaced by the cold war rivalries between the Soviet Union and the United States. This also affected spheres of influence and developmental ideologies of the two superpowers. Their sphere of influence included geographic regions and Afghan developmental institutions. Projects in the northern region were contracted out to the Russians and those in the south and west were given to the Americans. In Kabul, the sharing showed in different ministries and educational institutions. Education in most departments of Kabul University including architecture and planning were based on the American and European educational models. But the Soviets established their Polytechnic Institute modelled on their pedagogical system. The Soviets introduced centralized planning, prefabrication and subsidized housing, The Americans introduced free market architecture and planning. Soviet influence dominated Kabul Municipality and the introduction of the 25-year master planning concept for Kabul City, first drawn in the 1960â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.
UDSP International Conference Call with Prof. R. Samizay and Prof. Bashir Kazimee, LZ US Team, on Urban Planning Practices, MUDH October 27, 2018.
Prime Minister Mohammad Daud, when he took office in 1956, started awarding developmental plans to the Soviets. They establishment of the concept of five-year Socioeconomic national plan for the county that included sectors of agriculture, education, mines and energy. At Kabul Municipality Soviet technical advisors developed the first 25-year Master plan of Kabul. The master plan was basically a physical plan with drawings and renderings of buildings to be built along idealized boulevards. Such ambitious plans that did not consider constraints of private property and citizen participation could have only been realizable under the strong authority of a communist regime. It ignored planning as a dynamic process. As a result, little of that plan was realized in its first 15 years. With the coming to power of Noor Mohammad Taraki and a client regime, the plan was revised with new hopes that an authoritarian socialist government system could deliver results. With the violence that came with the regime, planning took a back stage in terms of priority.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review Introduction The last socialist president of Afghanistan supported by the Soviets, Dr. Najibullah was a reformist. During his term of office extensive public housing projects were developed by the government. Following the downfall of Dr. Najibullah, the decade of Mujaheddin saw a period of civil war, chaos and land grabbing. The landing of US troops in Afghanistan and the fall of Taliban, opened a new chapter in Afghanistan’s developmental history. This is a period marked by high hopes for peace, economic aid and investment by international community, return of refugees and consequently enormous growth and pressure on cities. Price of urban land climbed rapidly. Payment of high rent by international communities affected affordability for lower economic sector of the society. The land grabbing by the powerful that had halted during Taliban returned. The runaway privatization and unregulated growth, created enormous pressures on the city. The squatter settlements on the hillside and periphery of the city expanded. Camps of internally displaced and returning refugees from Pakistan and Iran appeared. Kabul City grew in all directions along highways: east towards Jalalabad beyond Kart-e Naw, west towards Paghman and Maidan Shahr, and north beyond Khair Khana towards Charikar.
The rejuvenated Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MUDH) came back to life. The idea of creating a new town in Deh Sabz in Kabul with modern facilities became a popular aim. The government of Japan took the lead in providing urban planning support to the government of Afghanistan. They developed a master plan for Kabul City backed by extensive research. Their aid was also focused on creation of the new Deh Sabz. History of creating new cities from scratch, whether is marred with failures of different forms. A lot of enthusiasm went to the creation of Deh Sabz, but reality soon sunk in. The struggle between those who claimed false ownership and the resistance of existing settlers and finally the opportunists and speculators became road blocks to creating the town. I. Urban planning key actors The following stakeholders are key actors in urban planning for the country: 1. MUDH as the main government policy making body is expected to manage and coordinate overall urban planning and urban development activities in the country. 4 Nationwide programs and 10 key development projects are implemented under the MUDH leadership. a) MUDH’s National Programs including: - Afghanistan Stabilization Program (ASP) - National Housing Program (NHP) - Public and Government Buildings Construction Projects (PGBCP) - Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex and Provinces Program b) Key development projects are: Strategic Development Plans project (SDP), number of new townships (shahrak) projects design and implementation, renovation of historic monuments and mosques design and construction. To some degree, each program is directly or indirectly involved in urban development projects. 2. IDLG-DMM (Deputy Minister for Municipalities), cities’ governments- municipalities are responsible for the implementation of urban development projects at cities levels. The MUDH shall respond to the needs of cities by providing both master and detailed plans, policies and guidelines. Close coordination is expected between IDLG-DMM and urban planning stakeholders. However, the last Municipal law adapted this year gives
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors I. Urban planning key actors more authority to local municipalities in preparation and implementation of citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; master plans and detailed plans. (Role of municipalities will be discuss in detail on Task 2). 3. Key independent authorities are: ARAZI: Afghanistan Land Authority CRIDA: Capital Region Independent Development Authority 4. HCUD (High Commission for Urban Development) functions for approval and review of urban planning projects in the country. HCUD holds judiciary power for review and approval of projects. The approval of regional plans, citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; master plans as well as the review of guidelines and regulations are responsibilities of HCUD. The President is the chairman of the commission and the MUDH has the secretariat position in HCUD. The commission holds meetings at least once a month. 5. The private sector is involved in the design and implementation of townships (shahrak). MUDH is expected to have a crucial role in the review and approval of urban development projects documentations and implementation process. MUDH ensures that the private township projects meet standards and adapted regulations.
Fig 1: Urban Planning Key Stakeholders
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review I.1. MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review At MUDH, the Urban Affairs and Housing Affairs deputyships, MUDH development projects and programs are directly or indirectly involve in urban development projects. MUDH faces big challenges in coordinating activities with urban planning stakeholders. In most cases, such coordination is very weak or even nonexistent. This issue is even apparent inside the MUDH inter-organization, development projects and programs. Unclear terms of references and lack of work plans at different levels have created serious roadblocks in the planning and implementation of urban development projects, overlap of workloads, cost and deadline of projects. This chapter focuses on reviewing the MUDH’s terms of references, urban planning agenda and functions.
I.1.1. MUDH ToR The MUDH’s Terms of References defined by two Town Planning laws. The first law was adapted in 1391/2012 and the latest updated version of the law was ratified by the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in September 2017/1396. MUDH’s ToR is based on four principles which are defined by law: 1. Creation of an urban establishment (system) all over of the country 2. Creation of cities with urban services based on sustainable and balanced growth 3. Solution of housing needs through preparation of housing plans and policies 4. Provision for all citizens to access essential urban services through design of policies and plans Note: A detailed analysis of both laws will be reviewed in Task 2, Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework. MUDH consists of 4 deputyships: 1) The Finance and Administration deputyship carries out all financial activities including employee payroll, projects’ budgeting and expenditure. The development projects and programs must report their expenses and budget balance to the Finance Directorate and coordinate their human resource activities with the MUDH directorate of Human Resources (MUDH HR). Such protocol has not been fully followed with government mandates. 2) The Urban Affairs deputyship is the branch of the ministry which is mainly responsible for developing cities’ master and detailed plans, regional and strategic plans, pre-designing feasibility studies and preparing urban guidelines and regulations. In addition, the deputyship’s High Visa Commission for urban development projects are responsible for review and approval of new townships projects. 3) The Housing Affairs deputyship is expected to prepare housing policies and guidelines as well as monitor and control the implementation of the private sector’s construction of townships and housing complexes. 4) The Construction Affairs deputyship’s main activities are the design of government buildings, monitoring and evaluating construction projects, developing national construction codes and standards, issuing permit, the review and approval of construction projects by its Visa High Commission.
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors I.1. MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review As an official document, the terms of references of each directorate is not available or at least not ratified by MUDH Leadership Commission or Board as described in the Town Planning Law (TPL). Most departments and offices are involved in tasks outside their ToRs.
I.1.2. Urban Affairs deputyship (UAD) The Urban Affairs deputyship is made up of four directorates: 1) Town Planning (TP), 2) Design of Regional Development Plans (DRDP), 3) Water Supply and Environment (WSE) and 4) Survey and Investigation (SI). Approximately 80% of MUDH’s overall terms of references shall be carried out by the Urban Affairs deputyship through its relevant directorates and departments, particularly the Town Planning Directorate. The functional structure of UAD is ambiguous and indefinite in terms of task orders. The ToRs of each directorate is not officially approved and categorized properly. The functions of DRDP, WSE and SI are logically expected to be sub-functions of the Town Planning Directorate. However; the above directorates’ overlap of functions has caused serious problems in the development of cities’ master and detailed plans because different plans are prepared and designed in different directorates and departments.
Fig 2: Urban Planning Actors within MUDH Internal Organization
The diagram shows the key stakeholders within MUDH internal organization involving in urban planning activities. They are: 1) MUDH Town Planning directorate, 2) Design of Regional Development Plans directorate, 3) Strategic Development Plans (SDP) project, 4) Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex and Provinces Program, 5) National Housing Program (NHP) and 6) Afghanistan Stabilization Program (ASP). This section is trying to identify the overlapping activities and scope of work in terms of references of each above stakeholders separately.
I.1.3. Types of Urban Planning The Town Planning Law (article 3) enacted the official definition of the following types of urban plans in hierarchal: 1) Country-wide Master Plan, 2) Regional Plan, 3) City Master Plan, 4) Strategic Plan , 5) Guiding Plan, 6) Detailed Plan, 7, Reform Plan, 8) Amendment Plan, 9) Improvement Plan
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review I.1. MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review However; in article 7th, clauses 4 and 5 in addition of the above types of plans, the preparation of 3 more types of plans, renovation plans, re-arrangement plans, and cultural-historic areas’ plans are listed as the responsibilities of MUDH. The law did not clarify definitions for the latter 3 types of plans .
I.1.4. Findings a) Development and Preparation of Plans Assessment of MUDH organizational charts and ToRs and data collection on urban planning activities of Town Planning directorate in subtask 1 shows that only regional plans, provincial plans, cities master plans, detailed plans, site survey plans and water supply plans are prepared in 4 MUDH’s directorates; and the SDP development project prepares strategic plans. The other urban plans such as country’s master plan, reconstruction, improvement, amendment and reform plans that identified as MUDH’s responsibilities in the Town Planning law have not been prepared recently or at least there was no need or request for preparation of these types of plans.
Fig 3: MUDH Urban Affairs Directorates, Urban Planning Activities
The above chart shows types of urban plans that are prepared by the four different directorates in addition of Strategic Development Plans as independent MUDH’s development project. Afghanistan’s divisions regional maps, regional and provincial plans are developed at Design of Regional Development Plans (DRDP) directorate while cities’ plans and relevant detailed plans are developed by the Town Planning directorate. Strategic plans are prepared by a semi-independent MUDH development project: Strategic Development Plans (SDP).
b) Hierarchy of Urban Planning
The current hierarchy of the urban planning activities illustrated in the following diagram (fig: 4): 1) Afghanistan Regional Divisions Plan or Map, 2) Regional Plans 3) Provincial Plans 4) Strategic Plan 5) Cities’ master plans 6) detailed plans.
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors I.1. MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review The approval of Afghanistan’s Comprehensive Plan, Regional Plans and Cities Master Plans are the authority of the President and HCUD. However, the approval of strategic and detailed plans is the authority of MUDH’s urban development visa commission. There is a conflict of interest in this process. The above mentioned plans are not reviewed by a professional third party to ensure quality of design with accepted international urban development standards in Afghanistan. The MUDH develops urban plans and approves them also. This part will focus on functional review of the plans in order of urban planning hierarchy. I. 2. Design of Regional Development Plans (DRDP) Functional Review
Fig 4: Hierarchy of Urban Planning Management
Preparation of regional plans is the responsibilities of the DRDP Directorate under the Urban Affairs deputyship (UAD) internal organization. Initially, DRDP was a development project until 2011. For unidentified reasons it was promoted to a department, and subsequently to a Directorate level in most recent years. The title of the directorate first was Design and Implementation of Regional Plans. While the term of “Design” is disputable for preparation of regional planning as this type of urban planning activities mostly dealing with visions, strategies, policies and plans rather than physical development and design. The the Directorate claims that with a minimal team of eight technical personnel they have been able to produce a tremendous amount of data on regional planning of 20 provinces which is stored at the directorate’s office in hard copies.
Main functions and activities
The main function of the regional planning directorate is the data collection from sectorial provincial directorates and compiling and analyzing the data in the form of a comprehensive informative document. Tailored recommendations are provided for each regional plan. The recommendations include on a prognosis of five, 10 and 20 year strategies for the provinces. The Directorate is working on regional planning as well as the organization of both human and environmental relations. The Directorate is expected to develop recommendations on how to effectively use the land to establish where to build the city and infrastructure.
I.2.1. Afghanistan Regional Divisions Map By the Town Planning Law, the preparation and development of Country’s Master Plan or Afghanistan Comprehensive Master Plan is the responsibility of MUDH and most probably the DRDP directorate. The needs and content of such nationwide plan has not been clearly formulated. A map of Afghanistan regional divisions was prepared by the Strategic Development Plan (SDP) project team in 212 based on a former Soviet topographic survey map of Afghanistan. The regional divisions determined on top of a scaled map obtained from Afghanistan Information Management Services (AIMS), a UNDP sponsored mapping agency in the country. Based on this map, Afghanistan is divided into 8 development regions: 1) National Capital Region of Kabul (NCRK), 2) Eastern, 3) Northern, 4) North-East, 5) Southern, 6) Central, 7) South-Western, and 8) Western. Such regionalization of the country needs meticulous socioeconomic, demographic and
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review I. 2. Design of Regional Development Plans (DRDP) Functional Review
Fig 5: Regional Development Divisions Mapof Afghanistan.
ethnographic, Afghan Government national development strategy, and finally urban settlement studies and analysis. Most probably the boundary of regions was accepted based on an existing nationwide security zoning adapted by past regimes in the country. The map is titled “Afghanistan Regional Development Division Map” as it has not been officially ratified or approved by the Afghan Government or Afghan Parliament. MUDH refers to the regionalization outlined in the map for its development of regional and strategic plans. The definition of regions and their boundaries have not been clearly identified in regional planning documentations. The boundaries of each region are identified differently in various regional maps. It is a priority for the MUDH to coordinate with relevant government agencies to address such crucial tasks of regionalizing the country correctly according to the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) and Urban-National Priority Program (U-NPP).
Past urban planning research efforts: Some Afghan urban planners in the past did helpful research work on regional zoning and distribution of settlement in Afghanistan. The research based on socioeconomic, geographic, agricultural, and sanitary conditions of Afghanistan. Dr. Wasai Basharyar, in his doctoral thesis in France identified 3 regional zones boundaries (Les Possibilities d’Amenegement du Territoire et de Regionalisation en Afghanistan, Doctorat en Urbanism, Ph.D. Dissertation Paris, 1974), Fig. 6. Dr. Nasim Halimi identified 4 large settlement distribution zones (Kabul city, Urban Development, doctoral dissertation, Kiev, Ukraine, in 1987) while Dr. Mahmoud Samizay identified 3 zones based on a computer modelling algorithm of the population, urban centers and distance between the two population centers (Art of Town Planning in Afghanistan, Research-publication, USA, 2001).
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Fig 6: W. Basharyar, Ph.D, Afghanistan Regional Zoning, 3 Regions, 1974.
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors I. 2. Design of Regional Development Plans (DRDP) Functional Review This research has attempted to formulate a classification of Afghan cities. Other research works and reports have been conducted but not coordinated and consistent in this field.
I.2.2. Administrative Steps for Preparation of Regional Development Plans The following diagram displays the administrative steps for developing and submitting regional development plans.
Fig 7: Afghanistan Settlement Distribution, Computer Model Algorithm, M.Samizay, Ph.D, 2001.
Fig 8: Afghanistan Settlement Zoning, M. Samizay, Doctoral Thesis, 1999.
Fig 9: Diagram of Administrative Steps for Preparation of Regional Plans, 2018.
Administrative Steps: 1. The Directorate conducts a pre-planning needs assessment to select a province within the eight Afghanistan Regional Divisions for data collection and regional studies. This type of selection for a specific province may require MUDH leadership consultation. It looks like there is no coordination as both MUDH and the directorate have specific agenda and work plan. 2. The project will be assigned to the Survey and Study Department for the necessary data collection. Data are collected from various sources including central and local government agencies, online and published reports by donors and feasibility studies. 3. Data are compiled and the final product produced in the form of a comprehensive report that include maps, graphics and text. The report is submitted to the office of the minister for his signature. 4. MUDH sends the regional plan to the HCUD (High Commission for Urban Development) for review and approval. After approval, the report is sent back to MUDH. 5. If the regional plan has a large scale map or plan, then it is saved in the MUDH archive of drawings. When applicable, the text part of the project (volume 1 or 2) is saved at the Directorateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s archive in either hardcopy or digital form. 6. A copy of the regional development plan documentations as a report is sent to MUDH Provincial Directorate and Governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office. In most cases, further communication and follow up between local authorities and MUDH regarding the implementation of the proposal is nonexistent.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review I. 2. Design of Regional Development Plans (DRDP) Functional Review
1.2.3. Functional Review of MUDH Regional Plans Functional Review As an example of directorates’ urban planning functional review, the Regional Development Plan of Maidan-Wardak Province is reviewed through this report. The project documentation has been provided by the head of DRDP Directorate as sample of a regional development plan to the consultant team. Project Title: Regional Development Plan of Maidan-Wardak Province Directorate: Design of Regional Development Plan Directorate Language: Dari Document total pages: 376 Date: September, 2017. The introduction of the report includes general definitions of regional planning, and why Afghanistan is in need for such plans. The study consists of seven informative parts: Part 1: Characteristics of the Natural and Living Environment of Maidan-Wardak Province– 40 pages Part 2: Living Environment and Natural Threats -33 pages Part 3: Population and its Characteristics in Maidan-Wardak Province – 20 pages Part 4: Assessment of the Conditions of Existing Services – 50 pages Part 5: Economic Characteristics of Maidawn-Wardak Province – 90 pages Part 6: Assessment of the Infrastructure Conditions in Maidan-Wardak – 60 page Part 7: Land Search for Possible Distribution of Services According to The Settlement Classification- 30 page There is no logical reasoning or explanation as to why a province is being considered a region. This is important to acknowledge because a strategic plan also identifies the boundaries of a province. Although the document talks about Afghanistan’s eight development regions (Regional Divisions Map), there is no clear outlining definition of region and its boundaries. It is difficult to distinguish the purpose of regional with provincial plans. Parts one through four include general information collected from different sources. Maps are collected from the Cadastral and Geodesy Directorate, AIMS. Most of the data are referenced from Afghanistan Central Statistics Directorate. In part four, some data were compared with the current situation of each category of services to neighboring Kabul province. It also has a summary of studies, challenges and recommendations at the end of each existing category of services. Most of the recommendations are based on highlighted challenges facing construction of different types of services in each provincial district (wolouswali). Part six covers the study of existing infrastructures including roads, water supply networks, government buildings, schools and educational buildings in each provincial district. An extensive list of various types of infrastructure is recommended to aid in construction and rehabilitation, and to be implemented by the ministry of Rehabilitation and Rural Development (MRRD) and Ministry of Public Affairs. It is unclear how the feasibility study team determined the numbers and locations of each project such as the construction of water pipes, schools, mosques, segments of a roads, bridges, and etc. There are no cost estimates or sources of funding. Risk-analysis of the project implementation has yet to be studied. On page 30 there is an aerial photo provided by google maps that displays a mountainous area in the Daymirdad district as a proposed site for construction of the Daymirdad airport. The map does not provide any further clarification or reasoning to conclude why this proposed district is a good fit for the airport site.
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Fig 10: Daymirdad, Maidan-Wardak, Airport Site, DRDPD, MUDH.
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors I. 2. Design of Regional Development Plans (DRDP) Functional Review Part seven includes a number of topographic maps and base maps taken from the Afghanistan Cadastral and Geodesy Directorate that show possible appropriate land for future urban development at the provincial level and separately in each district. On a topographic map of Maidan-wardak, land for future development along the river is displayed which seems to be a very insignificant percentage (17%) of the total land available in the province. The map is titled: Location of Land Use Compared to Topography (page 345). The legend for other types of topography is unclear. Further pages identified the existing land by districts and the maps are not based on aerial or satellite images and are very difficult to understand. The maps have no description of the locations and the characteristics of the available land for future growth.
Fig 11: Maidan Shahr, Provincial Capital Land Use Analysis, DRDPD, MUDH, 2018.
Fig 12: Land Use Location According to Topographic Map, page 345. DRDPD, MUDH.
Kapisa Provincial Regional Plan The Kapisa Province Regional Plan project documentations were reviewed also. The same summary comments applied for urban planning functional review of both projects.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review I. 2. Design of Regional Development Plans (DRDP) Functional Review
Fig 13: Kapisa Province Map of Spatial Planning, MUDH, 2017.
I.2.4. Summary and Conclusions 1. Scope of Work for the Regional Development Plan: The review and investigation of design of regional development plans has not revealed the precise definition for the terminology of “region,” “regional plan,” and the “boundary of a region”. It seems that the Directorate’s target region is the geographic boundary of a province while the Afghanistan Regional Development Divisions Map includes several provinces in one “region” or “zone.” SDP also targets provinces for development of a strategic plans. 2. As the MUDH and the Town Planning Directorate (TPD) particularly have no priority agenda for developing regional and strategic plans, it seems that the DRDP directorate randomly selects a province for data collection without having prioritization. 3. The large amount of information on socioeconomic, climate, environment and infrastructure may not be relevant to the actual goal of searching and investigating possible land options for future urban development. The data gathered may be better utilized for the use of local authorities such as provincial government, local municipalities, MUDH Provincial Directorates and other government agencies in the province rather than for preparation of a comprehensive Regional Development Plan. 4. It seems like the regional or provincial socioeconomic studies are not conducted systematically but rather in fragmented manners. It is unknown how the directorate has classified the scale of regional socioeconomic studies as small, medium or large scales. 5. The data are saved as a hardcopy rather than in a GIS database that can be updated for further development of strategic and master plans. It is crucial to build a GIS database for different land use analysis. The functionality of MUDH DRDP Directorate overlaps with ToR of Strategic Development Plans (SDP) project that already prepared more than 130 strategic plans. 6. The definitions and contents of strategic and regional development plans are not clear in the Town Planning Law. Therefore, it created a confusion in scope of work and
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors I. 2. Design of Regional Development Plans (DRDP) Functional Review Overlapping of activities. How to determine the boundary of a region in Afghanistan would be questioned? 7. Classification of Afghan cities have not been updated based on population and potential economic development of each region. There is a need to address such a task by MUDH. 8. MUDH should address and raise serious questions such as if there is a need for development of an Afghanistan Regional Divisions Map or not. Next, the title and ToR of current “Design of Regional Development Plans” directorate should be kept or merged with another organizational structure. Regional plan is not about “Design” rather it is about planning , policies and visions.
I.2.5. Findings 1. The targeted region for data collection and regional studies is not selected based on priority agenda of the MUDH or need assessment by provincial authorities. This is due to the lack of planned task orders and long-term work plans at the MUDH high level in general. As a result, most of regional plans have never found practical use and implementation. 2. The concept of regional planning and regional development plans are not properly defined. 3. The large amount of collected regional data did not integrate with the outputs of recommended maps for possible land development at provincial and its districts levels. 4. There are no specific recommendations for land use based on field surveys or relevant collected data. 5. Final outputs of the studies look like general maps rather than organized regional vision, policies and strategy of regional development issues. 6. Using of latest GIS technology and available satellite imagery with geographic coordinates provided by UDSP to MUDH’s technical directorates and departments are not incorporated in producing of quality standard maps and plans. 7. Satellite imagery photos have not been utilized in the development of maps. 8. There are no guidelines or recommendations for provincial authorities on how to best utilize the maps and data in the documents. 9. The clear definition of regional planning terminology and classification of regions are not formulated. 10. The directorate face challenges to fulfill its terms of references completely and successfully due to the shortage of qualified urban planners, environmental, socioeconomic, demographic and ethnographic experts, and GIS analysts.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review I.3. Town Planning Directorate Projects Functional Review Town Planning Directorate (TPD) is an important directorate at MUDH’s internal organization as it carries out almost 90% of country’s urban planning and land development projects. The directorate has no established plan to calculate annual activities such as the volume of planned projects, their resources, budgets and resource allocations. The lack of long-term and short-term work plans is also a grave deficiency at the MUDH leadership scale. The directorate receives a significant percent of task orders from the government or directly by the order of the president as emergency workload for preparation and development of cities’ master and detailed plans or the review of such plans. As a result, the quality and outputs of projects are unsatisfactory and below standards due to short notices and quick deadlines for completion. Certainly, the cost of the emergency projects is higher versus the projects prepared on schedule. Either the government directly or the TPD can outsource these types of task orders to make sure the desired outputs are reached with lower costs. The key activity of the TPD is developing of cities’ master plans and detailed plans. The TPD also is responsible for developing guidelines and regulations for master, detailed plans.
I.3.1. MUDH Master Planning The preparation and implementation of Afghan cities’ master plans is the main responsibility of MUDH, specifically the Town Planning Directorate (TPD) and the Department of Master Plans particularly. In late 1960s and early 1970s the first master plans of Kabul and subsequently Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif and Jelalabad were developed by what was then the Ministry of Public Affairs, Central Institute of Projects (PAMA). Kabul City’s last master plan was developed by a team of Afghans and foreign specialists in 1978 for a population of 500,000 people. According to the master plans, growth of cities did not take place based on estimated time period due to different socioeconomic and geopolitical factors. Subsequently, areas that were not anticipated to grow are doing so at a fast pace within the urban boundaries are serve as a dangerous threat the future of cities and the implementation of master plans. However, since then a lot of discussions and concerns have been raised by different stakeholders wondering if Afghan cities have an actual need for comprehensive master plans. If so, how it can be successfully implemented while avoiding chaos and unplanned development of cities. Such questions should be addressed by MUDH leadership and other urban planning stakeholders. The development of regional and strategic plans is panning out without significant positive results. Today, most of Afghan cities have master plans or an updated version of older master plans. Part of the challenge is the actual implementation of the master plans and detailed plans. At the end of this chapter the reasons for failure of cities master plans and detailed plans in the conditions of Afghanistan are summarized. I.3.2. Administrative Steps for Preparation of Master Plans MUDH practices the following steps in preparation of cities’ master plans. However; not all steps are followed as required.
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors I.3. Town Planning Directorate Projects Functional Review
Fig 14. Diagram of Administrative Steps for Preparation of Master Plans at MUDH, 2018.
Administrative Steps: 1. A need assessment is expected to be conducted by local municipalities and the request for developing a city master plan shall be submitted to provincial government through IDLG-DMM (Deputy Minister Municipalities). 2. MUDH sends the request to the Deputy for Urban Affairs for further processing. In some cases, the president puts a special order directly to MUDH to prepare the master or emergency plan for a specific city. 3. The deputy for UA sends the request to the town planning directorate to initiate work towards the preparation of the master plan. 4. The master plan department mobilizes a team to start the pre-planning stages . 5. The design team works on the master plan. 6. The final product goes to the office of the minister for his signature. 7. The plan goes to the office of the president for final approval and ratification. 8. The document is sent back to MUDH and archived for filling. 9. A copy of the final master plan with documentations will be sent to IDLG-DMM for implementation. I.3.3. Functional Review of Master Plan department and Master Planning Activities The Department of Master Planning is responsible for master planning activities under the Town Planning Directorate. Currently, only 10 people with architectural and civil engineering background make up the technical personnel. Obviously, such a small team is disproportioned compare to the sheer volume of master planning activities. International master planning practices show that a large team of professionals with diverse expertise such as architecture, urban design planner, engineers, economist, environmental in different groups work on a master plan.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review I.3. Town Planning Directorate Projects Functional Review Shortage of qualified urban planners, resources and availability of technology tools such as GIS are serious challenges the department faces today. Master plan department practices these three stages for the design of master plans:
Fig 15: 3 Stages of Master Plans Development Practices at MUDH, 2018.
1) Studies and Information a. data collection and b. analysis of information (50 % total project) 2) SWOT Analysis or Scenario (15% of total project) 3) Design of Proposed Master Plan (35% of total project) Design alternatives or options are not developed in most design studies. The design decision is essentially based on the analysis of an aerial Google map rather than developing and proposing a few options for future development of city. The overlap of an AutoCAD file on aerial Google map does not give desirable results. The following deficiencies and gaps may arise in such methodology and approach: 1. Updated googol maps are not available because MUDH has no access to the Google map commercial site to get updated aerial photos of Afghanistan. 2. The output of the plan is a map without geographic coordinates because the classic way of site surveying is impossible to conduct due to security and budgetary reasons. 3. The lack of geographic coordinates makes it difficult to identify the exact locations of the sites and benchmarks on the ground which may cause additional challenges during the site development. 4. The map scale will not be precise. In particular, the graphic scale would be different when plotting or publishing the map on a paper format.
I.3.4. International accepted criteria and benchmarks for development of Master Plans In most international sources the concept and meaning of a master plan document is defined as: A master plan is a dynamic long-term at least for 10 to 15 years planning document that provides a conceptual layout to guide future urban growth and development of a city or a specific urban area. Master planning is about making the connection between buildings, social settings, and their surrounding environments. A typical master plan document should include at least the following pieces:
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors I.3. Town Planning Directorate Projects Functional Review 1. SWOT Analysis (socioeconomic, demographic, environment and geography, government policies and procedures) 2. Recommendations, and 3. Proposals for a siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population, economy, housing, transportation, community facilities, and land use. In general, the master plan proposal is based on public input, surveys, planning initiatives, existing development, physical characteristics, and social and economic conditions. However; the vision and concept for master plan terminology has been changed a lot relevant to a specific city. Criteria for Development of master planning for Afghan cities to be considered as following: 1- Unplanned area (organic settlement) This is important as 60 to 70% of urban population in Afghan cities live in informal area 2- Sustainable development: The master plan document must consider the sustainability criteria for urban development. In this context environmental analysis is crucial in master planning. 3- Involvement of local communities and diverse group of population in development and implementation process of master plans. 4 - Decentralization system. Experiences of other cities (affinity among cities) are approaching in decentralization system. Our review of master planning activities of Town Planning directorate would be based on the above mentioned criteria accepted in most of other countries.
I.3.5. Functional Review of citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; master plans preparation (example) As an example, a newly completed master plan of Pol-e Alam, the provincial capital of Logar, provided by the Town Planning directorate to LZ team to be reviewed. Project Title: Pol-e Alam City Master Plan Design: MUDH Master Plan Department Report Total Volume: 460 pages Language: Dari Part I: Pre-planning studies This part of the master plan document covers some helpful and relevant information on historic, physical, climate, economy, ethnography and demography of city at the national, regional and provincial levels. It would be beneficial for the design process to have a summary paragraph to illustrate the current status of the city in terms of classification in the long-run to become a historic, industrial, commercial or agricultural city (classification of city). The classification of Afghan cities must be on the priority agenda of MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban planning activities.
Fig 16: Pole-Alam City , Logar Province, Regional Analysis, MUDH, 2018.
Part II. Recognition of Pol-e Alam City Part II of the document covers the geography and socioeconomic conditions of the city including the demography and ethnography of the population. Some useful analyses of informal and planned areas are included in this part of the report.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review I.3. Town Planning Directorate Projects Functional Review On page 131, there is a diagram titled “Planned and Unplanned Development of City” in five different time periods. This diagram does not follow the four stages of the city’s growth chronological framework in the next chapter. On page 141 is the plan of the city’s existing land use but the legends are difficult to distinguish the various types of existing land use. The diagram should be clearly titled “Existing Land Use Plan” to avoid confusion with the city’s growth stages. A summary table with the size and percentage of land use would be beneficial to understanding the trends of land use in Pol-e Alam. In the existing city transportation system, the classification of road networks should be matched with approved standard types of roads and streets proposed in official documents such as master planning and detailed plans guidelines as well as the classification of streets shall match with other design documentations of regional, strategic and detailed plans prepared by other directorates and departments, and government agencies. The diagram of transportation network should clearly identify the direction of highways and the legends should match the diagram itself. The classification of the road network follows US standard types of road categories which are different than common types of roads in MUDH and other technical design agencies such as Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex, CRIDA and Kabul Municipality recommend. The US standards of roads network is different in both measurements and functionality than other standards. A context map of existing boundaries of the city is missing. A context map helps the design team consider the cultural, historical, commercial and natural architectural accents of the city when developing master plan. At the end of this section a summary page with table may necessary to enrich the content of the chapter.
Fig 17: Pole-Alam City , Logar Province, 3D Land Use Analylysis, MUDH, 2018.
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors I.3. Town Planning Directorate Projects Functional Review Part III: Analysis A detailed socioeconomic analysis of the Afghan governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s national policies is conducted in this chapter. This is a positive trend in developing of new master plans. A significant amount of materials is dedicated to concepts and definitions of social and economic criteria for developing master plans. This extra information may not be easy to understand for all readers and stakeholders, particularly for the local government authorities where there is a shortage of qualified personnel. Some analyses and titles repeat at the end of part III such as the current condition of transportation system. The topics are not consistent.
Fig 18: Pole-Alam City , Logar Province, Land Use Propopsal, MUDH, 2018.
Part IV: Recommendations The diagram on page 371 is difficult to read and analyze. The legends are missing. It shows the city as divided into regular residential neighborhoods with a different population density. However; the description is missing in the text portion of section. Different pieces of the master plan zones are illustrated separately without scales or legends. They are more graphic illustration than actual scaled maps.
I.3.6. Summary and conclusions
Fig 19: Pole-Alam City , Logar Province, Streets Models, MUDH, 2018.
There is fragmented information throughout this master plan document. In some chapters, the information is overloaded and may be irrelevant to the style of master planning practices in Afghanistan in the past. The overall approach for developing master plans has well been formulated and done at a professional level. The illustration and approaches are different than the design of old master plans. This document requires a higher level of understanding to comprehend and it may be difficult for some stakeholders due to the shortage of qualified personnel. Some traditional steps for master planning common in design of urban planning projects in the country such as cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s existing and proposed zoning, and land use plans are not illustrated clearly and make difficult to understand them for local provincial and municipal authorities. By comparing this document with SDP strategic plans, the approach and design concepts are very similar. It is difficult to distinguish the differences between master plan and strategic plan. MUDH shall address the classification of different types of urban development plans such as comprehensive plan, master plan and strategic plan in terms of scope of work, boundary of study and design concept.
Fig 20: Pole-Alam City , Logar Province, Implementation Phases, MUDH, 2018.
The technical guidelines which are crucial for successful implementation of the master plans have not been summarized at the end of the document. Master plan implementation phases need more careful work plans and approaches. An estimated cost of each phase may help federal and local government better plan and invest urban projects for the city. Building the site of Pol-e Alam University may not be a good start for the first phase of master plan implementation as the site surrounded by informal housing; and lands that may not be available. Phase two of the master plan implementation is the development of a new administrative and commercial center within the rapidly growing unplanned areas towards north of the city. It will be a challenge for local authorities to move the new city center to informal housing and areas. The approach and methodology for preparation this master plan is a good model for design and development of other new master plans with similar limited capacities and resources. The master plan looks like a standard document that describes common strategies and procedures in a general context, although in a positive way, but may be, not specific to the socioeconomic and cultural conditions of Afghanistan.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review I.3. Town Planning Directorate Projects Functional Review The master plan document is lacking some of the important facts and directives as it relates to the specific conditions of Afghan cities: A. The present document does not emphasize the critical impact of the unplanned developments in the cities where 70 -80% of the Afghan cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population resides. It is vital to include specific directives and strategies conducive to the context of these settlements. B. Historical cities and important heritage areas in the cities are another important Afghan cultural heritage, so that the master plan should have clear directives for realistic revitalization and rehabilitation process of these areas. C. Ecology and sustainability are another areas of importance. The master plan should have a clear directive and propose defined strategies towards sustainable development of cities and preservation of regional ecology.
Findings 1. A conceptual approach towards developing master plans is logical and on par with international standards. 2. The present document is lacking some of the important facts and directives as it relates to the specific conditions of Afghan cities. 3. Different pieces of master plan concepts and graphics are difficult for local municipalities to understand due to the lack of qualified capacity at the local governance. 4. In some diagrams and graphics, the legends and scales are missing or unclear which makes them difficult to follow. 5. Existing city boundaries and context maps are not clearly illustrated in various diagrams. 6. Existing and proposed zoning and land usage plans do not clearly follow the future expansion of the city. 7. The implementation of different phases of the master plan needs more field and site surveying to ensure the possibilities of cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future development are moving in the right direction. 8. Solutions for improving fast growing informal areas are not discussed in detail. 9. Moving city center within unplanned and informal housing areas would be seriously challenging for local authorities to implement. 10. Technical guidelines and priority tasks for implementation of the master plan have not been outlined at the end of document.
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors I.4. Strategic Development Plans (SDP) Functional Review Ratification of cities’ master plans is the authority of the Afghanistan president and HCUD while the approval of strategic plans is the authority of MUDH’s Minister. SDP is one of 10 key development projects of MUDH. The type of activities carried out by SDP is very similar to the DRDP Directorate. The SDP project team develops, review and updates the strategic plans for Afghan cities and regions. In most cases, the strategic plans are not requested by local authorities based on a need assessment but contrarily by the primary assessment and decision of SDP project management team. The concept of developing strategic plans appeared to be in response to cities’ land development emergency needs in the absence of master plans in early 2005. It was a political decision during that time when most of Afghan cities did not have master plans for development. Therefore, the leadership of MUDH decided to develop emergency strategic plans instead of master plans due to the lack of capacity and resources also. According to SDP leadership, 136 strategic plans for Afghan cities have been developed since 2005. Today, the concept of a Strategic Development Plan is integrated with the City Development Strategy (CDS). This title is seen also in SDP’s design documentations. The question left up for debate is if Afghan cities still need strategic plans or not as most cities have master plans of development. MUDH should investigate how many strategic plans have been implemented or even reviewed by provincial and municipal authorities. Unfortunately, most of the strategic plans have been developed to report SDP project’s activities and kept at MUDH archives without getting practical implementation. MUDH should work on formulization of the regional and strategic plan terminologies and concepts. It seems the concepts and scope of works for regional, master and strategic plans are unclear. Now, most of the regional and strategic plans include feasibility studies (FS) report. The FS report is a large document made up of 300 to 400 pages of various informative data and graphics. Data are mostly collected from different sources such as the local government directorates, central statistic agencies and international publications on Afghanistan’s geography and history. Some surveys are conducted partially but are not connected closely with the final outputs of the strategic plans.
I.4.1. Administrative Steps for Preparation of Strategic Plans Projects
Fig 21: Administrative Steps for Preparation of Strategic Plans, MUDH, 2018.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review I.4. Strategic Development Plans (SDP) Functional Review Administrative Steps: 1. As the MUDH has no long-term work plan for developing strategic plans, the project management team selects a region or a city according to its fiscal year’s schedule of developing strategic or master plans. The SDP team conducts a pre-planning need assessment before starting the project and consult with provincial authorities. 2. The project is assigned to the survey team for data collection and field observation. 3. Field data and gathered statistics are compiled in different formats such as tables, graphics and maps. 4. The strategic plan report with a large format drawing is submitted to the office of the minister for his approval and signature. Strategic plans are not required to get approval by HCUD. After the MUDH minister signs, the plan is saved in MUDH Archive. 5. A copy of the plan with a report is sent to the provincial government for implementation.
I.4.2. International accepted criteria and benchmarks for preparation of strategic, detailed plans and site development (townships) The following are the most commons requirements and issues to be considered in preparation of development and strategic plans in most international and standards practices. The process of making strategic and development plans must be open, transparent and, most crucially, inclusive. All interested individuals, local communities and organizations, at local, regional and national levels, must be given adequate opportunity to comment before the policies, objectives and measures to be included in the plan are decided. A plan must be: 1. Internally consistent and meet the requirements of planning legislation (legal and regulatory framework). 2. Comprehensively and coherently address the relevant planning issues in order to promote the proper planning and sustainable development of the area. 3. Be easy to read and should follow a natural and logical progression from strategic issues to more detailed matters such as development objectives and requirements, which provide the basis for development management decision making. 4. Be laid out clearly with the use of color, illustrations and maps to enhance understanding and interpretation. Acronyms should be explained and where appropriate, terms used should be clearly defined. Components of a strategic plans:
1. Strategic Context
Current Trends and Issues, • National and regional spatial context • Key demographic and socioeconomic trends • Physical development trends Development Plan Strategy • Core aims • Settlement and transport strategy • Development opportunities pursued in the plan • Sustainability – the Plan and Effects on the Environment
2. Policies and objectives to implement the Strategy General Location and Pattern of Development • Land use zoning objectives
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors I.4. Strategic Development Plans (SDP) Functional Review • Other overarching objectives regarding location of development e.g. Housing • Summary of Housing Strategy • Urban and rural settlement objectives Economic Development • Objectives to support the enterprise and private sector • Summary of Retail Strategy • Tourism and Recreation Environment, Cultural, Heritage and Amenities • Environmental and amenity objectives • Cultural and sporting facilities objectives • Open space strategy and objectives • Natural and cultural heritage including built heritage Infrastructure • Transport objectives including public transport. • Promotion of sustainable patterns of development. • Promotion of walking and cycling • Water Supply and Waste Water Services, Waste Management, Telecommunications and Energy Requirements for New Development (types of Afghan townships-shahrak) • References to and summaries of key aspects of supporting documentation in relation to standard requirements for parking, residential development (e.g. house design guidance), apartments, advertising signage, sightlines on roads etc. 3. Supporting Information Supporting information in relation to population and economic growth projections, traffic forecasts, future drivers of change, summaries of other key plans, guidelines and strategies that have influenced the generation of the plan, key issues etc. Supporting information could be incorporated in Appendices to the plan, as appropriate.
I.4.3. Functional Review of Strategic Plans As an example, the revised version of the strategic plan for Charikar is reviewed in this chapter. The project was provided by SDP to LZ team for review. Project Title: Revised development of Strategic Plan of Parwan province (City of Charikar) in the Context of CDS (City Development Strategy) Head of Design: Elaha Ghafoori, MSc in urban planning Date: Spring 2018
Brainstorming Session with Senior Advisers on Strategic Plans, MUDH, 2018.
a) Review of Feasibility Study Report The first chapter of the report is dedicated to the concept of City Development Strategy (CDS), definitions and terminology for better understanding of CDS, urban planning concepts, and general guidelines as to why cities are in need for strategic plans. This chapter also covers the international experiences within CDS. The project references countries that have minimal commonalities when it comes to characteristics of culture or socioeconomic conditions of Afghanistan. The development and characteristics of cities in Australia, South Africa, China and Eastern Europe, Poland and Bulgaria, are discussed in details in the report randomly without relevant comparison with Afghan cities and regions.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review I.4. Strategic Development Plans (SDP) Functional Review Most of definition and arguments in chapter one are referenced from Iranian publications and authors relevant to CDS topics dated 1380/2000 to 1390/2010. The document is written in relatively hard Farsi which makes it difficult to read for MUDH’s technical personnel as well as newly graduated architects and engineers. This chapter composed of 85 pages. It looks like a standalone portion of the project as it provides extra conceptual information for reader. Most of the approaches and ideas come from foreign references and are translated into a Farsi/Iranian version. This part of the document could serve as more useful guidelines for understanding the CDS and preparation of strategic plans if it would be a separate document focused more on Afghanistan urban planning experiences and history rather than referencing cities that have no common traits with history-culture, environment and technology/economic characteristics Afghanistan.
Fig 22: Existing Charikar City Plan, SDP MUDH, 2018.
Chapter 2 covers Studies of Current Situations relevant to the Parwan Province and particularly the city of Charikar. Studies include historical, geographical and environmental assessments of the province’s economy, transportation system and network, and the physical characteristics of the city. Environment studies and analysis are not strong enough and relevant to urban environmental and sustainability concepts. Questionnaires, interviews and meetings with provincial authorities were conducted through the process of data collection and assessment. It looks like precise field surveys using GIS technology tools have not been conducted. Instead, the survey team’s field observations are reflected in a study of environment and land use of province in general and the city of Charikar in particular. Instead of using rectified satellite imagery, the city’s land use analysis is based on the existing city’s master plan overlapped on a google map photo of the city. Certainly, such approach may not give desirable map output. Afghanistan satellite images were provided by UDSP to MUDH’s technical department as needed for the use of urban planners. Determining geographic coordinates using GIS tools is crucial for land use analysis as it is very effective in developing precise plans with accuracy. MUDH can obtain GIS layers from AIMS or cadastral and geodesy directorate to produce more precise maps and plans. Analysis of existing transportation networks including length and width of different types of roads are covered on page 240. Some numbers may not be very accurate since the field survey has not been conducted in full. For example, the length of 30 m wide roads is calculated 21 Km in the city of Charikar. A SWOT analysis was performed and some useful recommendations to improve the current situation are considered at the end of each topic. Chapter 3 includes the development of a strategic plan which includes pre-planning activities, objectives, and the creation of different types of strategic plans. The land use analysis is very helpful in identifying the possibility of the city’s future development. A comprehensive analysis of questionnaires that filled out by different categories of the population is very useful for decision making and analysis. Farsi and English references are listed at the end of report. The report includes a total of 361 pages.
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors I.4. Strategic Development Plans (SDP) Functional Review b) Quality of drawings and graphics Most of the drawings are based on existing google maps. Therefore, some analysis may not be very precise as the maps have no geographic references or coordinates. Also, a precise field survey with latest GIS technology was not conducted. The outputs of the maps are not standardized and it is hard to distinguish the legends and symbols used in the drawings.
Fig 23: Charikar City Proposed Strategic Plan, SDP MUDH, 2018.
I.4.4. Summary and Conclusions The review of Charikar City strategic plans looks more like a master plan. The design team went into details identifying the types of existing roads, infrastructures and facilities. Significant focus is on the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s existing development system, land use, infrastructure and facilities rather than the future development criteria and assumptions. Solid arguments relevant to the direction of future development of the city are not clearly formulated. To get a comprehensive plan, the final plan should be clearly presented with guidelines for its implementation by local governments and a list of priority tasks must be formulated. The strategic plan is expected to define the status of the city in relation to long-term development in industrial, commercial, cultural and mixed population categories. This sort of classification of the future status of Charikar City has not been studied in this strategic plan.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review I.4. Strategic Development Plans (SDP) Functional Review In Afghanistan, the classification of cities and economic trends of the country is hard to predict which creates challenges for the team of planners, economists and engineers in developing a strategic plan. The current and perspective socioeconomic and political conditions of the government should be considered during the conceptual preparation of any plan. MUDH should identify the differences between strategic and master plan functionality according to national policies. The classification of Afghan cities either by population or by strategic geographic location is a serious task for MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s terms of references to address. When developing a master plan there is also a need for strategic vision, goals and analysis. Reliability and accuracy of data and statistics is a serious issue to be aware of and consider in the process of developing strategic plans. A more comprehensive master plan may replace the functionality of strategic plans to be prepared. Making such decision MUDH should look at it deeply. Findings: 1. Excess of information at the beginning may not be relevant to the process of developing strategic plans for the specific conditions of Afghan cities. 2. According to conceptual analysis and definitions of CDS, the Afghanistan urban planning and cultural issues have been less tackled. 3. Both the process of developing and the contents of strategic plans look like master plans. 4. Shortage of geographic data and field survey using latest GIS and other technology tools. 5. Lack of satellite imagery and geographic coordinates data in analysis. 6. The future status of Charikar City has not been determined in terms of citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; classifications. 7. The percentage of current land use and a clear plan of the future land use of the city is missing. 8. Guidelines on how to implement the strategic plan and its relevant documents by provincial government and other stakeholders is missing. 9. Priority tasks for implementation of strategic plans should be formulated. 10. There is a shortage of professional capacity and resources at SDP. 11. There is a low quality of graphics and standardized mapping production due to the lack of available technologies and tools. 12. Legends and colors are not standard in graphics. 13. Use of unknown Dari language terminologies in the report.
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors I.5. Design of Detailed Plans Functional Review The design and development of citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; detailed plans is the responsibility of MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Detailed Plans Department. Detailed plans are prepared according to the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s existing master plan of development. However, in some emergency cases, a detailed plan is designed at the request of local provincial and municipalities where the city master plan is nonexistent. Past experiences show that a majority of existing detailed plans could not be fully implemented for various reasons such as land availability, building of unplanned new constructions, lack of resources to build the infrastructures and coercion by power brokers. Although some progress has been made towards the design of new detailed plans and townships, the designs are not standard and specific for the socioeconomic, cultural, geographical, environmental and local conditions of Afghan cities. Another benchmark of design sustainability criteria does not consider strictly. The economic/technology benchmark are not considered. The design approaches are traditional and the core of the plans are compact housing blocks of low, mid-rise and high-rise buildings (see the review of two examples of detailed plans). Key challenges in preparation of detailed plans are: 1. The shortage of qualified architects and engineers. 2. Lack of sufficient resources and budget. 3. Shortage of survey and design tools including hardware and software. 4. Absence of training programs and familiarity with international urban planning practices. 5. Low salary, benefits and poor work environments
I.5.1. Administrative Steps for Preparation of Detailed Plans
Fig 24: Diagram of Administrative Steps for Preparation of Detailed Plans, MUDH, 2018.
Administrative Steps: 1. A need assessment is expected to be conducted by local municipalities and the request for developing a detailed plan for a specific site should be submitted to provincial government through IDLG-DMM (Deputy Minister for Municipalities).
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review I.5. Design of Detailed Plans Functional Review 2. MUDH sends the request to Deputy for Urban Affairs (UA). 3. Deputy for UA sends the request to the town planning directorate for further processing. 4. The Town Planning assigns the Detailed Plan Department to start pre-planning stages of the project. 5. The department first checks all necessary documents such as the site sketch, land title and availability of the land to make sure the legality of documents is in coordination with local municipalities 6. The design team works on detailed plans. A pre-planning work including a site survey and SWOT analysis are expected be conducted. 7. The final product goes to the office of the minister for signature. 8. The finance directorate clears the applied charges and fees to be paid by local municipalities. 9. The package is saved at MUDH archive. 10. A representative of local municipalities will pick up the project. Also, if all administrative steps are passed, then the detailed plan will be sent directly to the local municipalities by MUDH.
I.5.2. Functional Review of detailed plans The detailed plans must be according to the cities’ master plans and strategic plans. In some cases, the detailed plan is not integrated with existing master plan, even in contradiction to it. MUDH has developed a technical guideline document for preparation of the detailed plans. This type of technical guideline document is in conflict of interest with other urban development stakeholders as MUDH has prepared the guidelines and implemented them itself. Two documents were created to be used by all stakeholders “Technical Guidelines for Urban Detailed Plans” prepared in 1393/2014 and signed by then Minister of Urban Affairs (MUA) and the latest “Guidelines for Urban Detailed” prepared in 1397/2018. The latter is still under review. Both documents are for internal use and have never received approval by the government to become a law. The technical guidelines for urban detailed plans was prepared in 2014 consists of seven chapters which covers all urban development activities: 1. Technical guidelines for development and the preparation of detailed plans for implementation of urban development plans. 2. Use of legend and special symbols for the land use of urban plans (master and strategic plans). 3. Guidelines for updates and revisions of urban development and detailed plans. 4. Working procedures for control of townships (shahrak). 5. Guidelines for development and design of Afghanistan’s city master plans. 6. Guidelines for preparation and organization of urban master plans reports. 7. Guidelines of working procedures of Urban Affairs Directorate. When the leadership is changes the new management in typically rejects or unwilling the previous adapted documents and restarts the efforts which creates a common issue. The key concern is the guidelines and urban regulations prepared by MUDH are not shared with third parties and other stakeholders for a second opinion or review of the document. Therefore, the short-comings in the guidelines are left intact and makes difficult to be implemented.
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors I.5. Design of Detailed Plans Functional Review The guidelines are not practiced only by the private sector and other urban development stakeholders but also by different MUDH inter-directorates, departments and development projects such as the regional plans directorate, detailed plans department and SDP. The guidelines and urban regulations must convert to laws and get judiciary power from Afghan government and law agencies.
I.5.3. Functional Review of Detailed Plan As an example, the following is the functional review of a detailed plan, the Bagrami Nasaji district in northwest part of Kabul. The document was provided by Department of Detailed Plans to MUDH for review. Two other examples of detailed plans, Bahar Abad in Jelalabad and the Carpet Industry and Residential Township project. Two newly documents master planning technical guidelines and guidelines for detailed plans are under updating at Town Planning directorates. Both documents have not been finalized. Project Title: Detailed Plan of Bagrami Nasaji District Population: 5,000 residents Date: Spring 1395/2016 Report Volume: 43 pages
Fig 25: Bagrami District, Kabul, Detailed Plan, MUDH, 2018.
The first four chapters of the report are dedicated to a current review of history, socioeconomic, housing and infrastructure conditions of Kabul City. The data are collected from a verity of sources. Chapters five and six cover the site analysis and field observations. A SWOT analysis based on Kabul Master Plan developed by JICA (2012). The site is surrounded by informal housing which creates challenges for the government to clear the ownership of the land. The main objective of the plan is to stop further expansion of informal structures and enhance the living environment of the surrounding area. However, solving the informal structures of the location was not clearly formulated by design team. The site design development is based on transport framework defined in the 2012 Kabul Master Plan developed by JAICA. The core concept of design is the strategic location of the site and maximum use of the site for residential blocks. Per the master plan, the site is designated for mid-rise housing blocks of 6-story buildings and mixed-use buildings. The criteria for sustainability and environment has not considered logically. The main park area is planned in the deep northern part Kabul-Jelalabad Highway. Access to the green site will not be feasible for children who live in the south part of the site. The ratios of green and sportive area (41%) and circulation network (36%) compared with housing (12.52%) are not balanced. The green corridor is like a strip and splits the entire site into west and east blocks without proper circulation links for vehicles. As the plan has a rectangular shape, a local street in the middle would be desirable to connect the north and south as well as east and west parts. With the current internal transit solutions, the east blocks donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any access to facilities and markets.
Fig 26: Bahar Abad District, Jelalabad, Detailed Plan, MUDH, 2018.
It is unclear how the SWOT analysis and additional feasibility study results were integrated with the design assumption. It looks like the additional studies of Kabul city at the beginning had no relevance or connection with the design decisions.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review I.5. Design of Detailed Plans Functional Review I.5.4. Risks of Implementation The following points may consider as risks for implementation of this project: 1. The JICA 2012 developed the Kabul Master Plan and it is being replaced with New Kabul Master Plan (2018) developed by Sasaki Company. Therefore, the layout of the Bagrami site would be different than the JICA Kabul Master Plan. 2. The implementation owner is not clear, private sector or government? 3. Solution of land acquisition and land ownership is unclear. 4. The total cost and budget of plan implementation is not estimated to compare with the available resources. 5. There is no implementation plan or guidelines. 6. Implementation phases are not developed. Findings: 1. Sustainability Criteria is not considered in both detailed plans. 2. Plan of Implementation phases is missing. 3. No guidelines for implementation of the project. 4. The construction of the site has costs that have not been estimated. 5. Design alternatives and design analysis are missing. 6. Land use and zoning plans are missing. 7. An internal circulation network is not properly solidified to connect all blocks to each other. 8. Full site surveys have not been conducted due to the shortage of capacity and resources for this project. 9. Site coordinates are missing to fit the plan on the ground. 10. Land acquisition and partnership with private sector has not been clearly studied. Note: MUDH has not developed other types of urban plans identified at Town Planning Law such as emergency, re-arrangement, renovation, reconstruction and guiding plans to be reviewed in this report.
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors I.6. Ten reasons to why the implementation of City Master Plans and Detailed Plans in Afghanistan is problematic (Summary analysis) I.6.1. Economic The planning process is based on sophisticated systems of urban planning standards, and land use policies that are suitable for the industrialized countries with sound economic and technical strengths. The implementation of such plans is beyond the economic, administrative and technical means of Afghanistan. The cost for implementation requires a progressive economy, and in large part hard currency, which will economically restrain the limited resources available for the development in the country. I.6.2. Professional and administrative expertise The considerable scale of the county’s development and reconstruction programs necessitates a greater number of qualifies specialists, design/planning professionals and technical personnel, to effectively shape the urban environment of cities in the country – provided that the economic development goals of the country run hand and hand to provide job market opportunities. It is necessary to develop professional and technical capacity of the country by establishing higher education opportunities across the country, and expand the potential of existing institutions in order to meet the countries specialist needs. Establishing sound training programs at national level for various professionals, vocational and special trade schools and institutions should be taken into consideration. I.6.3. Urban baseline and key data information Lack of accurate diagnostic assessment and analysis of the existing socioeconomic, demographic, and physical characteristics in cities of the country. In order to strengthen city planning, management and service deliveries effectively there is a need for a reliable urban information system. Recognizing the enormous complexities and problems of cities in Afghanistan, planners in order to make sound decisions, require solid and reliable information to implement their planning decisions accurately – also realizing that the urban dynamics are always in the process of change and evolving - therefore the existing data and information should always be updated and tested to reflect current conditions. The use of smart information-tools, satellite mapping and software can be instrumental. I.6.4. Informal settlements It is evident that informal settlements occupy the majority of the urban areas in the cities, with conservative estimation about 70 -80 percent of the urban population that lives in these settlements. Despite that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, laws for urban development and housing, that clearly states the formulation of planning policies for the improvement of housing situation and infrastructure in these areas and bringing these settlements under the jurisdiction of municipal master plans – unfortunately, no effective upgrading policies or planning decisions have been formulated to improve livelihood in these neighborhoods. The deterioration of physical and environmental conditions in the informal areas of the city calls for an urgent upgrading solutions to improve the housing and livelihood of people in these settlements. I.6.5. Public Participation Past planning practices did not recognize the public participation, which is an important tool at the introduction of planning decision-making process. By including representatives and leaders from communities so their voices are heard and their needs and aspirations are given priority in the planning process. It is evident that the purpose of the master plan is the upward mobility and improvement of standards of living of the
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review I.6. Ten reasons to why the implementation of City Master Plans and Detailed Plans in Afghanistan is problematic (Summary analysis) majority of citizens, and a democratic course of decision-making should be taken into account, to gain support and negotiate decisions. I.5.6. Inclusive planning Clear urban development policies, zoning and regulatory laws that governs the implementation of plans, does not benefit broader communities, especially the disenfranchise and poorer segment of population, and its intentions are overshadowed by benefits to the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wealthy, well-connected population and real estate speculators. Inclusive policies to reduce inequality and protect the status of low-income residents and communities should be one of the responsible goals of urban development. I.5.7. Urban land and development policies Urban land is always in demand and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s planning, availability and management is critical for the functionality and environmental stability of the cities. It is evident that the planning practices in the country chose the horizontal expansion and urban development models, by opening up newer subdivisions, which consumes the valuable agricultural land around the cities. The provision of public services, infrastructure and use of environmental resources is also proved to be extremely costly. Accommodating growth within the existing city limits and closely integrating new developments with the existing land-uses, with meaningful clustering of city forms; civic, commercial and residential layouts, will enhanced the social, economic and cultural status of the population. I.5.8. Rural-urban migration The continued pull of population from rural areas to urban centers, due to the periods of long conflict, and more so due to the economic development inequality, created negative impact on the general socioeconomic order of the urban centers in the country. The capacity of the urban areas to absorb economically and physically with the influx of migrants created extreme stress and a tremendous challenge for the planers and policy makers in the cities. The inevitable result is that large segments of population in the cities attempt to help themselves by building their own shelters in the already informal slum and unregulated settlements. I.5.9. Sustainable development An integrated ecological approach is needed, which plays critical role for a sustainable course of development in rebuilding cities and human settlements in Afghanistan where years of conflict inflicted heavy toll on the natural and ecological regions of cities in the country. Planning and design of cities must recognize the critical ecological and environmental resources such as: water, the green infrastructure, renewable energy sources, land, and biodiversity, that are severely downgraded during the prolong war. These sustainable indicators are essential in modeling techniques to program, measure and achieve Sustainability as well as monitor regenerative process of the human settlements. I.5.10. Coercion by power brokers and Security Land grabbing and Coercions by power brokers and local influential people, corruption and security are the last group of problems for balanced growth of cities and implementation of their urban plans. The level and degree of negative impact of the above elements are equal. In most cases in cities and remote areas urban plans provided by MUDH cannot be implemented due to lack of available land. The government should establish the rule of law, at least to salvage government lands for housing and new urban development plans. This can be achieved with partnership of local communitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; participation in urban land development accountability of urban planning organs.
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Part I: MUDH Urban Planning Key Actors I.7. MUDH Housing Affairs Deputyship Housing Projects Functional Review
I.7.1. General Issues with Housing
Fig 27: Housing Blocks Designed and Constructed by in Different Residential District of Kabul, MUDH, 2018.
The Town Planning Law adapted in September 2017 defined some of the MUDH’s responsibilities in a provision of affordable housing and development of policies. Among key responsibilities are: 1. Design and preparation of national housing policies and programs and the monitoring of their implementation. 2. Provision of standards and affordable housing with the consideration of needs of the citizens. 3. Development and implementation of housing provision plans and management of housing construction projects funded by the government and monitoring their implementation. 4. Design and development of cities, townships and new residential complexes with more than 100 apartments in coordination with local municipalities. 5. Establishment and development of construction enterprises (tasadi) and provisions of housing. 6. Monitoring of private sectors’ activities in construction of cities, townships and construction complexes. 7. Creation of a housing trust fund (credible bank) in agreement with the ministry of finance and with other relevant agencies based on relevant legislative documents. 8. Joint venture with private (national and foreign) sectors in the field of city development and provision of housing. The direct responsibilities laid on MUDH’s Housing Affairs deputyship that created no more than 3 years ago. Series of meetings and discussion with leadership of Housing Affairs directorates show that the housing deputyship has not been able to perform fully its ToR defined by the Town Planning Law. One of the crucial responsibilities of MUDH’s deputy for Housing Affairs is the preparation of a housing law to cover all issues related to housing in the country. MUDH’s monitoring and evaluation directorate has not been able to establish a workable mechanism for monitoring of housing projects implemented by MUDH and private sector. Housing policies were prepared partially to be implemented. The National Housing Program (NHP) which is one of the 4 key MUDH’s large programs intends to formulate the housing policy and strategies for implementation of housing projects in the country. Housing projects such as 4th Microrayon, Khowdja Rawash, Khoshal Khan Mina (housing blocks in front of Kabul Polytechnics university) and Benaee were implemented by MUDH with very poor socioeconomic evaluation and need assessment for housing. These are the housing projects with low quality of design and construction. The distribution of apartments was not fully transparent to eligible applicants. Another aspect of MUDH’s responsibilities is to conduct feasibility studies to find out the possibilities of land development for housing and construction of new townships. Unfortunately, due to lack of capacity and resources MUDH has not been able to perform satisfactory its ToR relevant to housing provision to needy people. Corruption and transparency in implementation of housing projects is another factor for not achieving goals to provide affordable and low quality of housing to all layers of population. Both Kabul Municipalities and MUDH are involved in implementation of housing projects. Practically not only there is no efficient coordination between the two agencies but there is interference and meddling on each other’s responsibilities. This issue discusses at the Summary portion of this deliverable.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review I.7. MUDH Housing Affairs Deputyship Housing Projects Functional Review
I.7.2. MUDH Housing Terms of References Performances According to TP Law The following table shows the MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s housing ToR performance according to Town Planning Law ratified on September 2017.
Results of capacity assessment and meetings with different directorates show that MUDH Housing Affairs deputyship has not been able to perform a significant percent of its ToR defined by the Town Planning Law.
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Part II: MUDH Programs Urban Planning Functional Review بخش دوم :برنامه های وزارت شهرسازی و مسکن ارزیابی کاربردی پالن گذاری شهری
Part II: MUDH Programs Urban Planning Functional Review II. MUDH Programs MUDH Programs are: 1. Afghanistan Stabilization Program (ASP) 2. Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex and Provinces Program 3. National Housing Program (NHP) 4. Public and Government Buildings Construction Program (PGBCP) Each program in some degree either directly or indirectly is involved in urban development projects.
II.1. Afghanistan Stabilization Program (ASP) Functional Review Afghanistan Stabilization Program (ASP) was established by a Presidential Decree in 2004. Per decree of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan President, ASP was transferred to Ministry of Urban Development and Housing in 2015 (1394). The program primary focuses on construction of infrastructures for the provincial and districts institutions, built capacities of government institutions for effective public service delivery and initiate small scale projects in response to the very immediate needs of the country. The Program has three parts: 1. Infrastructure of provincial administrative buildings 2. Personnel training and capacity building 3. Public welfare programs such as construction of small bridges and culverts, drainages and water supply systems in provincial districts. Currently, the program is involved in variety of urban development projects including preparation of site detailed plans, design and construction of administrative buildings and infrastructure in provincial districts and urban areas. The program has a full architectural and engineering services capacity. The Program mainly reports to MUDH’s Planning directorate and the Ministry of Economy (MoE). One of its largest projects is the new Kabul Province administrative HQ at 180 jreeb land in Kabul funded by the Government of India and part by MUDH’s development budget. As a result of brainstorming sessions and discussions with key technical personnel of ASP the following findings are identified.
Findings:
1. Poor coordination with MUDH in planning, design and development of projects 2. No third party involvement in reviewing and approval of projects 3. The Program’s M/E directorate conduct the monitoring of construction projects 4. Report of projects’ implementation to Independent Directorate for Parliamentary Affairs Ministry, Ministry of Economy and IDLG-DMM take place through MUDH’s planning directorate. 5. Overlap of activities with MUDH’s Construction Affairs and Urban Affairs terms of reference.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review II. MUDH Nationwide Programs II. 2. Dar-ul Aman and Provinces Administrative Complexes Program In 2005, in order to ease the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s traffic congestion and security, the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing initiated the idea of moving most of the existing Afghan government ministries and authorities away from downtown Kabul. To implement such a grandiose project, a special decree of the President Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex Program was created within Ministry of Urban Development and Housing organization in 2016. Dar-ul Aman Admin Complex became the fourth largest MUDH program in addition of ASP, NHP and PGBCP. However, the implementation of such a large planning project requires enormous resources and investments. The only available land to accommodate government ministries is located in the south part of Kabul city, Dar-ul Aman district. Initial estimates show that to move 18 ministries and government agencies such as banks and independent authorities need 100 ha land. The estimated government land is 50 ha at Dar-ul Aman district while another 50 ha of lands must go under acquisition. The issue of acquisition in Afghanistan is very complicated and time consuming and in most cases the government has always been unable to solve it properly without conflict. As a result, most of the project of land acquisition were failed to be implemented. An estimated 1.4 billion USD needs to be implemented for the future plan. An estimate of 55,000 government employees will commute from different parts of Kabul towards the Dar-ul Aman District. A number of other serious urban planning issues such solving traffic congestion, public transportation for work commutes and acquisitions of surrounding private residential areas left up to the government and Kabul City Municipality to be solved. Therefore, the risk of failure of a multi-million USD project such as Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex is very high due to the shortage of resources, budget and planning concepts.
II.2.1. Functional Review of Dar-ul Aman Admin Complex and Provinces The program involved in the series of urban development project functionality overlaps with other urban planning stakeholders including MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Town Planning and Regional Directorates, Strategic Development Plans (SDP) and Buildings directorate, and also with local municipalities ToRs. The program is involved in the preparation and development of master plans, design of infrastructure plans of government administrative complexes, architectural and engineering design of admin buildings, and miscellaneous design projects in provincial capital cities (PCC) and districts (wolouswali). The main project of the program is the Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex in Kabul. The Master Plan of the Dar-ul Aman Admin Complex was subcontracted to an international design firm parallel to development of the New Kabul City Master Plan by Sasaki international firm. The detailed plan of Dar-ul Aman district includes recommendations for the transit system, land use and zoning plans, project implementation phases and also acquisition process of another 50 ha private lands where more than 20,000 residents live in the area. The new Kabul Master Plan draft and the Dar-ul Aman Admin Complex detailed plans transit systems of the south part of Kabul is expected to be originated from the same design assumptions and the recommendations should be the same.
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Fig II.1: Dar-ul Aman District, Kabul, Master Plan, Al-khatib Co., MUDH, 2018.
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Part II: MUDH Programs Urban Planning Functional Review II. MUDH Nationwide Programs There is a risk in different approaches and design concepts of the transit system for this strategic part of the city as the two documents were prepared in different time-frame. Dar-ul Aman Admin Complex detailed plan should match Kabulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new master plan longterm transit proposal as the differences in design concept and planning will create serious implementation issues. The implementation of both Dar-ul Aman district master plan and Kabul Master Plan must take place in close coordination with all stakeholders. In addition to the Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex, the design and implementation of provincial administrative complexes have also been added to the ToR of this program. The programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ToR covers design of architectural and engineering different projects. The government administrative complex shall be part of the citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; master planning activities and the detailed plans must be prepared by MUDH as the law defined. The detailed plans should developed in close coordination with MUDH Town Planning directorate and other stakeholders such as local municipalities and provincial government.
II.2.2. ToR Findings Key responsibilities and terms of references of the program are as follows: 1. Urban improvement of the capital region (Kabul Provinces and surrounding provinces) through urban design. 2. Preparation of master plans and site plans of the administrative complexes in the capital region and provinces. 3. Architectural and engineering design of the administrative buildings and complexes. 4. Design and development of infrastructure plans for the development of the administrative complexes. 5. Pre-planning and feasibility studies of the administrative complex sites and regions. 6. Implementation and monitoring of urban development projects. 7. Capacity building and training in architectural and engineering design fields.
II.2.3. Urban planning Functionality Findings 1. Overlap of planning activities with MUDH Town Planning Directorate, Kabul Municipality and CRIDA 2. Overlap of feasibility studies and data collection with MUDH regional and strategic plan directorates. 3. Low levels of communication with MUDH as well as the local municipalities in developing of master and detailed plans. 4. The program reports directly to the president and receives tasks orders and budgets. 5. Large internal organization structure in terms of human capacity and resources compared to MUDH Town Planning Directorate. Fig II.2: Dar-ul Aman District, Kabul, General Master Plan, 2018.
Fig II.3: Dar-ul Aman District, Kabul, 3D Alley Landscaping, 2018.
Fig II.4: Dar-ul Aman District, Kabul, Future MUDH HQ, 2018.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review II. MUDH Nationwide Programs II. 3. Public and Government Buildings Construction Program (PGBCP) PGBCP is not involved directly in urban planning projects’ implementation. The projects that are implemented by PGBCP are strictly design, construction and monitoring of government buildings. The program is one of the largest MUDH’s programs with more than 580 personnel, hundreds of projects. The program has full engineering services capacity and resources. PGCP projects report to MUDH Deputy for Construction Affairs. Detailed capacity assessment of PGCP was conducted in Subtask 1. (See Task 1 Report , Page 70)
Findings:
1. Overlap of design activities with MUDH Buildings directorate in design of government buildings 2. Overlap of activities with MUDH Monitoring and Evaluation directorate in monitoring of construction process of projects 3. Overlap of design activities with MUDH’s Infrastructure and Survey directorate 4. Poor coordination in planning and design activities with MUDH directorates of Buildings and Infrastructure 5. High Volume of construction projects and insufficient number of professional engineers and architects 6. High salary and benefits compared to MUDH technical staff
II.4. National Housing Program (NHP) Functional Review NHP urban planning functional review relevant to housing projects was covered in part I, section I.7 in details.
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Part III. Urban Planning Key Stakeholders Urban Planning Functional Review
جوانب ذیدخل کلیدی پالن گذاری شهری:بخش سوم ارزیابی کاربردی پالن گذاری شهری
Part III: Urban Planning Key Stakeholders Functional Review III. 1. IDLG-DMM Urban Planning Functional Review III.1.1. Local Municipalities Terms of References The Independent Directorate of Local Governance Deputy Minister for Municipalities (DMM) is expected to be the key stakeholder in the design and implementation of urban development projects within the city’s urban boundary according the new Municipal Law enacted recently in September 2018. Pre-planning activities such as community involvement, solving legal issues over land, development of site sketches, survey of sites and other studies and data collection traditionally are the responsibilities of local municipalities. Such information should be provided to MUDH together with a request for preparation and design of urban plans. Unfortunately, due to various reasons such partnership and coordination between MUDH and IDLG-DMM is very weak. As a result, the quality of urban development projects is low while the implementation cost and duration is very high. The key reasons one can identify are: 1. Power struggle at central and provincial levels in implementation of projects. 2. Low profiles and role of municipalities in urban development projects. 3. ToRs of both competing organizations, MUDH and local municipalities, have been confused.
III.1.2. New Directive in Functionality of Local Municipalities Recently, adapted Municipality Law gives more authority to local municipalities and governance for the purpose of decentralization system of urban planning management in the country. While such directive by municipal law is in conflict with Town Planning law where the development of cities’ master plans and detailed plans are the responsibilities of MUDH. (Task 2 covers review and analysis of both Town Planning and Municipal laws in details). MUDH also issues a directive giving more authority and roles for local municipalities in preparation and the implementation of urban development projects. The directive does not have any further narratives or guidelines for detailed plans development. In some cities, municipalities can plan housing blocks to 9-story buildings and issue permit for high-rise commercial buildings to private investors. However; there is a risk of more corruption in land development and diminishment of MUDH’s role in controlling the urban development projects implementation at the provincial and city levels. If the directive legitimate power fully implemented at the provincial level, therefore; only the responsibility of cities’ master plans partially is left for MUDH’s ToR.
Findings
1. Lack of capacity and resources in municipalities 2. Poor coordination between municipalities and MUDH’s provincial directorates 3. Poor transparency in land selection and distribution between municipalities and other stakeholders 4. Lack of budget for cost of land acquisition 5. Local municipalities are not able to solve legal issues including land ownership and acquisition in advance of projects planning and design stages 6. Poor quality of urban projects implemented in cities by municipalities
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Subtask 2: MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review III. 2. ARAZI-Land Management AuthorityFunctional Review III.2.1. Terms of References The General Directorate of Properties and Management of Land Affairs by a presidential decree on June 2013 was renamed as Afghanistan Land Authority-Idar-e Arazi. The main functionality of the authority is the management of lands in the country, particularly, survey and record of government, private and public lands, rent of government lands for commercial purposes, preparation of maps for economic, social and political purposes and issuing of land deeds and clearing the land ownerships using latest technologies tools such as GIS. A detailed Afghanistan Land Management and also Land Acquisition laws relevant to Urban Planning functionality will be reviewed in Task 2. However; as a result of discussion and meetings with leadership of ARAZI ( Land Authority) the following concerns are highlighted: 1. Poor coordination with relevant urban planning stakeholders 2. Over-authority and independent power for distribution of government lands to ARAZI 3. Having of the authority to distribute land without consultation with MUDH and local government, particularly, IDLG-DMM 4. Overlap of responsibilities and interference in ToR of Urban Planning stakeholders 5. Legal issues and conflict of interest with government properties ownerships 6. Transparency in land distribution and solving land ownership disputes which are critical problems in Afghanistan land management 7. Merging of different government entities under one umbrella of Land Authority in terms of functionality is arguing subject for other urban planning stakeholders
III. 2.2. Land distribution for urban development projects In this subject the critical issue is the coordination among relevant urban planning stakeholders in land allocation. Since, creation of ARAZI, an appropriate and workable mechanism for distribution of government lands at the macro and micro levels in the country has not been formulated no matter the size of land either small or large for urban development. At macro level for large economic projects development, ARAZI is the authority for identifying the land at provincial level. However; for a small size of land development project at the city level, should ARAZI will be involved or local municipalities, is a question to be solved. MUDH and local municipalities also designate land for development either to government agencies or private sector. Once the planning part of the project is completed, indeed, the land is not available because it is already distributed to another project by ARAZI or vice versus without coordination
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Part III: Urban Planning Key Stakeholders Functional Review III. 3. Capital Region Independent Development Authority (CRIDA) III.3.1. CRIDA ToR Per Presidential Decree No. 44 dated 6/23/2016 based on Cabinet Resolution No. 3 dated 4/30/2016, Dehsabz-Barikab City Development Authority (DCDA) was renamed as Capital Region Independent Development Authority (CRIDA). CRIDA is an independent budgetary authority and government profitable entity within the organizational structure of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The ToR of CRIDA says that CRIDA not only develops the Kabul New City Master Plan Project but also paves the way for the development of the Capital Region with broader vision. At the same time, Kabul Municipality (KM) has full responsibility for implementing urban development projects within judiciary boundary of Kabul city including implementation of its Master Plan of development. Therefore, the activities of CRIDA is overlapping with KM. The boundary of capital region includes the following provinces: Kabul, Wardak, Logar, Kapisa, and Parwan. The total area of the Capital Region is 7,735 km square meters. The leadership of CRIDA affirms that the authority directly reports to the president’s office and receives projects requests directly from the government. A significant part of CRIDA activities is the design and procurement of various construction projects within capital zone which overlap with MUDH’s Public and Government Buildings Construction Program (PGBCP) as well as MUDH’s Building directorates ToRs.
III.3.2. Urban Development Functionality Fig III.1: Microrayon Development Site, Kabul, CRIDA, 2017.
CRIDA involves in different urban planning activities within Kabul Province and neighboring provinces: • Implementation of the Master Plan for the Kabul New City and Greater Kabul as part of the Capital Region • Planning, designing, and implementing of development projects within the Capital Region • Establishment of economic, industrial, agricultural, residential, and recreational zones • Development of residential cities, establishment of administrative and diplomatic enclaves within greater Kabul • Upgrading informal settlements and preventing further expansion of illegal and unplanned settlements founded on linguistic, religious, and ethnic basis • Preparation and implementation of economic and financial plans for both partially and fully developed government lands under the greater Kabul Master Plan • Development of new plans and amending the available plans for maximum utilization of government land under the approved master plans by MUDH to increase the financial, economic, and social effectiveness • Development of compact plans for selected areas and creating bonds within the Capital Region by making use of effective economic strategies • Feasible studies for recreational parks to be built in destroyed gardens of old Kabul • Feasible studies for the construction of urban wastewater networks in residential areas within the Kabul city and hills and carrying out actions that encourage the community participation to implement such initiatives
Fig III. 2: Deh Sabz-Barikab New Kabul Project, JAICA, DCDA, Kabul 20115.
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Subtask 2: MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review III. 3. Capital Region Independent Development Authority (CRIDA) • Encouraging the private sector to participate in the development of the Capital Region through various types of public-private partnerships in coordination with the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing.
Findings 1. Reporting directly to Office of the President and getting projects assignment 2. Large internal organization and annual budget compared to MUDH’s town planning directorates and development projects 3. Loose coordination of projects design and implementation with MUDH and KM 4. Over authority and independence power in implementation of urban development projects within Kabul urban boundary in contradiction with KM and MUDH responsibilities 5. Overlaps with Kabul Municipality responsibilities in urban development and implementation of Kabul City Master Plan 6. Overlaps of activities and scope of work in developing of provincial regional and strategic plans, cities master plans and detailed plans with MUDH. 7. Overlaps of activities with Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex and Provinces Program, KM and Cities municipalities in the country. 8. Active involvement and procurement of construction projects 9. Overlaps of construction and procurement activities with MUDH’s Public and Government Buildings Program (PGBCP). 10. Poor coordination with Kabul Municipality in urban development and upgrading of informal areas 11. Lack of control and reviewing mechanism on CRIDA projects 12. Poor sharing of urban development data and feasibility studies with other urban planning stakeholders. 13. High salary and benefits for staff personnel compared with MUDH technical employees
III. 4. Kabul Municipality (KM) Kabul Municipality is responsible for implementation of Kabul City Master Plan within the judiciary urban boundary of the city. A sense of rivalry and interference in responsibilities of KM has always been by other relevant stakeholders since establishment of new government in early 2000, particularly by MUDH. Both organizations are competing for power grabbing over the city. The Kabul Reconstruction Urban Project (KURP), a WB funded project, was under MUDH umbrella for renovation and upgrading of Kabul residential districts until 2015. The project had less success in implementation of priority projects. Now, the project has been transferred to KM. KURP is a good example of competing over Kabul City’s future. There is a weak coordination between the two competing organizations, MUDH and KM, in different ares of project planning, implementation and ownership. As Kabul Municipality leadership never been able to practice transparency and institutional reform, most of its responsibility have been stripped during the course of many years. There were some efforts in the past to clarify the responsibilities and ToR of both organization but did not had any success. This confusing in ToR of KM has increased by establishing othe urban planning stakheloder such as Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex . and Provinces and Province Program and CRIDA in Kabul. It is time to end the issue of rivelary with KM by other stakeholders.
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Part IV: Private Sector Urban Planning Functional Review ارزیابی کاربردی پالن گذاری شهری سکتور خصوصی:بخش چهارم
Part IV: Private Sector Urban Planning Functional Review IV. 1. Construction of New Townships (Shahrak) IV.1.1 General Problems In recent years after the creation of new government in early 2000 the private sector has been involved significantly in the construction sector in the country. The most profitable business in construction has been the construction of so called residential shahrak or townships and commercial high-rise buildings in cities. From the other hand, illegal constructions, violation of international codes and standards by builders are the serious points of concerns that put in risk the life of citizens and damaging the living environment in cities. The term of Shahrak or township appeared in early 2000 as the new Afghan government established and the private sector got opportunity in investing in the sector of housing. In recent years, the fast growing non-standard construction of new townships, residential and commercial complexes in most of cities have created enormous challenges for the sustainable urban development of Afghan cities and balanced growth in urban areas. There is overwhelming evidence of a proliferation of poorly constructed, illegal townships across the country with efforts ongoing to execute more housing schemes on usurped lands. Lack of infrastructure, adequate facilities and greenery due to low design standards and quality of construction have damaged the architectural face of cities and living environment. This trend has caused chaos in implementation of cities’ master plans. Unplanned areas and informal housing grew form approximately 70% to 80% of the urban areas in most cities. Afghan cities are growing horizontally with mud housing structures and without essential standards of infrastructure. According to the Town Planning Law, addressing violations of city construction, townships and the prevention of non-standard growth of cities are the responsibility of the MUDH. In addition, many government agencies such as local municipalities, low enforcement also have direct responsibilities to avoid further expansion of illegal townships and informal housing. The MUDH has been unable to implement a tough, workable mechanism and policy to regulate and monitor the construction of new private townships.
Fig IV.1: Said jamalludin Township, Kabul Suburban Area, 3D Model, MUDH, 2015.
According to a Presidential decree in June 2012, MUDH was given instructions to evaluate the legality of ownership, design standards and violations involved with township construction throughout Afghanistan. According to the survey, there were 157 legal townships in the country in 2012. The MUDH officially approved the plans and issued the permit for construction of those townships. From the total 157 townships, only 45 were government owned and 112 were built by private owners. The largest number of townships are in Kabul Province (44) followed by Balkh (Mazar-i-Sharif) (35) Herat (13) and Helmand (13). The report omitted the number of illegal townships in the country. However, according to unofficial statistics, there are more than 3,000 townships currently in the country which are below urban standards in violation with MUDH’s guidelines and regulations for construction. MUDH’s existing guidelines and regulations are incomplete and never received power of law for building of new townships.
IV.1.2. MUDH planned townships
Fig IV.2: Khowadja Rawash, Township, MUDH, 2015.
MUDH has planned more than 45 townships all over the country. For the government sponsored townships, the infrastructure construction is the responsibility of MUDH and relevant ministries. Most of the projects were left incomplete due to the lack of budget and resources. In most cases, lots are distributed before construction of infrastructure and facilities in contradiction with existing townships regulations adapted by MUDH.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review IV. 1. Construction of New Townships (Shahrak) In recent years, new challenges have emerged in the planning and implementation of new townships. The Afghan Government promises to build new townships for different categories of eligible and vulnerable populations such as teachers, carpet industries, returning refugees, handicaps and martyrs of war as a part of government policies. Unfortunately, these types of township plans have not been implemented for various reasons. The main reasons for failure of township projects are as follows: 1. The concept of mobilizing one category of the population such as returning refugees or handicaps in the form of a township community may not effective. Separating their social life from the rest of the diverse communities may violate their civil rights and living rights of Afghan citizens. Therefore, this concept should be carefully re-studied and implemented. 2. Most of these projects cannot be implemented as the government has no appropriate available land for development in urban areas. The sites and land are allocated in far remote areas without any accessibility to basic facilities of living such as schools, drinking water, health care and work opportunities. There are examples of people who got the lots and later abandoned the sites in search for employment in cities or urban centers. 3. The preparation and development of plans by MUDH takes months. As the plans for building a township are publicized by local authorities, the illegal land grabbing and illegal construction of structures are provoked. As a result, the designated land for building the township is unavailable when the plans are ready for implementation. 4. The lack of coordination between stakeholders sometimes leads to the land unknowingly allocated to a different project by another agency such as ARAZI, provincial government or local municipalities. 5. MUDH development projects are also involved in the design and construction implementation of new townships which parallels MUDH Town Planning directorate. An example of this issue is the preparation and design of the Carpet Industry Township by both MUDH Town Planning Directorate, and additionally the Carpet Industry development project design team. Two different design concepts have emerged and created gaps in the final design decision and implementation process. The project site is located on a hillside in the Ningarhar Province where it is totally inappropriate for building a new township. 6. Legal issues over land, ownership and transparency in distribution of the lot is an obstacle for the implementation of government townships. Fig IV.3: Aino Mina, Kandahar, Medium Class Township, 2017.
Fig IV.4: Omid Sabz Township, South Kabul, Private Sector, 2010.
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IV.1.3. Construction of Township by private owners Situations with private owned construction projects and townships are critical in terms of quality of design, living environment and urban standards. Review of the design documents and issuing the permits for construction have not been always fully transparent by the MUDH High Visa Commission. Evaluation of more than 100 private owned township projects show consistent violations of design documentations and relevant guidelines. 1. The majority of the township owners provided legal deeds which in most cases are disputable. The owner of the majority of townships are local power brokers and influential people with ties to government officials. Documents show that some of the government land has been grabbed in different ways or the deeds are inauthentic.
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Part IV: Private Sector Urban Planning Functional Review IV. I. Construction of New Townships (Shahrak) 2. MUDH has been unable to properly monitor the process of township construction on time due to the lack of guidelines, monitoring mechanisms, capacity and resources as well as transparency in monitoring and evaluating by MUDH contracted personnel. 3. The MUDH alone has no power to stop further expansion of townships without cooperation of local governments and law enforcement agencies. 4. The approved design plan is totally different than as built drawings. In most cases, the number of lots doubled by replacing the greenery and recreation areas as shown in the initial approved plans. 5. The design concept laid out raw lots of 3 beswa or 300 to 400 sq.m sizes. The designer tried maximize the land for housing blocks while ignoring facilities and infrastructure codes. The criteria of Sustainability is completely violated by owner of townships. 6. The site accessibility to main roads and bus stops is usually a long distance. 7. Majority of townships do not have their own elementary schools or kindergartens. Children have to walk long distances to available facilities. 8. The majority of townships do not have proper infrastructure; the roads are unpaved and recreation and park areas are replaced by housing lots. Per the MUDH regulations, the owner has no right to sell the lot before completing at least 40% of the construction of infrastructure. Unfortunately, these guidelines are not being followed in most townships and the lot end up being sold long before the start of infrastructure construction. 9. Basic facilities such as water supply, sewerage, school and markets have not been built. The few that do exist are below urban standards and codes. 10. The site drainage systems have not been built properly which leads to miserable living conditions for residents during the winter and spring seasons. 11. The township home association or maintenance issues are not agreed with local municipalities. 12. The site location of townships is in contradiction with city master plans. 13. The construction of one or two story mud homes has totally damaged the architectural face of cities. 14. The living environment is at risk for the entire population and contradicting the development of citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; master plans.
Fig IV.5: Paved Roads Conditions in Residential Areas, Kabul, 2018.
MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s survey and evaluation team officially published a list of townships that violated all available MUDH guidelines, design standards, and initial detailed plans. However, because the MUDH has no regulations on how to fine and stop further violations, the owners of townships never faced consequences. However; MUDH continues to issue permit for construction of new townships not only in Kabul but all over Afghanistan.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review IV. 2. Buildings and Housing Complexes With the construction of residential and commercial complexes, the face of cities and particularly larger cities has changed drastically for the worse. The urban fabric of cities has been completely destroyed, living environments are getting worse and the health of cities’ population is completely at risk. Buildings are continuously being built on right-of-way of streets and are occupying the pedestrian walkways. The safety of buildings are at risk.
IV.2.1. Summary of Functional Review Fig IV.6: Pakistani Style Architecture, Houses, Sherpur, Kabul, 2018.
1. The lack of standard site plans. 2. A lack of public parking lots 3. Absence of proper exit and entrances to the complexes 4. Lack of proper entrances and amenities accommodated for the disabled 5. Violation of building codes and standards 6. Unlawful of use of public sidewalks and pedestrian walkways 7. Lack of service roads from the main roads and local streets 8. Poor design solutions and architecture 9. Lack of emergency and fire exits 10. Poor quality of construction
IV.2.2. Addressing Urban and Construction Violations The ToR of MUDH which is clearly identified in the Town Planning Law, in article 7, clause 17 states: “addressing the violations in the area of construction of cities, townships and construction of complexes and prevention from non-standard growth of cities” is the responsibility of MUDH. MUDH has failed to address the violations of guidelines and standards in the unlawful construction of buildings without permits. The reasons are: Fig IV.7: High-rise Housing Building, Construction codes violation, Kabul, 2018.
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1. Lack of transparency with issuing the permits for construction of buildings and commercial complexes 2. Lack of M/E mechanisms and guidelines to monitor building construction 3. Poor coordination of M/E activities between MUDH, M/E directorate and local municipalities 4. Poor capacity and authority at MUDH Provincial Directorates 5. Lack of transparency and corruption at MUDH Provincial Directorates 6. Lack of transparency and corruption at local municipalities 7. Coercion in getting permits and construction by local power brokers and influential government officials
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Part IV: Private Sector Urban Planning Functional Review IV. 3. Summary of Urban Planning Functional Review IV.3.1. Urban Planning Activities at MUDH Organization At MUDH different entities are involved in duplicated urban planning activities which created problems in planning, design concepts and approaches, Sustainability of urban development and quality of projects, budget and process of projects implementation. There is no appropriate system and accountability for urban planning management. Most of issues in urban development plans such as land acquisition, budget and cost, phases and guidelines for implementation of plans are not studied in the project documentations. As the local municipalities budgets are insignificant compared to the total cost of projects, in the other hand the corruption in use of projects’ fund, most of projects cannot be implemented completely. The following are some of highlights of urban planning reviews at MUDH: a) Coordination in urban planning and engagement of local communities 1. Poor coordination between MUDH and local municipalities in pre-planning and implementation of urban development projects and plans. The two organizations are competing for responsibilities. 2. In some cases, the land is not available to implement urban plans prepared by the MUDH. Such issues are emerged due to lack of coordination and participation of local authorities in pre-planning of projects. Two serious coordination issues are to blame: either the land is given for other purposes by government authorities such as ARAZI, provincial government or municipalities without coordination with MUDH prior to the development detailed plans; or the land is already taken by local power brokers or militia. 3. There is no an efficient coordination mechanism among different stakeholders in projects planning and implementation. Such poor coordination can be seen between MUDH and relevant national programs and donors’ funded urban development projects at the national and local level. 4. No proper coordination among MUDH’s different directorates and departments in collection of regional data, conducting regional studies for development of urban plans. As a result, regional studies and data are duplicated and costly in terms of budget. 5. Local population and communities are not giving role and participation in pre-planning and implementation of projects. Cultural issues and local needs are not discussed with communities’ elderly leaders and clans. 6. Absence of public awareness and engagement of local communities. b) Urban development projects implementation process 1. Both MUDH and local municipalities are competing with each other for implementation of projects. The role and responsibilities of both organizations have been confused. 2. Poor capacity, resources and budget of local municipalities. 3. Due to the municipalities’ financial issues and lack of budgets, urban development plans provided by MUDH are either not implemented on time or left incomplete indefinitely. As a result, in most cases, government lands is taken by power brokers and other people. 4. As total cost of projects including land and acquisition costs are not studied during the design phase, the project cannot be completed due to shortage of budget at the middle of implementation dateline. 5. A third party is not involved in the review and discussion of project documents before the final approval of the plan for implementation. c) Urban planning concepts and terminologies 1. It is hard to distinguish the differences between master plans and strategic plans, regional and provincial plans, as well as, other urban development plans in terms of
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review IV. 3. Summary of Urban Planning Functional Review Strategy, objectives, scope of work and boundary of study. 2. Different terminologies are used for different types of urban plans. MUDH has no unique accepted definition of terminologies and types of urban development plans. 3. Since there are no urban codes and standards for each specific region and city in the country, the design team use the codes and standards familiar to them. Therefore, the title and terminologies of plans are confounding.
d) Urban Plans Development Process Issues 1. The sites are not surveyed completely due to the lack of budgets and advanced technologies. A field observation and study are conducted instead of full topographic survey. As a result, the design is not fit for the layout of the land during implementation. 2. In some cases, the site studies, pre-planning investigations and collected data are not integrated with the concept of design and methodology of plans preparation. Extra irrelevant information is included in the deliverable reports. 3. Data are not saved in a geographic database using GIS tools and software. 4. GIS analysis is not conducted for the design and implementation of urban development projects. 5. The lack of urban MIS and local server for sharing project documents and data have created massive delays in the design and implementation of projects in terms of quality and time frame. 6. Sometimes, the detailed plans are prepared completely in contradiction with the existing master plans. Such examples are the teacher, carpet industry and refugeesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; townships plans. Weak or lack of coordination has created severe problems in the implementation of the citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; master plans. 7. Guidelines and implementation phases with cost estimates are missing in most urban projects. 8. A hybrid option as a result of alternative design analysis is not implemented for developing master and detailed plans. 9. The lack of design alternatives has caused serious deficiencies in final design decisions, project cost estimates and implementation stages. 10. The strategic, detailed and emergency plans that are approved by the MUDH Visa Commission are not follow strict government adapted regulations and transparency.
IV.3.2. Urban Projects Technical Deficiencies 1. MUDH does not have approved technical urban guidelines and regulations for preparation of urban planning projects. 2. Technical guidelines for master and detailed plans need complex revisions and updates as the draft versions have several deficiencies and difficult in terminology and language. 3. There is no unique format for preparing reports and developing urban plans. 4. Color codes and legend symbols are not standard and not even legible in most projects. 5. The quality of cartridges is low and subsequently the output of printing plans is very poor. 6. The quality of design is not standard and the design concepts have complications. 7. Graphic scales are inaccurate compared to design scales. 8. There is a lack of unique platforms for hardware and software at MUDH. Different branches of MUDH use different software platforms and formats for designing projects, plotting of large scale maps and printing purposes. â&#x20AC;&#x192;
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Part IV: Private Sector Urban Planning Functional Review IV. 2. Summary of Urban Planning Functional Review IV.2.3. Urban Planning Key Actors Overlapping Activities The following table shows the overlapping urban planning activities of different stakeholders in the country. Key stakeholders including MUDH, Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex, CRIDA, KM, Local municipalities and private sectors are engaged in preparation and implementation of different types of urban plans. The coordination among these stakeholder are expected to be very weak and some cases nonexistent. The urban planning involving parties are competing with each other for getting larger role and responsibilities.
Table 1: Preparation of Urban Plans by Different Stakeholders
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Part V: Urban Planning and Management International Practices Relevant to Afghanistan پالن گذاری و مدیریت شهری:بخش پنجم تجارب بین املللی مرتبط به افغانستان
Part V: Urban Planning and Management International Practices Relevant to Afghanistan Preamble Preamble
This section deals with urban planning management, land use process and graphic presentation of urban development plans in Afghanistan and the countries that may have similar cultural and environmental contexts. First, Afghan cities do not have a land use and zoning code, essential for enforcement of urban planning regulations. Second, lack of current demographic, socioeconomic data, capacity and resources are problematic in analyzing future growth and land use patterns of cities. Therefore, lot of serious shortcomings in preparation of cities master plans and detailed plans in terms of land use calculation and graphic presentation have been identified as a result of MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban planning framework review in previous chapters. When comparing and finding affinity between the cities, using these three general criteria will be useful: 1) environmental/climatic, 2) cultural/political, and 3) technological/ economic. These criteria affect the planning concepts and implementation strategies. Relative environmental issues such as climate, terrain and landscape, availability of water are important in terms of appropriateness for solutions. Cultural issues such as history, heritage, language, ethnicity, gender relations and religious values affect structure and morphology of cites and finally the level of technology, whether traditional or advanced, and the economic products it brings provides means that affect wellbeing of cities. However; one may not find the exact model to be fit for future city development in Afghanistan applying the 3 above mentioned criteria. May be it is also difficult to apply a specific international accepted model for Afghanistanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban planning framework. In this part the most relevant examples of urban planning and development in countries close to Afghanistan conditions will be discussed to formulate set of recommendations acceptable for Afghanistan urban planning and development model in Task 3. The list of examples may be long but we will focus more on Iran, Turkey, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, India and US.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review Deliverable V.1. Iran V.1.1. Iran Urban Planning Management and Similarity with Afghanistan This chapter focuses on review of the characteristics of urban planning and management system in Iran. Iran has the most similarity to the context and issues of Afghanistan. This extends to historic, cultural, and environmental similarities. As a result, Iran’s experience in urbanization and city planning, is the most relevant to Afghanistan. One can choose a city that has similarity to Afghan cities. In that sense, the experience of Yazd in Iran can be very useful as it has historic, cultural and environment affinity. The evaluation of urban planning and management system in Iran has lot of common characteristics with urban planning practices in Afghanistan. Like in Afghanistan, contemporary Urban Planning and management in Iran suffers from many shortcomings such as lack of stakeholders’ participation and coordination, the involvement of many existing actors in the process of urban planning management without proper responsible mechanism. Like in Afghanistan, in Iran also is lacking of local authorities such as local governments and municipalities power, shortage of capacity and resources, and poor implementation process. What makes Iran’s urban planning and cities’ growth distinguish from Afghanistan that a higher economic growth due to the country’s higher income because of oil and gas prices further boosted the development of major cities and increased urbanization in the last 40 years after revolution in Iran. As reported in the country’s Fifth Development Plan (1974-1978), the necessity to prepare a comprehensive plan was indicated for all cities with a population of more than 25,000 people so that the city could cope with rapid urban population growth. In addition, important laws such as the “High Council of Architecture and Urban Development” (HCAUD) of Iran that were enacted in 1973 highlighted the importance of preparing a comprehensive plan for the medium and big cities and guide plans for smaller cities. Such council has been established in Afghanistan recently called “High Commission for Urban Development” (HCUD) to review and approve urban planning projects [MHUD, 2006, Strategic Urban Development Planning Recent World Experiences with Iran, Tehran, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development] Like in Afghanistan, Iran also experienced a period of war and instability (1980-1988) that undermined the growth of economy and reduced investment trends in urban areas. A process of rural-urban migration took place. Contrary to Afghanistan geopolitical situation 1978 early 2000s, the process of urban development significantly decreased because the government in Iran focused to rural areas to avoid the migration process. But in Afghanistan, rural areas population migrated to urban areas, particularly, large cities due to lack of security and economic hardships. A period of reconstruction process between (1989 to 1996) happened to pursue some key projects for urban planning after the war ended in 1988 in Iran. Such trend can be seen later in Afghanistan after the fall of Taliban in 2002. The idea of developing comprehensive plans have been slowly rejected as the cities are growing dynamic and implementation process created serious obstacles.
V.1.2. Hierarchy of Urban Planning in Iran The hierarchy of planning in Iran can be categorized into four levels, namely national, regional or provincial, sub-regional or county and local level. Each level of the hierarchy consists of a number of plans. The urban plans are placed at the local planning level,
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Part V: Urban Planning and Management International Practices Relevant to Afghanistan V.1. Iran which is at the bottom of the Iranian planning hierarchy. The first level of the Iranian planning hierarchy consists of national plans which are prepared and approved by different organizations and authorities in power in Iran. The second and the third levels of planning comprise the subsection of national plans for each province and county. However; plans are prepared for smaller-sized cities to guide the city development and address short-term and urgent problems of these cities. One of the major critiques highlighted a lack of communication and inconsistency between the national level and the local level, because the regional and sub-regional levels do not work properly to connect between these two levels. In other words, these four levels do not work as a system with a systematic relationship. Thus, a significant gap emerged between national plans and urban plans in terms of plan formulation and implementation. The same issue can be seen in Afghan urban planning process in implementation of projects. Housing and Urban Development Ministry Planning and Management Organizations Interior Ministry Governor General and Governor
Urban Management Social and Cultural Organizations: Islamic Culture Cultural Heritage and Tourism Public Health
Urban Services Organizations: Water and Sewage Electricity Gas Telecommunication
Citizens
City Council
Private Sector: Investors Private Managers Developers
NGOs Municipality
Influential People and Leaders: Representative of Iran’s Leader Religious Leaders Representatives of Citizens in Parliament Political Parties
Fig V.1: Urban Management System Fig. in Iran 3: Urban Management System in Iran
V.1.3. Iranian Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads One can research and study the experience of organizational chart of Iranian Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads (MUPR) and compare the Terms of References with current Afghan Ministry of Urban Development and Housing. There are lot of similarities in both countries in urban planning management and institutional structure. In Afghanistan, the three ministries Public Affairs, Transportation and MUDH are involved in similar activities that relevant to urban planning fields to be considered under one umbrella. Looking at Iranian Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads, all entities and agencies related to urban development, regional planning and transportation have been structured under one large ministry. The only differences with MUDH organizational chart that MUPR include all types of transportation entities within this structure.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review Deliverable V.1. Iran Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads
The Housing Foundation of IR Iran Bank Maskan (Housing Bank)
The Supreme Council of Transport Coordination The Supreme Council of Urban Planning and Architecture Commission for Road Safety The Supreme Council of Technical Affairs of Transport Infrastructure The National Headquarters of Sustainable Regeneration The Supreme Council of Authorized Land Border Points of Entry The Supreme Council of Civil Aviation
Ministerial Bureau
Bureau of Performance Mgt and Citizens’ Rights
Center for Communication and Information
Bureau of International Affairs
Center for Assemblies Affairs & Contracts
Center for Development & Strategic Policies
Housing and Construction
Urban Planning and Architecture
Transport
Protection and Security Center
Departments Human Resource Management and Development
Legal, Parliamentary Affairs & Provinces
Resource Planning and Management Bureaus
Center for Human Resource Modernization and Reform
Bureau of Parliamentary Affairs
Bureau of Planning
Bureau of Housing Economics
Bureau of Urban Planning Development and Construction Plans
Bureau of Economic Evaluation & Management of Transport Efficiency
General Office of Administrative Services and Welfare
Legal Bureau
Bureau of Attracting Investment & Mobilization of Resources
Bureau of Construction Engineering Development
Bureau of Supervising Development and Construction Plans
Bureau of Compiling the Codes, Transport Safety, Passive Defense and Crisis Management
Bureau of Statistics, Data and Refining Programs
Bureau of National Construction Codes
Bureau of Architecture and Urban Design
Bureau of Comprehensive Plan and Transport Modes
Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Urban Planning and Architecture
Bureau of Commercialization and Professional Associations’ Affairs
General Office of Finance and Accountancy Affairs
Bureau of Budgeting
Bureau of Information Technology and Communications
Fig V.2: Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads (MUPR), Iran Organizational Chart.
The ministry is consists of 6 large departments: 1) Transportation 2) Urban Planning and Architecture 3) Housing and Construction 4) Resource Planning and Management 5) Legal, Parliamentary Affairs and Provinces 6) Human Resources and Development At the leadership, for each category of activities there is a supreme council which supervise the activities. In addition, within the structure of current organization there are multiple bureaus. In Task 3, for the institutional reform of MUDH, the experience of Iranian Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads will be discussed in details.
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Part V: Urban Planning and Management International Practices Relevant to Afghanistan V.1. Iran V.1.4. Land Use and Master Planning Experience in Iran
V.1.4.1. City planning experience and example of Yazd in Iran: Like Herat and Kandahar in Afghanistan, Yazd has a historic city influenced by the Islamic culture, and a new city influenced by the grid-iron, vehicular oriented urban layout that comes from the Western countries. Yazd’s historic heritage richness is similar to Herat, although it has a better heritage preservation program. Like Kandahar, it has a harsh desert climate, but in both cases, city planning ignores the environment, technological and cultural lessons to be learned from their old cities. In the case of Yazd, because of the oil revenue that Iran has, the environmental issues are mitigated by modern technical solutions, but in Afghanistan, with meagre resources, the problems are more acute and unsustainable. Sustainability should be the primary issue in development of these cities. The issue of sustainability is not only important for cities such for poor countries, it is also relevant in other in economically advance cities. Cities in Europe, particularly in Germany and the US such as Portland Oregon has had enormous. It is important to note that the City of Portland, Oregon, one of the most progressive cities changed the name of its Department of Planning and Construction to Department of Sustainable Planning, to drive home the issue of sustainability. V.1.4.2. Land Use Experience In case of Iran at the master plan level in general five classes of lands are identified: 1) Built-up: Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Roads, Railway, mixed urban or build-up land 2) Agriculture land: Crop land, Fallow land 3) Wasteland: Salt acted land, Waterlogged land 4) Gardens: Forests, Vineyards, Parks, Orchards, Groves, Nurseries 5) Rocky outcrop: Barren rocky/stony, Mountain, Barren hill The land use percentage at the city level is calculated with the help of GIS tools and advanced land modelling methodologies in addition of other factors to be considered. Analysis is conducted for a specific time period of 10 years or 5 years of development based on city’s population growth. The following example of Qom City, a medium size city in Iran, city’s land use growth for the current period of 2013 and through 2022 is reviewed.
Fig V. 3: City of Yazd, Iran
Fig V. 4: City of Heart, Afghanistan
Fig V. 5: City of Qom, Iran, small size City.
Step 1: One of the first steps to be analyzed is the city’s current density of population diagram , in the example of Qom City, for the current year of 2013. Then a prgnossis for a period of 10 years based on annually percentage rate of population growth is determined.
Fig V. 6: Step1: Analysis of City’s Urban Population Density from 2008 through 2013.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review Deliverable V.1. Iran Next Step: Land Use Percentage Rate Calculation 2013: 1) Built-up: 29% 2) Agriculture land: 14.5% 3) Wasteland: 0.13% 4) Gardens: 0.31% 2022: 5) Rocky outcrop: 56% 1) Built-up: 32% 2) Agriculture land: 13% 3) Wasteland: 0.08% 4) Gardens: 0.29% 5) Rocky outcrop: 54.5% Fig V. 7: Qom City, Iran, Land Use Plan Growth through 2022.
The above land use trend shows that in a period of 10 years the build-up process is shown an increase of only 3%, and other types of land uses are shown a decrease in percentage of land use compared to current level. The land use percentage calculation is confused in master planning and preparation of urban plans development as MUDH’s review of urban planning function showed in Task 1.
Fig V. 8: Tehran, Iran, Large Capity City Example, Chronology of Build-up area from 1881 through 2004. The build-up area is recorded for a period of 10-year in different colors for analysis.
Conclusions: The land Use Plan plays a key role in future development of city and base map for development of city’s Master Plan. Review of urban planning projects documentations at MUDH shows that such systematic analysis of population density, prognosis of build-up areas and percentage is not practiced during the design process for preparation of cities’ land use and master plans.
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Part V: Urban Planning and Management International Practices Relevant to Afghanistan V.2. Indonesia V.2.1. Overview The international planning practices illustrated bellow present proven successful urban development approaches in the countries of Indonesia and Turkey, that provide a basis for comparative analyses, and insights through which the planning professionals and policy makers can augment the planning deficiencies and implementation policies in designing the urban environment of Afghan cities. V.2.2. Indonesia Decentralization of Urban Planning Management The Indonesian urban planning practices are directed by two widely cited strategies that are recognized both in the regional and international levels as successful models. First, Indonesia being a diverse society, administered a “decentralized” governance policy for it’s urban and regional planning implementation programs. And second, promoted actively a “sustainable urbanism” by flourishing community environmental initiatives, and encourage wider metropolitan and provincial cooperation.
Fig V.9. Jakarta, Indenosia, Poor residents versus Rich Population.
Under the decentralized administration, the goal has been, to bring the government closer to people and increase representation from diverse political, ethnic, religious and cultural groups in the decision-making process. The local provincial governments are given a fiscal and administrative autonomy to monitor and implement their own urban development programs and improve the urban and economic resources in equitable and peaceful manners. Provincial governance and provision for the election of the head of the region and associated issues were powerful tools for local political accountability in order to elect the right people in the leadership positions to take charge of public administration and manage effective urban development practices. Decentralization, allowed local governments to implement the urban policies more creatively and experiment with innovative urban solutions. It also relieved top managers in central ministries of the task to concentrate on general policies [1]. Some of the effective urban practices that are successfully implemented in many cities across the country, include the provision and expansion of public facilities and green spaces, investment in traditional market and small business rather than succumbing to large investment corporation, and provided a conducive political environment to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to encourage public participation. The green city development program initiative “GCDP” is the second hallmark of the Indonesian environmental planning success that tackles the vast issues of sustainable urbanization. As part of planning reform, GCDP is dedicated to create a strong linkage between policy, planning, design and implementation, in order to promote sustainable city development across the country. Within the context of autonomy, GCDP is a collaborative program between the city and provincial governments, facilitated by the central government through technical assistant and incentive delivery. Under the GCDP green initiative, the design professionals work in close collaboration with local administration and communities to ensure that an integrated planning vision is achieved, and the environmental resources are converted into tangible new opportunities. Now there are 60 municipalities nation-wide, which voluntarily committed to implement their green city action programs [2].
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review Deliverable V.2. Indonesia Elaboration on local action plans guided by objectives set in the city master plans which is approved with the participation of local representative, serves the bases for successful implementation. These objectives are formulated into eight green city attributes, namely; green planning and design, green community, green open spaces, green water, green waste, green energy, green transportation and green buildings. These indicators are essentially seen as an integrated system [3]. One of the award winning show-case is the city of Solo located in the heart of Java provides a vibrant example that achieved a successful environmental management program through hands-on local government leadership and community cooperation. The city is included in 2008, UN-Habitatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s database for best urban practice and have received a host of international awards. Some of the best urban development practices in Solo are the following [1]. a. Relocating informal street venders from public spaces through effective public dialogue, negotiation and persuasion. Involved a long process of public meetings with representatives of street venders so that the issue of relocation could be settled peacefully. This process allowed the city to use the vacant land for the purpose of public green spaces and in turn mitigate the environmental quality of the city. The process of negotiation and peaceful relocation in Solo have gained national attention and recognition. b. The process of negotiation was seen a progressive method in resolving the problem of most of the informal settlements in the city, unlike conventional practices and force evictions that are common in many cities. Through the support of funds from central government, and UN-Habitat, as well as from the city government budget, the households in the informal areas of the city were provided land in manageable locations in the city. This process also provided legalization of state land which was occupied by the informal settlements, into legal land-holding residents of Solo, justified a sound investment in the poor communities. c. Participation of community and civic society in the planning process. Through an effective support of NGOs, the city raised awareness about urban issues and assisted residents to better prioritize development projects during annual participatory budgeting cycle. Specifically, initiated a community-mapping method to provide information about each neighborhood profile such as population data, housing, poverty and social and economic indicators. The mapping process was highly participatory, and indicated how informed citizens can contribute to transforming their city from bottom-up, in line with the original spirit of the decentralized government. d. Under the sustainable waste management program, an effective waste management planning is utilized, centered on reduce, reuse, and recycle (3Rsâ&#x20AC;?), and effective strategies were used to encourage community participation in 3Rs campaign. Establishing compositing centers across the urban neighborhoods through state-community partnership. And organized a community based network of environmental squad who educate community members to clean up their local environment and reduce waste by practicing waste segregation and compositing.
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Part V: Urban Planning and Management International Practices Relevant to Afghanistan V.2. Indonesia V.2.3. Indonesia Land Use Plans Preparation Experience Zoning regulations are formulated through maps which delineate areas where the type of land use and physical standards are restricted to those authorized. In case of Indonesia, zoning maps themselves have no legal status, they have a de facto legal status, because they are used as references by the committees examining the merits of developers requests for land development. The objective of zoning is often defined as providing “orderly” or “rational” development. The conceptual idea of land use and zoning based on: 1) Separation of functions into homogeneous zones; 2)) Allocation of space according to future “needs” calculated based on projected population increases and densities; 3) Creation of large land reserves for non-identified future government use where development is forbidden; 4) Design of a primary infrastructure network serving the area zoned that is based on perceived “needs” with no regard for compatibility with local and national budget; this include of course land reserve for an often extravagant number of highways or very wide roads. In Indonesia, the percentage of land use based on forecast of population growth and future land development which is common in other countries also. The percentage varies according to city’ urban boundary and population size. In most of cities the existing agricultural land percentage strictly considered as one of key land use elements. While in urban development design practices at MUDH the percentage of agricultural lands is not considered appropriately and in most of cases this category is missing. Because unintentionally, existing agricultural lands are considered as future land development within urban boundary of a city. Cities, in Afghanistan, including Kabul in the past had agricultural lands that played crucial impact on improvement of environment and also provision of local market and city population needs for vegetables and fruits.
Serpong City Master Plan, Indonesia:
In the example of Serpong City Master Plan, Jakarta metropolitan area, a maximum of 34% of lands are allocated for residential use. A large part of the area zoned residential has no direct road access and will rely on infrastructure built in the future for that access. Other percentage of land use are: Roads - 6%, green areas-21%, unusable land including rivers – 1.45% and agricultural lands approximately 30 %.
Fig V.10. Serpong, Master Plan, Land Use Map, Medium Size City, Indonesia.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review Deliverable V.2. Indonesia The percentage of land use varies in new master planning practices where the cost of land is high. In case of Summarecon Serpong City in Indonesia the land use percentage is slightly higher for infrastructure due to modernization of city’s infrastructure.
Fig V.11. Summarecom-Serpong, Master Plan, Land Use Map, Medium Size City, Indonesia.
V.3. Case of Turkey V.3.1. Turkey Urban Planning and Management Practices Being a republic, Turkey from the beginning, recognized the power of urbanization to fuel its agglomeration economy that made modernization and industrialization possible. Rather than resisting urbanization, turkey has been able to combine rapid urbanization with sustained increase in living standards of its population. Through liberalization of its market economy, that attracted the flow of private and foreign investments, and by allowing rural-urban migration to supply the needed human capital and know-how, resulted in innovative development and growth. In addition, the urban development approach across the Turkey is heavily based on affirmative national policies and good governance, which are the foundation for action. By putting effective public policies and regulatory measures in place, the cities in Turkey, yielded measurable economic and social gains that improved the standard of life for it’s citizens. A recent Brookings report, counts four Turkish cities (Istanbul, Bursa, Izmir, and Ankara) among the top 10 most dynamic worldwide, in terms of an expanding market and growing employment opportunities. These systems of cities by far performed above average in achieving density and efficient land uses with higher productivity. Effective policies in improving and expanding municipal services and infrastructure in the informal areas of the city are features of a successful urban demographic transformation [5]. Turkey’s national urban policy is the “integrated urban development strategy and action plan 2010 – 2023,”
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Part V: Urban Planning and Management International Practices Relevant to Afghanistan V.3. Turkey establishes principles and strategies for providing healthy and balanced livable urban development, as well as structural solutions for urbanization. This action plan, which was adopted by High Council in 2010, provides a roadmap for national and local governments to implement their urban development and planning practices [4]. The followings are a summary of the integrated urban development strategy in Turkey. a. A strong metropolitan municipality regime. Provide the necessary framework to effectively manage the fast growing cities across the economic footprint. Two major policies that are important in the success of Turkeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urbanization are, first; the metropolitan municipality law passed in 1984, which consolidated city planning and the provision of public services in large cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir at the level of metropolitan municipality in line with the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic footprints. This greatly facilitated urban development and investments in critical municipal infrastructure. Secondly, the central government investment program on transportation connecting major urban areas across the country, to make sure that transport infrastructure was kept pace with economic development [4]. b. Improving the economic and social structure of the settlements. Including rural-urban migration by strengthening rural settlements; increasing urban solidarity, integration and tolerance towards rural migrants, providing services to disadvantaged groups; and ensuring citizen participation in the spatial planning process. Security of land tenure to informal settlements has increased the regularization of the informal areas, including the delivery of infrastructure and municipal services. Regularization of land and creating property rights avoided the urban slum and assured the residents to invest on their dwellings which improved the quality and availability of shelter for the urban poor in line with economic opportunities. c. Sustainable urban development. Cities were encouraged to plan for sustainable living, and make efficient use of urban land resources through promoting density in their urban development. Achieving appropriate densities can lower the cost of infrastructure and municipal services and make the provision of housing affordable per unit cost of land and services. It can also reduce the carbon footprint of the city by making efficient public transport more feasible as an alternative to private automobiles. d. Urban infrastructure and services. From its early stages of urbanization, a national program was launched to support the provision of municipal urban services and infrastructure to the urban population in adequate level (access to clean water, sanitation network, solid waste collection and power). Integration of infrastructure investment into spatial planning included; revitalization of central business districts and neighborhoods, balanced distribution of social services; preservation of open space and cultural heritage and historic areas; disaster risk mitigation; and building safety standards. V.3.2. City of Ankara, Turkey In some ways history of Ankara is similar to Kabul and in other ways somewhat different. Kabul became the capital of modern Afghanistan in 18 centuries. Turkey became capital of modern state of Turkey. King Amanullah in Afghan history who is considered as champion of modernization, had close relationship with Ataturk, father of modern Turkey. Both countries had also used German architects in some of their urban projects. They both had similar visions for their modern states. The urbanization challenges of Turkey have had similarities, but also differences, particularly during the last half century.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review Deliverable V.3. Turkey Ankara as a capital city faced a taped urban growth resulting with modernizations. The influx of migrants workers as well as natural growth of population brought increase in the city population, shortage of house and growth of squatters and uncontrolled settlement. Kabul on the other hand similar growth because of the pull of the capital and opportunities for employment that brought the growth of the uncontrolled settlements on hillside that came from the 1950â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to the 1960â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. But there is a marked difference since start of the was in 1980. You only had growth of the capitol, based on economic opportunity, but also became safe haven for the internally displaced. As a result, Kabul has seen exponential growth. In this case, Kabul has more line Baghdad. V.3.3. Case of Turkish Land Use and Spatial Planning
Fig V. 12. Ankara, Turkey, Hillsides.
The Turkish urban planning system is a rational comprehensive one with a strict hierarchy of various kinds of plans varying from strategy plans to urban design stage. Though urban design is considered at the project level, provisions concerning urban design are added to the legislation. Especially, the implementation of the urban decisions is shown at the scale of Implementation Plan level. The preparation of the following types of plans are common in Turkish urban planning practices: 1) Country Plans, 2) Regional Plans, 3) Spatial Strategy Plans, 4) Environmental Order Plans, 5) Master Development Plans, and 6) Implementation Plans
Land Development Plans is considered as the special spatial plan that allows the application of Spatial Strategic Plan decisions and Environmental Order Plan decisions at the settlement level. These urban plans include constituted alternative solutions for settlement patterns and their growth trends. Land use decisions are the main part of Development Plans. In addition, there are decisions on conservation, limitation, organization, and application. Land Development Plans are divided into two parts as Master Development Plans and Implementation Plans. All types of Land Development Plans are prepared and approved by the related municipalities. Master Development Plan is prepared at the scale of 1/5000. Plan determines the alternative growth and development structure of the following: All kinds of administrative, planning boundaries; area restrictions for special conditions; housing areas and housing development areas; administrative centers; trade and work centers; industrial areas and warehouses; tourism areas; site areas; Conservation and resource areas; energy transmission lines; Open and green spaces; Social reinforcement areas, such as, education, health, and culture. Some of land use categories are not considered in Afghan urban planning practices.
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Part V: Urban Planning and Management International Practices Relevant to Afghanistan V.3. Turkey There is no such a strict land use percentage at the master plan level, particularly, for large cities in Turkey. As an example of city master planning is the Ankara City Master Plan of development that based on the forecasted growth of population and classification of city, as metropolitan and capital city.
Fig V. 13. City of Ankara, Master Plan, 2006-2025. Source: ABBISD, Turkey.
Implementation Plans: This stage of the spatial planning system represents the application of all planning decisions on the urban space. It is prepared at the lot and parcel level with the scale of 1/1000. That is why it is called as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Implementation Plan.â&#x20AC;? It can be performed at once as well as stage by stage. It is the plan level; which urban standards have applied at the lots level. Building conditions are the main point of Implementation Plans. In this stage the land use percentage for residential areas is calculated based on accepted FAR and BCR normative. Some important principles of Implementation Plans are as follow: Defining building conditions, such as, lot coverage ratio, floor area ratio, floor area index, building heights, setback distances, etc. It is essential to develop pedestrian and bicycle networks and bicycle park. Natural and historical site areas are given importance within the plan. Such category is missing in detailed urban design projects as well as there is no recommendation in the MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technical guidelines.
Fig V. 14. Example of a Detailed or Implementation Plan and Graphic Presentation, Turkey, 2016.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review Deliverable V.4. India V.4.1. Case of Land Use Planning in India Town or urban planning in India is relatively new. The two terminologies of Town Planning and Urban Planning in Indian urban development practices have been used intertwined. The term of town planning is equal to Afghan terminology of â&#x20AC;&#x153;shahrsaziâ&#x20AC;?. Indian town planning experience is gaining attention as more and more people are exploring the ways for a better quality of life. Planning in India is done by various ways most important of which included Economic Plans in the form of Five Year Plans by Planning Commission. While in Afghanistan, usually economic plans and master plans are considered for a period of 20 years. Such long period of time does not work because modern cities are very dynamic in terms of growth. Urban planning in India is done through various types of development plans. One such plan is a master plan which is made for urban areas which govern the growth of the urban areas. Other popular plans include Town Planning Scheme or TP Scheme. The most important feature of all development plans dealing with spatial planning is land use planning. Land use planning in India is followed for all development purposes. The three activities: Planned Development, Economic Plans and Land Use Plans are linked closely with each other. The Planned Development takes pace in first stage at the nationwide level. Land use and economic plans are linked closely with each other in one entity and system.
Fig V. 15. Level 1: Regional or Development Plan, Example of Ghaziabad, India, 2015.
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Part V: Urban Planning and Management International Practices Relevant to Afghanistan V.4. India
Fig V. 16: Level 2: Land Use or Development Plan, Jabalpur, India, 2012.
Fig V. 17: Level 3: City Master Planning, Example of New Delhi Master Plan, India.
Conclusions: As the classification of cities and reliable demographic data are not available for most of Afghan cities, therefore, the calculation of land use percentage in most cases is based randomly on current annual rate of population growth. The MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s official published guidelines is recommended a 40-50% for pure residential areas from the total cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s build-up area. This percentage is very high compared to Indonesian, Turkish and Iranian land use regulations.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review Deliverable V.5. Case of United States Urban and Land Use Planning V.5. 1. US Urban Planning Practices In case of US urban planning practices, land use codes and zoning ordinances are strictly local governments laws. Each county has own land use code regulations. The local governments exercise the greatest control over the majority of land-use development. Nearly all local governments adopt local zoning regulations in their political boundaries, and various local land-use planning models such as: comprehensive plan; general plan; or master plan; covers the planning needs of a local jurisdiction.
Fig V. 18: General Plan of City of Phenix, Arizona, 2016.
The hierarchy of urban planning in the USA is different compared to the types of maps and plans accepted in Afghanistan. The term of “Comprehensive Master Plan” is called General Plan of Development according to US types of cities’ development plans. The above map is a General Plan of Phoenix City, in the State of Arizona. This is a good example for use of color codes in development of plans that can be an example of urban planning practice of MUDH design departments in terms of graphics and land use pattern.
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Part V: Urban Planning and Management International Practices Relevant to Afghanistan V.5. Case of United States Urban and Land Use Planning V.5.2. Land Use Planning Practices The preparation of land use plans for citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; with different sizes is very common in the US urban development practices. Below is a proposed conceptual land use plan in Tysons Corner, Fairfax, VA, USA. Tysons Corner is one of the high cost mixed residential and business district in Fairfax, VA. The concept of such land use plan is to minimize the load of incoming and outgoing flow of traffic to the district by proposing mixed residential zones. High density residential complexes are the core concept of such planning. Such land use concept and approach can be further studied for business districts of Kabul City also.
Fig V. 19. Tysons Corner, Faifax, VA, Conceptual Land Use Plan, 2016. Concept of mixed-use land for residential and commercial functionality.
Land Use plan for small size towns or cities has the same planning parameters and color coding and legend requirement as the general plans in the US urban planning practices. Usually, main cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s square or business intersection is illustrated in a larger scale as part of the main land use plan.
Fig V. 20: Hope Mills Town, VA, USA.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review Deliverable V.6. Other Countries V.6.1. Overview Beyond the above, learning can be from other cities, North Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, north and South America. Germany has been at the forefront of creating sustainable cities with goal of zero carbon initiatives. Innovative new ways of achieving sustainable cities can be learned from Germany. Germany has also had a long history of cooperation with Afghanistan. They have had effective aid programs to Afghanistan in the last two decades. The can provide new technologies for energy-efficient buildings. Marrakesh, capital of Morocco has a lot of affinity with Afghanistan, environmentally and culturally. Urban heritage preservation can be learned from /Ecuador with two cities on World Heritage, something that Herat can learn from. The planning concepts that emerged from Corteba, Brazil and the creative ideas forwarded by Jaime Lerner can be a model for any city in the developing world including Afghanistan. Lastly, the US can provide lessons of its own in terms of city regulations. In this case Portland Oregon will be excellent to follow. â&#x20AC;&#x192;
V.7. Graphic Design Issues and Color Coding Standards V.7.1. Overview
High quality graphic is very helpful in analysis and presentation of urban development plans. Determination of map scale, selection of color codes and appropriate legend make the urban development plans more meaningful.
Fig V. 21: Most Common Accepted Color Coding and Legend in Land Use Plan
The land use map is the most common of the land-based presentation of data. In general, land use is shown in a different color. The map illustrates the land use effectively use the concept of land-uses graphic displays, roads, public infrastructure, and community facilities. This standard is also often recommended for planners in many countries. Color coding scheme and scale should be officially accepted as common platform used by all relevant architectural and engineering design agencies. Some color coding and legend symbols are included in MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technical guidelines for development of urban plans published in 2012. The list of color coding and symbols are incomplete. They need to be reviewed and standardized. However; the style of graphic presentation in master planning and development of urban plans varies among different design firms. It is important to have color coding scheme officially accepted within the entire country as rule.
V.7.2. Example of India: Color coding for land use planning Land use planning in India is done by employing color codes in the development plans. Different colors are assigned in the development plan like a master plan or technical plan scheme which indicates a particular land use. Different colors indicate different categories like residential, recreational, commercial, transportation, industrial, public and semi-public on the map as common in other countries design practices. The land use colors followed in whole India are the same but with an exception for the commercial and public & semi-public spaces. The color coding differs in some states which include the use of red color to indicate commercial areas and blue color for public & semi-public land use while the vice versa is followed in most of the parts. So it is advisable to refer to the document/act which applies to the area if there is any confusion about the color coding before working. Residential areas are shown with yellow color in almost all areas in India; the green color is used for recreational areas.
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Part V: Urban Planning and Management International Practices Relevant to Afghanistan V.7. Graphic Design Issues and Color Coding Standards V.7.3. American Planning Association Land Based Classification Standard (LBCS) classifies land uses across five dimensions. For local planning purposes, LBCS calls for classifying land uses in the following dimensions: 1) Activity, 2) Function, 3) Structure Type, 4) Site Development Character, and 5) Ownership LBCS also includes a set of color codes, to be used as a standard convention for toplevel land-use categories for maps, GIS, and other rendering and presentation media. Each of the five LBCS dimensions has nine color values; one for each top-level category. Within each dimension, the color value is constant for the top-level category and all its subcategories. However, in practice, this may not always be desirable. In such cases, apply “ramping” techniques where a color value is “ramped” to increasing or decreasing shades. For instance, if residential activities are yellow, make all the subcategories of residential activities shades of yellow.
Fig V. 22: Most Common Accepted Color Coding RGB.
V.7.4. MUDH Design Documents Shortcomings The quality of graphic presentation of urban development plans produced at MUDH is low compared with other international accepted standard color coding, legend and format. As a result, maps and drawings are difficult to read and understand. The legends are not represent the specific area in the map. The graphic scale and the real scale are not consistent. These shortcomings in graphic presentation have, but not limited, to the following reasons: - Wrong and appropriate selection of computer colors compatible with printer color codes - Inappropriated design and graphic scale selection - Low skill of designer and poor familiarity with contemporary design technics, computer graphics and color codes - Lack of standard color coding and legend format at MUDH and unique platform - Low quality of inks, cartridge and printers For the purpose of comparison and findings shortcomings in land use plans design and graphics presentation 2 MUDH’s products and one international examples are selected. Plan 1. Strategic Plan of Charikar City, Plan 2. Detailed Plan of Nasaji Bagrami in Kabul, and Plan 3. An international example of land use plan.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review Deliverable V.7. Graphic Design Issues and Color Coding Standards
Plan 2: Detailed Plan of Nasaji Bagrami District, Kabul, Town Planning Directorate, 2018.
V.7.5. Analysis: Plan 1: 1. Google Map Embedded Drawing without proper scale set: Such technics is not common any more because the desirable outcome and map precision could not be achieved.
Plan 1: Strategic Plan of Charikar City, SDP, 2018.
2. In real world it would be difficult to find out the exact location of a specific point due to missing geographic coordinates. 3. Selected 7 different green colors are hard to distinguish in the list of legend. Makes map difficult to read . Plan 2: 1. Classic distribution of housing blocks 2. Overloaded the green color, looks like a landscaping plan rather than detailed plan.
Plan 3: Example of Land Use Plan Presentation, Indonesia, 2016.
Plan 3: Most common accepted rational solution of land use plan, color coding and Legend.
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Part V: Urban Planning and Management International Practices Relevant to Afghanistan V.8. Summary & Conclusions of International Urban Planning Practices V.8.1. Overview The above international approaches represent successful urban development practices that can provide good lessons for urban planners and policy makers in Afghanistan. In the case of Turkey, recognizing the potential of productive urbanization by putting in place measurable planning policies and regularity tools in order to boost economic and social conditions of the cities, and the decentralization policies and sustainable development approaches in the case of Indonesia are powerful tools of urban development and implementation. By adopting these approaches, the Afghan policy makers and design professionals must take into consideration their particular local conditions and capacities, that should have relevancy to the cultural context in Afghanistan. V.8.2. Summary and Conclusions • It is time for Afghanistan to restructure it’s the governmental role in guiding sustainable development and healthy urban living. The relationship between Kabul Municipality, Ministry of Urban Planning and Housing and Ministry of Public Works, three overlapping and competing organizations has been confused and needs to be clarified and restructured. • It is important that the relationships of this Ministry be clarified with Kabul Municipality. Just because the Ministry is in Kabul, it should not mean that it should have control of Kabul Municipality. By formation of a new Ministry, the relationships. Kabul Municipality and other municipalities should be given autonomy in conducting their affairs. Some of the failures and corruption associated with Kabul Municipality are well known, but the solution is not to diffuse their authority, but rather to bring accountability and responsibility. The roles of the municipalities be further strengthened. Their relationships and with law enforcement, energy (electricity and gas), be reinforced. • The Ministry of Urban Planning and Housing has a confused role of its own. As a national body dealing with regional planning, is yet divorced from the public works which is in charge of planning and construction of regional highways as if roads are only some physical object to connect places and that is all. Highways are important means of bringing economic development to isolated areas of the country. Construction of the highway going through the heart of Afghanistan connecting Kabul to Herat, has long been on the plan, but never realized. The same goes for the road between Maimana and Herat. Violence, famine, economic and social backwardness in district along these historic paths have been a hall mark of it. Such efforts cannot be seen as isolated from the overall urban and regional planning of the country . • There should be more connections between the cities of Afghanistan and similar cities abroad for exchange of experience and learning from each other. • There is an acute need for trained personnel that can enter the public and private sector that would help urban development in the country. Role of Kabul University in this respect is crucial. • There is continuing need for research in the areas of urbanization and environmental protection. At the same time, there has been a repeat of the same work without useful application. Since 2001, there has been so many studies by different groups from different countries, Every time a new consultant, or group of consultants come on board. Lots of money was spent on master planning., report writing, but the result has been meagre.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review Deliverable References: 1. Bunnell, Tim, Miller, Michelle Ann, Phelps, Nicholas A., and Taylor, John. Urban Development in a Decentralized Indonesia: Two Success Stories. Pacific Affairs: Volume 86, No. 4, December 2013. 2. Kirmanto, Djoko, Ernawi, Imam S., and Djakapermana, Ruchyat Deni. Indonesia Green City Development Program: an Urban Reform 48, Ministry of Public Works, Indonesia, ISOCARP Congress 2012. 3. Witoelar, Rachmat. Sustainable Vision for Cities in Indonesia, Griffith University, The Office of the President’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, Jalan Teuku Umar 10 – 12, Jakarta, Indonesia 10350, 2018. Web site: ic-sd.org/wp-content/uploads/ sites/4/2018/02/Rachmat-Witoelar.pdf 4. Rise of the Anatolian Tiger: Turkey Urbanization Review, The World Bank, Report No. 87180-TR, 2015. 5. Raiser, Martin. Don’t Mind the Construction: Turkey’s Growing Cities Are Good for Development, the World Bank, 2015. Web site: http://www.worldbank.org/tr/news/ opinion/2015/06/09/turkeys-growing-cities-are-good-for-development
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Part VI: Summary of MUDH Internal Organization Review بخش ششم :جمع بندی ارزیابی تشکیالت داخلی وزارت شهرسازی و مسکن
MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review VI.1. MUDH ToR Review Summary In this part an overview of Task 1 (MUDH Internal Organization Review) is summarized for the purpose of finding gaps and deficiencies in functional performance of MUDH organization.
VI.1.1. MUDH Terms of References Defined by Town Planning Law The ToR and obligations of MUDH in the latest Town Planning Law adapted in September 2017 (1396) is relatively simplified compared to the old law adapted in June 9, 2012 (1391). The new law has 24 clauses while the old one has 26 clauses . The management-administrative structure of MUDH is also defined by the old Town Planning Law. The responsibilities and obligations of MUDH’s Minister, its deputy ministers, head of directorates, and MUDH board members are defined in the old law but such clarifications are omitted in the new law. In the old law, among the responsibilities of MUDH, clause 16 stated: “Planning, developing, designing and implementing of government buildings and guiding of government and private industrial complexes and production factories.” In the Clause 17th states: “Design, preparation and arrangement of essential urban infrastructure plans of water supply, sewerage, power, communication, roads, living environment, public transportation and etc. according to master and detailed plans in coordination with relevant authorities.” Both of these two clauses have been removed in the new law. However, clauses 21 and 22 stated that MUDH should regulate all activities related to water supply, sewerage services and issuing business licenses to private water supply companies. These two responsibilities for MUDH are in contradiction with the Afghanistan Water Supply and Sewerage Company (AUWSSC) terms of references as the water supply enterprise is no longer part of MUDH judiciary structure. A detailed Review of Town Planning Law will be discussed in Task 2: Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
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23
22
21
20
19
Surveys, Technical Investigations, Topography, Socioeconomic and Environmental Studies Holding Conferences, Workshops, Meetings and Award Competitions in Town Planning and Architectural Fields Technical and Scientific Cooperation in the field of Town Planning with Agencies and Scientific National and International Offices Arrangement of activities related to Urban Water Supply Systems services Issuing Licenses to Private Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Companies and Monitoring of their Activities Performance of other Work in the Field of Town Planning under Judiciary Frameworks Total Percentage
Addressing the violations in the area of construction of cities, townships and construction complexes
17
18
Settlement Plan (askan)
15
7
21%
√
√
13%
√
√
√
66%
√
√
√
√
Visa and approval of plans
5 √
Development of Reconstruction, Re-arrangement, Renovation Plans, Cultural-historic plans
4
Design and preparation of infrastructure network, cities’ internal transit plans Development and preparation of public facilities and basic infrastructure plans
√
Determination of Cities and New Townships' Locations
3
6
√
Design, preparation and management regional plans, cities’ master plans, guiding, strategic, detailed, reform, amendment and infrastructure plans
2
√
Country’s Comprehensive Plan
√
No
2
√
Not Fully
Urban Development Strategies + Policies
√
Yes
1
I. MUDH Urban Affairs Deputyship
Article 7th MUDH ToRs According Town Planning Law 2017 Clause #
Prepare Priority Plans + Improve Transparency in Hiring of Qualified Personnel
Get Task Order from Government
MUDH has not developed or adapted official strategy of Urban Development in the Country.
Action
Regional Development Plans Directorate Should Take Action for Feasibility Study of Historic Areas Set Team to Revise the existing Guidelines + Develop a new legal document for Issuing Permit + Approval Process + Involvement of Third Party Needs Improvement in Design Concepts + Hiring of Qualified Personnel + Technology + Resources Improve design quality + Improve Transparency in Hiring of Qualified Urban Planners + Engineers Assign Regional Development Plan Directorate for Feasibility Study + Data Collection
Needs More Investment + Technology + Capacity and Resources
Town Planning Law Needs to be Revised Town Planning Law Needs to be Revised Town Planning Law Needs to be Revised
It is not MUDH's ToR In contradiction with AUWSSC ToRs Not Clear (Needs Clarification in the Law)
Absence of Agenda + Planning + Poor Coordination Create a department + Prepare plans + Accelerate Coordination of MUDH Center for Research and Studies Project
No Plan and Agenda + Lack of interest by leadership Create a department + Prepare Action Plan + Accelerate + Poor coordination + Coordination with Stakeholders
Not standard + Lack of Budget + Resources
No policy + Vision + Mechanism for M/E + Shortage Include on Priority Tasks Agenda + Coordination with of Capacity Stakeholders
No policy + Vision + Was not in the Interests of Leadership in the Past
Limited to specific detailed plans of cities
Part of Cities' Master Plans + Detailed Plans + Shortage of Professional Experts
Not transparent approach + Poor mechanism
Not in the interest of previous leadership + Lack of Capacity
Poor coordination between MUDH and IDLG-DMM, Set Team with relevant directorates (Housing Affairs + Town Shortage of capacity + Absence of Plan + Strategy Planning) + Strengthening Technical Personnel
No Annual Plans + Agenda + Poor stakeholders coordination + Shortage of Capacity
No vision + Lack of Interest to be Policy Maker + Lack of capacity Absence of Vision and Strategies by Government + Lack of Capacity
Reasons
VI.1.2. Summary Table: MUDH Deputyships ToRs Performance
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Preparation of Standard and Affordable Housing
9
Joint Venture with Private (Local and Foreign) Sectors in Cities Urban Development and Provision of Housing Total Percentage 30%
10%
60%
√
√
Housing Mortgage Reserves with MoF Permission
14
15
√
Control and Monitoring on Private Sector’s Activities in Construction of Cities, Townships and Building Complexes
13
√
√
No
√
√
√
Not
Creation and Expansion of Construction Enterprises (tasadi) and provision of Housing
Development and implementation of housing provision plans, and management of housing construction Gov funded projects Design and Creation of Cities, Townships and New Housing Complexes with more than 100 Apartments
√
√
Yes
12
11
10
Preparation of National Housing Program
8
Design and Implementation of Housing Project
Design and preparation of strategies and programs in urban development and housing an monitoring of their implementation.
II. Housing Deputyship
MUDH ToRs According Town Planning Law 2017
1
Article 7th Clause #
MUDH Must Shift Strategy to be a Policy Maker + Monitoring Body Not a Profitable Construction Organization Needs Transparency in Implementation of Housing Projects
Action
In contradiction with Town Planning Law and Conflict of Interest
No vision + Policy + No Capacity
No Guidelines + M/E Mechanism + Transparency
No Policy at the Government Level + Unclear Policy Toward Enterprises
In contradiction with Town Planning Law and Conflict of Interest + Low Quality
Interest in Construction and Distribution of Apartments Lack of transparency in distribution of apartments to Non-home Owners + Low Quality of Housing
Revise the Town Planning Law + Avoid Conflict of Interest
Setup Task Force with MoF + Relevant Stakeholders
Develop M/E mechanism + Enforcement of Law
Coordinate with Government Policies + Revise ToR and Activities of Existing Enterprises
MUDH must outsource Design + Construction of Housing Complex
MUDH must outsource Design + Construction of Housing Complexes + Improve Transparency
MUDH must outsource Design + Construction of Housing Complexes
No Policy + No Interest + Lack of Vision + More Develop Policy + Strengthening Capacity Interest in Design and Construction
Less Interest to Policies and Monitoring + More Interest in Construction of Housing + Lack of Transparency Prepared with other stakeholders NHP adapted by Afghan Government
Reasons
VI.1.2. Summary Table: MUDH Deputyships ToRs Performance
MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review
85
√
Dealing with Construction Violations
17
Total Percentage 0% 33% 67%
√
Coordination and Working with National Standard Authority (NSA)
16
√
Preparation of Urban Codes, Norms, Standards
No
16
IV. Construction Deputyship
Article 7th MUDH ToRs According Town Planning Not Yes Clause # Law 2017 Fully
Action
Set a Task Force to Revise Directorate ToR
Develop Guidelines to Become Law + Improve Transparency
Poor Coordination + Overlap of Responsibilities Absence of M/E Tools + Guidelines + Transparency + Poor Coordination with IDLG-DMM
Exist Partially but Never Become Law + Revise the ToR of Directorate + Coordinate with Overlap of responsibilities + Not Practices in NSA + Develop Urban Guidelines and Regulation Design
Reasons
VI.1.2. Summary Table: MUDH Deputyships ToRs Performance
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review VI.1. MUDH ToR Review Summary The above summary tables show that MUDH has not followed more than 70% of its terms of references as defined by Town Planning Law adapted in 2017 or the law adapted in 2012. The following conclusions can be drawn: 1. The ministry is intended to be more involved in the design, construction and renovation of government projects rather than urban development projects. 2. In the past, MUDH leadership did not take serious steps towards transforming the ministry to a policy maker and monitoring body in urban planning and development. 3. Research shows that MUDH did not have “interests” in developing policies and regulations in urban planning or provision of housing policies. 4. The housing deputyship terms of references needs revision as it does not match the current activities. 5. More efforts have been put towards creating more construction projects than urban development projects.
VI.1.3. MUDH Overall Performance by Deputyships and Directorates A scale of 0 to 10 was set to evaluate the overall performance of MUDH’ internal organization according to its Terms of References adapted by the Town Planning Law. Such matrix was prepared in the form of questionnaires to collect personal opinions of employees’ levels of satisfaction in regards to work benefits, environment and facilities. The 0 to 10 scale grades are: 0= Not Applicable 2= No improvement made 4= Needs improvement 6= Some progress made, only little improvement required 8= No need for immediate improvement 10= Excellent achievement The results of the questionnaires are included in the deliverable report of subtask 1: MUDH Internal Organization, Level of ICT and Facility assessment. The evaluation of MUDH’s overall performance is illustrated through a chart.
1. MUDH Overall ToRs Performance MUDH Overall ToRs Performance, 2018
10
8
6
0=Not Applicable 2= No improvement made 4=Needs improvement 6=Some progress made, only little improvement required 8=No need for immediate improvement 10=Excellent achievement 4 4
6 4
4
4
4
4
2 2
0
Management & Operations
Policies
HR/ Policies/CB
ICT/GIS /Web
Urban Planning Engineering
Housing Policies
Finance
Overall Progress
Chart VI. 1: MUDH ToRs Overall Performance
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Part VI: Summary of Task 1: Internal Organization Review VI.1. MUDH ToR Review Summary Assessments and comparisons of the ToRs and project documents of MUDH’s various directorates show that the MUDH needs major upgrades in both its housing policies to regulate the needs in the country and its monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to avoid further construction of illegal buildings. Improvement is required for the overall performance of MUDH’s relevant ToRs defined by Town Planning Law. Some improvements have been made in urban planning activities such as development of master plans. However; the Human Resources, policies and capacity building programs development performance of MUDH were evaluated as low as 2, No Improvement Made rate. The red colored column shows the overall performance of MUDH based on ToRs defined by MUDH the Town Planning Law. ToRs Performance 2. Housing Affairs MUDA Urban Affairs Deptuyship Overall Performance 2018
10
0=Not Applicable 2= No improvement made 4=Needs improvement 6=Some progress made, only little improvement required 8=No need for immediate improvement 10=Excellent achievement
8
6 6
4
4
4
4
4
2
2
2
0
Priority Tasks
Coordination
Design
Guidelines
GIS/ UMIS
Facitilies
Chart IV. 2: MUDH Urban Affairs Deputyship Overall Performance of ToRs
Overall Progress
The overall Urban Affairs overall performance according to the defined ToR is at scale of 4, needs lot of improvement. This is assessment based on review of measurement of Urban Affairs’ terms of references in Subtask1.
3. MUDH Housing Affairs ToRs Performance 10
8
6
MUDH Housing Affairs Overall Performance 2018 0=Not Applicable 2= No improvement made 4=Needs improvement 6=Some progress made, only little improvement required 8=No need for immediate improvement 10=Excellent achievement
6
4
4
4
2
2 2
0
Management & Operations
Housing Policies
Technical Housing
Viloation of Housing
Overall Progress
Chart IV. 3: MUDH Housing Affairs Overall Performance of ToRs
For the housing affairs ToR MUDH needs lot of improvement in the fields of housing policies and housing projects implementation. The overall performance of MUDH in housing affairs is in the scale of 4, needs improvement. This result is according the comparison assessment of MUDH ToRs in housing. (see section I.6)
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review VI.1. MUDH ToR Review Summary 4. MUDH ICT Directorate ToRs Performance 10
8
6
MUDH ICT Overall Performance, 2018 0=Not Applicable 2= No improvement made 4=Needs improvement 6=Some progress made, only little improvement required 8=No need for immediate improvement 10=Excellent achievement
4
6
4
4
4
2
2
2
2
0
ICT Strategic Plan
Web Server
Web site Customer Service
ICT Training
Electronic Publishing
Software
Overall
Chart IV. 4: MUDH ICT Overall Performance of ToRs
As a result of capacity assessment level of ICT at MUDH, the situation with level of technology in the organization is not encouraging due to lack of vision, strategy and policy toward computerization of organization in the near future. MUDH leadership has paid less attention in developing capacity building programs in ICT. The use of legal software and unique platform for IT hardware and software is in the law level and no improvement have made so far. Shortage of resources and capacity is the cause of low performance in different fields of Information Technology (IT). The overall performance of ICT, red colored columns, needs more improvement.
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Part VI: Summary of Task 1: Internal Organization Review VI.2. Overlapping Activities in Urban Planning This chapter tries to logically identify the overlapping of activities within MUDH internal organization relevant to urban planning and urban development projects at the local and national level. As a result, to draw an assumption and conclusion in reducing parallel entities within the MUDH structure this evaluation may help Afghan Government to evaluate different scenarios for restructuring of MUDH’s current internal organization. For this purpose the following illustrative diagrams were developed to analyze the overlapping of activities. VI.2.1. Stakeholders Overlapping Activities in Urban Planning The following diagram illustrates stakeholders involvement in different types of urban planning activities. ARAZI (red dashed line) is the land management authority in the country that is involved in land management for urban development in cities. MUDH is the main government body which is expected to be a policy maker and urban planning regulator in the country. The review focuses to identify the overlap of responsibilities of stakeholders with MUDH’s ToR (black dashed line).
Ministry of Urban Development-MUDH
NHP Land Authority
Housing
Strategic Plan
Guidelines Codes
MUDH
ARAZI-Land Authority
Studies
IDLG Upgrading
Master Plan
CRIDA Darul Aman
IDLG
Regional Plan
Detailed Plan
Dar-ul Aman Admin Complex
NHP ASP
ASP CRIDA
Fig VI.1: Key Stakeholders Involvement in Urban Planning Activities
The above chart shows the types of urban planning activities that key stakeholders are involved. The most common types is the preparation of cities’ master plans, detailed plans, renovation and construction. This diagram based on results of capacity assessment of urban planning stakeholders ToRs and types of projects in Subtask 1. The diagram illustrates that MUDH and CRIDA have been involved almost in all types of urban planning activities such as the development of strategic plans, regional plans, upgrading of informal areas, regional studies and master planning. The Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex and Province Program is involved in developing master and detailed plans like MUDH and CRIDA. DMM- local municipalities are expected to be responsible for upgrading informal areas and implementing of urban development of projects in close coordination with MUDH.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review VI.2. Overlapping Activities in Urban Planning VI.2.2. MUDH Internal Organization Involving in Urban Planning Activities The diagram below shows the MUDH sturcture (dashed rectangle), key stakeholders (blue color) and types of urban planning activities (dark red) that are involved in urban planning and development activities.
MUDH MUDH Programs
Development Projects (SDP + Research Center + Townships)
Deputy Construction Affairs 1. Buildings Directorate
2. National Codes Directorate
Deputy Urban Affairs 3. Technical Infrastructure Directorate
Pre-planning + Studies
CRIDA
1. Technical Housing Directorate
4. M/E Directoreate
1. DRDP Directorate
2. Town Planning Directorate
Desgin DP + MP + RP
Deputy Housing Affairs
3. Survey & Investigation Directorate
Urban Infrastructure
Kabul Municipality
2. Informal Housing Directorate
3. Housing Studies Directorate
1-ASP
2- Dar-ul Aman
3 - NHP
4-PGBCP
4. Properties + Housing Directorate
4.Water S + Environment Directorate
Guidelines + U Codes + Policy
IDLG-DMM
GeoDatabase
Private Sector
Fig VI.2: MUDH Internal Organization Structure
A. MUDH System
I. Ministry of Urban Development Key Deputies MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s three key technical deputyships, MUDH Programs and Development Projects have been involved in urban development activities in different scales and extent. Some of directorates and departments have direct involvement and others are not. A) Deputy Urban Affairs (Black Color) 1) Town Planning (TP) Directorate 2) Design of Regional Development Plans (DRDP) Directorate 3) Survey and Investigation Directorate 4) Water Supply and Environment Directorate B) Housing Deputy (Gray Color) 1) Upgrading Informal Areas (UIA) Directorate 2) Technical Design (TD) Directorate 3) Housing Studies and Policies (HSP) Directorate 4) Properties and Housing Directorate
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Part VI: Summary of Task 1: Internal Organization Review VI.2. Overlapping Activities in Urban Planning C) Deputy Construction Affairs (Orange Color) 1) Buildings Directorate 2 Development of National Construction Codes (DNCC) Directorate 3) Design of Technical Infrastructure (DTI) Directorate 4) Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Directorate
II. MUDH Programs (Green Color) 1) Afghanistan Stabilization Program (ASP) 2) Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex and Provinces 3) National Housing Program (NHP) 4) Public and Government Buildings Construction Projects (PGBCP) III..MUDH Development Projects (Green Color) 1) Strategic Development Plans (SDP) 2) Perozi-20,000 Housing Units 3) Renovation of Historic Monuments and Mosques 4) Center for Research and Studies (Training Center) 5) Teachers Township 6) Carpet Industry Townships 7) Administration and Technical Skills Training 8) Arrangement of Urban Development 9) Kabul Water and Sewerage 8) Prefabricate Plant (for school construction) The Programs and development projects have their own internal organization, budgetary and administrative-finance structures. The hiring and project expenditures are expected to be coordinated with MUDH HR and finance directorates. B. Key Stakeholders: Key stakeholders involved in urban planning are shown in the blue boxes: 1) CRIDA is involved in a variety of urban development and regional projects as well as upgrading of informal areas. It is a totally independent authority which reports to the president. The coordination between MUDH and CRIDA is in the low level. As the government has not been happy with Kabul Municipality, therefore, a significant authority has given to CRIDA for implementation of urban development projects not only within Kabul urban boundary and Kabul Province but within the neighboring provinces as capital region (Logar, Kapisa, Parwant and Maidan-Wardak provinces).
2) Kabul Municipality (KM) Architecture and Planning Directorate of KM: a. Issuing permits for construction of townships, housing and commcial complexes within Kabul b. Upgrading informal areas (planning and construction implementation) 3) IDLG-DMM (Independent Directorate of Local Governance (ILDG), Deputy Minister for Municipalities -DMM) a) Municipalities (need assessment and planning, urban projects implementation and supervisions) 4) Private Sector: a. Design and construction of townships (shahrak) projects b. Design and construction of housing, industrial and commercial complexes
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review VI.2. Overlapping Activities in Urban Planning 5) National Standards Authroity (NSA) NSA is the nationwide authority for development and implementation of construction and urban codes.
VI.2.3. Overlapping ToRs and Activities Diagram The following diagram shows overlapping activities of different entities with the same colored boxes. Black Boxes: Black Boxes are urban planning overlapping activities. a. The diagram shows that some development projects (SDP, Research Center and all Townships projects), 2 national programs, ASP and Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex program, and CRIDA are overlapping activities. b. The two directorates within Construction Affairs Deputyships (Orange Boxes): National Codes and Technical Infrastructure directorates ToRs are overlapping with Deputy for Urban Affairs, Town Planning directorate. Orange Boxes: The PGBCP (Public and Government Buildings Construction Program) is overlapping with MUDH Deputy for Construction Affairs as well as with Deputy for Housing Affairs, Technical Housing directorate. Blue Boxes: The Informal Housing and Properties directorates ToRs are overlapping with Kabul Municipality and local municipalities (DMM).
MUDH MUDH Programs
Development Projects (SDP + Research Center + Townships)
Deputy Construction Affairs 1. Buildings Directorate
2. National Codes Directorate
Deputy Urban Affairs 3. Technical Infrastructure Directorate
Pre-planning + Studies
CRIDA
1. Technical Housing Directorate
4. M/E Directoreate
1. DRDP Directorate
2. Town Planning Directorate
Desgin DP + MP + RP
Deputy Housing Affairs
3. Survey & Investigation Directorate
Urban Infrastructure
Kabul Municipality
2. Informal Housing Directorate
3. Housing Studies Directorate
1-ASP
2- Dar-ul Aman
3 - NHP
4-PGBCP
4. Properties + Housing Directorate
4.Water S + Environment Directorate
Guidelines + U Codes + Policy
IDLG-DMM
GeoDatabase
Private Sector
Fig VI.3: Urban Planning Overlapping Activities
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Part VI: Summary of Task 1: Internal Organization Review VI.2. Overlapping Activities in Urban Planning
Outputs: The following chart shows the appropriate re-arrangement of boxes (ToRs) to be merged with MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s internal organization. The blank boxes overlapping ToRs and shall to be moved to another appropriate directorateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. The Development of National Codes and Standards directorate at MUDH Construction Affairs Deputyship (orange color) ToR is overlapping partially with Afghanistan National Standard Authority (NSA) and partially with MUDH Town Planning directorate. Therefore, this directorate shall to be moved from the Construction Affairs deputyship organizatioal chart.
MUDH MUDH Programs
Deputy Construction Affairs
Deputy Urban Affairs
1. Buildings Directorate
3. Housing Studies Directorate
4. M/E Directoreate 1. DRDP Directorate
National Standards Authority (NSA)
Deputy Housing
Pre-planning + Studies
2. Town Planning Directorate
Desgin DP + MP + RP
3. Survey & Investigation Directorate
Urban Infrastructure
Kabul Municipality
4.Water S + Environment Directorate
Guidelines + U Codes + Policy
IDLG-DMM
GeoDatabase
Private Sector
Fig VI.5: Outputs of Overlapping Activities
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review VI.2. Overlapping Activities in Urban Planning VI.2.4. ToRs Re-Arrangement Assumption The following assumption can be a good start for MUDH’s leadership beginning efforts in restructuring of MUDH’s internal organization. The review of previous charts ends up with a strong Town Planning Directorate within MUDH’s internal organization in order to meet the responsibilities determined by the Town Planning Law. This diagram is an assumption and gives opportunity for leadership of MUDH to set up a commission for assessment and re-evaluating MUDH’s overall ToR and Organizational chart considering the international practices also. MUDH MUDH Programs
Deputy Construction Affairs 1. Buildings Directorate
National Standards Authority (NSA)
Deputy Urban Affairs
4. M/E Directoreate
Pre-planning + Studies
Deputy Housing Affairs Housing Policy Directorate
Town Planning Directorate 1. DRDP Department
2. MP + SP + DP
3. Zoning + Urban Codes
4. Urban Infrastructure
5. GIS + Mapping
6. RC + Urban Studies
Desgin DP + MP + RP
Kabul Municipality
Urban Infrastructure
IDLG-DMM
NHP
Projects Coord. Directorate
Guidelines + U Codes + Policy
GeoDatabase
Private Sector
Fig VI.6: Assumption for MUDH Restructuring of Internal Orgnization , Strong Town Planning Directorate.
I. Urban Affairs Deputy Town Planning Directorate 1) DRDP Department 2) MP + SP + DP Department 3) Zoning + Urban Codes Department 4) Urban Infrastructure Department 5) GIS + Mapping Department 6) Research Center + Urban Studies + Centralized Database
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Part VI: Summary of Task 1: Internal Organization Review VI.2. Overlapping Activities in Urban Planning II. Housing Deputy: 1) Housing Policy and Research Directorate 2) National Housing Program (NHP) III. Construction Affairs Deputy: Two large Directorates: 1) Buildings Design 2) M/E Directorates The urban planning activities of CRIDA and Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex and Provinces Program should be re-evaluated. The likelihood of merging with MUDH’s Town Planning Directorate is very high.
VI.3. Human Capacity Assessment Summary
VI.3.1. Non-technical Personnel The administrative and services personnel form a large percentage of MUDH’s workforce approximately 30 to 40% including programs and development projects. Most of the office routines and correspondences take place in an outdated manner due to the government’s overall bureaucracy and old laws. The following deficiencies were identified during the assessment. 1. Low professional qualifications in administration and management departments. 2. Poor computerization of administrative and office document management. 3. Poor working relationships between administrative employees and MUDH HR Directorate due to shortage of professions staff. 4. Low salary and benefits. 5. Lack of specialized programs for strengthening administrative staff’s development. 6. Lack of capacity building and training. 7. Lack of appropriate policies towards institutional reform. VII.3.2. Technical Personnel Despite success in hiring qualified personnel in recent years, the MUDH still faces a number of challenges. In general, MUDH suffers from an acute shortage of high tech professionals. The following deficiencies have been identified through the assessment. 1. Shortage of highly qualified architects, urban planners, environmental, demographers and socioeconomic experts due to low salaries and benefits. 2. Shortage of finance and accounting specialists. 3. Shortage of procurement professionals. 4. Lack of Geographic Information System (GIS) professionals and analysts. 5. Shortage of qualified technical personnel at MUDH’s provincial directorates.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review VI.4. MUDH Facility Assessment Summary VI.4.1. Facility Assessment In general, MUDH suffers from a shortage of physical space and standard workstations which creates a number of serious obstacles in productivity and efficiency of work performance. Due to the shortage of spaces, different branches of MUDH are currently resettled throughout different parts of the city at MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s properties and private rented locations. The following deficiencies are identified as a result of a facility and technology assessment as well as questionnaire feedback by staff of different directorates and departments: a) Physical Locations of Directorates 1. Long distance commutes between MUDH HQ + Home + Work. 2. Serious security concerns (Poli-charkhi Rd + Airport Rd) 3. Poor communication at MUDH HQ by employees and customers. 4. Poor access to the internet and other types of digital communication at MUDH HQ. 5. Lack of high tech help desk for hardware and software functionality at MUDH remote locations. 6. Poor administrative and disciplinary mechanisms to monitor employee attendance between MUDH HQ and long distance locations. b). Results of questionnaires The following are key concerns expressed through questionnaires filled out by employees from different directorates and departments: 1. Low salary and employee benefits. 2. Job safety (not sure with future employment status: be a government employee, contractor or loaned by MUDH programs and development projects). 3. Unfair employee ranking and work performance evaluation. 4. Unfair salaries for government employees compared to contractors of the same qualification and work experience. 5. Poor daily interdepartmental communication due to lack of internet access. 6. No standard workstation sizes. 7. Poor work environment conditions (lack of amenities including HVAC) due to shortage of power energy. 8. Time consuming and long processing of work orders to repair technology hardware. 9. Access to the internet and use of technology is a big concern for the majority of technical personnel of MUDH. 10. Majority of the personnel complain about the lack of a help desk or high tech help desk to respond to work orders for installing software, hardware and repairing hardware. 11. Shortage of daily power and lack of generators to run the technology equipment. 12. Shortage of proper office supplies and furniture. VI.4.2. Level of Information-communication Technology 1. MUDH has no clear ICT vision and strategy for addressing new technology challenges. 2. Shortage of IT capacity and resources. 3. Lack of IT capacity building programs (short and long-term) for IT end users. 4. Lack of policy for using unique platform hardware and software. 5. Lack of vision and strategy for GIS and mapping technology in urban development. 6. Lack of a central database. 7. Lack of Urban Management Information System (UMIS). 8. Use of insecure private commercial email accounts for government confidential correspondences. 9. Lack of High Tech Support (help desk).
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Part VI: Summary of Task 1: Internal Organization Review VI.4.5. Summary of Key Findings of Task 1: Internal Organization Review
Fig VI.7: Summary Table Capacity Assessment, Key Findings
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Urban Planning Functional Review for Ministry of Urban Development and Housing
Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
Table of Contents Executive Summary 4 Review of Literature 4 Introduction 6 Part I: Review of Afghan Laws Relevant to Urban Planning Framework 8 I.1. General Provisions 9 I.2. Land Management Law (LML) Review 11 I.3. Land Acquisition Law (LAL) Review 15 I.4. Municipal Law 19 I.5. Town Planning Law Review 23 I.6. Afghanistan Property Law 27 I.7. AUWSSC Bylaw (charter) 28 I.8. Part I Summary and Conclusions 31 Part II. Review National Priority Programs and Policies 37 II.1. General Observation 37 II.2. Urban National Priority Program (U-NPP) 38 II.3. National Housing Program (NHP) and National Housing Policy Drafts 39 II.4. Urban Solidarity Program (USP)/NSP 40 II.5. Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF) 41 II.6. Open Government Partnership (OGP) 42 II.7. Afghanistan National Action Plan (NAP) 43 II.8. Citizens’ Charter National Priority Program- CCNPP (2016-2026) 45 II.9. Afghanistan National Urban Policy Draft 45 II.10. Land Readjustment (LR) and Land Urban Redevelopment 46 II.11. National Policy for Upgrading and Redevelopment of Informal Settlements 48 Part III. Review of MUDH Urban Planning Legal Documents 54 III.1. Introduction 55 III.2. Afghanistan City Master Planning DRAFT Guidelines 56 III.3. Review of Technical Guidelines for Preparation of ‘Urban Plans’ 62 III.4. Shahrak -Township or Satellite Towns 65 Part IV. Comparative Study of Urban Development Models (International Practices) 68 Introduction 69 IV.1. The case of Indonesia 70 IV.2. The case of Turkey 73 IV.3. The case of Islamic Republic of Iran 77 IV.4. The case of Saudi Arabia 81 IV.5. The case of Egypt 81 IV.6. The case of United States of America- Urban Land Development Model 84 IV.7. The case of Japan and South Korea 91 IV.8. The Case of Germany 93 IV.9. The Case of Othrer countries 94 IV.10. Reduce Risk Disaster (RRD) 94 Part IV. Summary 95 Part V. Task 2 Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework in Afghanistan Summary and Conclusions 97 V.1. Regulatory and Legal Constraints and Opportunities in Urban Planning in Afghanistan 98 V.2. Building code, Land-use Code and Permitting Process 103 Annexes 107
Abbreviation AFN Symbol of Afghan National Currency AGCHO Geodetic & Cartographic Head Office ANDS Afghanistan National Development Strategy ALA Afghanistan Land Authority ARAZI Land Authority (Afghanistan Land Authority) ASP Afghanistan Stabilization Program BP Building Permit CDC Community Development Council CRIDA Capital Region Independent Authority GoIRA Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan GoA Government of Afghanistan HCLW High Council for Land and Water HCUD High Council for Urban Development IDLG Independent Directorate of Local Governance IDLG-DMM Deputy Minister for Municipalities KM Kabul Municipality KP Kabul Province LML Land Management Law LAL Land Acquisition Law MoF Ministry of Finance ML Municipal Law MUDH Ministry of Urban Development and Housing MRRD Ministry of Rehabilitation and Rural Development NHP National Housing Program NLP National Land Policy N-UPP National Urban Priority Program NUP National Urban Policy PAMA Central Institute of Projects (former semi government enterprise) PCC Provincial Capital City PGBCP Public and Government Buildings Construction Program RDA Regional Development Authority SDP Strategic Development Plans TDR Traditional Dispute Resolution ToR Terms of Reference UDSP Urban Development Support Project WB World Bank USAID United States Agency for International Development Afghan Language Terminologies Amlak (AMLAK) Land Affairs (Estate) Jirga Elderly Council Shahrak Township (satellite town) Shahr City / Town Shahrsazi City Planning / Town Planning Sharwali Municipality Shura Council 3
Executive Summary The multiple laws reviewed suffer from lack of coherence and significant missing guidance. Many articles are conflicting with each other discussing the same relevant topics. Ministry of Urban Development and Housing- MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s responsibilities in implementation of urban strategies and policies have been confused. The majority of policies relevant to urban development and housing are mandated to be implemented by MUDH. It is unlikely that MUDH be able to take the load of such huge agenda with its current capacity and resources, particularly, when its ToR has been confused for many years. Review of available technical documents prepared by MUDH shows that the majority of technical guidelines and directives for preparation of various types of urban development plans have serious shortcomings and they are incomplete. Such guideline technical documents are necessary, as legal documents for the use of not only MUDH, but other relevant government agencies and private sector involving in urban planning. The guidelines must cover wide range of issues relevant to sustainable growth of Afghan cities. The documents need to be reviewed and updated and got legal status. Number of relevant international urban planning models close to Afghanistan conditions such as example of Indonesia, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other countries have been reviewed and the approaches represent relevant urban development practices that can provide good lessons for urban planners and policy makers in Afghanistan. The role of local municipalities and decentralization of urban planning management, policy of housing can be further studied. By adopting these approaches, the Afghan policy makers and design professionals must take into consideration their particular local conditions and capacities, that should have relevancy to the cultural context in Afghanistan.
Review of Literature For the purpose of finding gaps and deficiencies in the existing legal and regulatory of urban planning framework of Ministry of Urban Development and Housing -MUDH, a number of key relevant literatures were reviewed in Task 2. Hundreds of reports, research studies, papers and articles on rule of law, local governance state of Afghan cities, and housing problems have been prepared and published by Afghan government agencies, international donorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; funded projects, and academic institutions since the fall of Taliban in 2001. Some of publications and research studies that were fragmented, tackled the rule of law in the context of urban planning, sustainable growth of Afghan cities, and living environment. A huge number of published literatures examined the formal and informal justice system, the success and failure of the rule of law in Afghanistan. Most studies and research papers relevant to justice system concluded that the weakness of formal rules of law in Afghanistan have been the result of ongoing political upheaval and insecurity in recent decades in the country. In this context, traditional dispute resolution (TDR) actors, including local village elders, family elders, and religious leaders, act as an important providers of justice for local communities.
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Review of Literature While the slow development of formal, effective, efficient, and reliable justice services from the state continues, the TDR practices continually serve as the most important source of justice for the large majority of the Afghan population. Studies show that Afghan rule of law institutions are often viewed as susceptible to corruption and have perceived to deliver limited legitimacy within much of the county. USAID funded Rule of Law “The LARA” project was aimed to help the Afghan justice system reform. A number of very helpful research studies and reports have been funded by World Bank in urban development and upgrading of informal settlement problems in Afghan cities. These together with the UN-Habitat projects have been helpful in developing the national urban policies and priority programs on behalf of Afghan Government and Ministry of Urban Development and Housing. A comprehensive study of Afghan cities was prepared by the UN-Habitat in two volumes “State of Afghan Cities, 2015”, and a joint funded project by government of Australia with MUDH, Kabul Municipality, and IDLG-DMM, with local governance collaboration. The assessment covers 34 provincial capital city (PCC) in Afghanistan. The overall assessment concluded that, because the ‘urban agenda’ has been largely missing in the past decades, cities have grown irregularly and unsystematic, informally, without any quality basic services. The report also emphasized that insufficient national policy and regulations to guide urban development; limited realistic and grounded spatial plans; weak municipal governance to ensure equitable services delivery; and effective management of the inevitable urbanization transition facing the country. There are serious gaps in the urban policy, legal and regulatory framework that can be seen in most of the references’ conclusions. In addition to the review of local and international publications, prominent Afghan-American experts in the field of urban planning, architecture and sustainability such as Prof. Rafi Samizay, Prof. Bashir Kazimee from Washington State University, and key project team member Dr. Terry Ryan have contributed significant in reviewing of laws, legal documents, guidelines, and formulation of recommendations in Task 2. Key literatures reviewed in task 2 are listed in Annex 1.
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Introduction With rapid urbanization, resources are increasingly constrained in Afghan cities. Gaps between mass urbanization and inadequate urban development in Afghanistan continue to widen because of the deficiencies that prevent MUDH or local governments from providing quality services efficiently. Afghan cities continue to economically remain dependent on the national government rather than becoming drivers of economic growth. To address these challenges, the GoIRA with support from donors has recently launched broad range policy and institutional reforms. Creating and adapting new essential laws, rules, and regulations or updating existing urban development plans, policies, guidelines and institutional capacities to better plan and implement urban growth in Afghanistan are key elements of this reform agenda. The GoIRA has recognized that without these policy and legislative reforms, the unregulated urban development not only will fail to improve the quality of citizen’s life but also would likely create social instability and contentious debates over the viability of such uncontrolled development initiatives. The contentiousness of these issues particularly with respect to urban land development and housing has significantly increased in recent years.
“By 2024, Afghanistan has a network
of safe, livable urban centers that are hubs of economic and arenas of culture and social inclusion through decentralized urban planning and participatory urban governance.” Urban National Priority Program (U-NPP), Overall Outcome (Vision), 2016.
The land inventory and land related legal issues in Afghanistan has been always one of the most complicated challenges that Afghan states and different political regimes have been faced for many years. Factors such as tribal, ethnic and sociocultural structure of Afghan population and statehood have played crucial role in land management and rule of law in the country. Lack of policies and regulations for land management, land disputes, duplication and confusion in land administration system in the country are main obstacles in efficient implementation of urban planning projects at the provincial and city levels. As a result, Afghanistan is still straggling for adapting a modern and acceptable model of urban planning management system. To address these issues, as part of a broad range assessments and reviews the consultant was assigned to carry out a detailed review of key legal and regulatory documents and, adapting a normative approach, identify any specific gaps or deficiencies.
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Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework بررسی حقوقی و مقررات چارچوب پالنگذاری شهری
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Part I: Review of Afghan Ratified Laws Relevant to Urban Planning Framework بخش اول :بررسی قوانین توشیح شده افغانستان در رابطه به پالن گذاری شهری وزارت شهرسازی ومسکن
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Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
I.1. General Provisions I.1.1. Background Afghan history has witnessed many conflicts related to land disputes in both urban and rural areas in the country. Disputes over access to land and water in Afghanistan have become one of the key drivers of conflict and criminal violence for many years. Today, still serious competition exists between communities, ethnicities, and tribes for accessing to resources due to fragile rule of law. Land disputes are dealt with both in the formal system, available laws and legislations, as well as in traditional systems based on sharâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ia law and local shura or jirga (councils). Under existing laws, municipalities have responsibility for land acquisition and land allocation for urban development, village councils- shura are also active in land issues and disputes settlement in informal ways. The sharâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ia law is a key player in land management and transactions. Most of decisions in any form or type of land transactions including buying, selling, renting, and land disputes particularly in the rural areas are based on existing sharâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ia laws and traditional community councils- shura or jirga decisions. As of today, Community Development Councils (CDC) have been established in around half of all villages and are elected. But still they are incompatible due to lack of engagement mechanism and transparency. Studies show that both formal and informal mechanisms for land dispute resolution have been weak. Informal mechanisms have deteriorated especially since regime change in 1978 which weakened community social structures. Geopolitical instability and security in the last three decades have caused significant problems on migration of population from rural to urban areas, particularly, in large cities. Ongoing displacement, resettlement, population growth and urbanization have severely increased pressures on land, and this in turn has further destabilized traditional systems also. Rule of law has been violated systematically by all stakeholders including government itself all over the country in different forms and ways.
I.1.2. Institutional Land Governance framework Review of land governance chronology in Afghanistan shows that the state has been engaged in land administration, mostly for collecting taxes, at least in the last two centuries and the land management activity has historically been the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) until late 1960s. The Afghan State in different historical period carried out some attempts, under name of land reform, in order to improve the tax collection and revenue in the country. An example of such attempt was the Land Declaration Law of 1960. In 1963 AMLAK (Land Affairs) and Cadastre Directorates, the two government agencies, were created under the supervision of the MoF resulting in the first relatively accurate multi-purpose land inventory. However, this land inventory did not involve the document registration of the courts. In 1973 the Cadastre was separated from the MoF and merged into the Afghan Geodetic & Cartographic Head Office (AGCHO) leaving AMLAK without direct access to cadastre maps.
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Part I: Review of Afghan Laws Relevant to Urban Planning Framework
I.1. General Provisions Land reform was assigned to AMLAK, which completed a survey and collected information regarding approximately 800,000 existing landowners in 1970s according to government sources and established new land classifications. AMLAK was transferred from MoF to Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) in 1978 after the establishment of new socialist regime in the country. Under Soviet influence, the new government land reform focused on expropriation of large landholdings and redistribution to farmers. Such policy also did not end to any fundamental improvement and successes in land management for the traditional Afghan socioeconomic structure. Subsequently, more than two decades of instability have followed in the country, the land management faces new serious chaos including private and public land grabbing phenomena by different power brokers in large cities and provincial capital cities (PCC). Land grabbing of government properties problematic and reflected in the new land management law as well as National Land Policy (NLP) to be discussed in details in the next few chapters. Land reform came to an end and AMLAK lost most of its personnel and support as the Dr. Najibullah regime disarrayed in 1992. Nevertheless, AMLAK Department had limited operation until it was merged in 2010 with the Afghan Land Authority (ALA) which had been created in 2009 within MAIL. The ALA was created within the MAIL to act as a one-stop-shop for leasing state land to the private sector in order to improve land use and increase revenues for the government. By the Afghan cabinet ministersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; decision dated August 2010, AMLAK merged with the Independent Commission for the Restitution of Illegally Occupied Land, which had been created by Presidential Decree on April 2010, and ALA, naming the resulting organization ARAZI (lands) and consolidating more than 900 AMLAK employees with 337 offices spread across all 34 provinces (ARAZI Official Document). These offices are located in the provincial capital cities (PCC) and most of the rural districts. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, until 2013 land administration and registration was the responsibility of the Afghanistan Land Authority (ALA) which was part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MAIL). The General Directorate of Properties and Management of Land Affairs by a presidential decree on June 2013 was renamed as Afghanistan Land Authority-Idar-e Arazi. ARAZI was granted all the authority and the responsibilities of AMLAK, ALA, and the Independent Commission for the Restitution of Illegally Occupied Land and has a primary role in carrying out many of the directives of the Land Management Law first ratified in 2008 and the new LML of 2016. As of December 2018, per decision of Afghan Government ARAZI, Afghanistan land management authority, has been merged with MUDH. The same the Directorate of properties (AMLAK) was transferred from MoF to MUDH administration. The structural analysis of this report focuses mostly before the merging of ARAZI with MUDH.
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I.2. Land Management Law (LML) Review The law was enacted based on Article 9(2) of the Afghan Constitution. The law reviewed was a working translation dated 10 April 2017. Article 119 documents the enforcement of the law and indicates what previous laws are thereby superseded.
I.2.1. Overview The law is enacted in 119 Articles. The overall objective of the law is to provide authority to the Afghanistan Land Authority (ALA) to act as a central organization to manage the assets of land throughout Afghanistan. During the review of this law, it was learned that the Afghanistan Land Authority was or is to be merged with the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MUDH). Article 2 provides the specific objectives of the law. Article 3 provides an extensive (58 items) and helpful definition of terms. Duties and responsibilities of the ALA are prescribed in Art 7 however, there are other direct or implied duties and responsibilities elsewhere in the law. 1.2.2 Analysis
1.2.2.1 General Broad categories of responsibility are documented in this law and are presented here. In this analysis, the collection of responsibilities appears to fall in these three categories: Regulate, Inventory, and Transact.
Fig I.1: Afghanistan Land Management Law Analysis Chart
I.2.2.2 Regulate The law, importantly contains (Art 8) the authority to establish the High Council of Land and Water (HCLW) yet does not assign other than secretariat and nomination responsibilities to the ALA.
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Part I: Review of Afghan Laws Relevant to Urban Planning Framework
I.2. Land Management Law (LML) Review There is an implication in the law that ALA will have considerable responsibility in further preparing regulations relative to the duties and activities that are governed by procedures to be determined by the HCLW and not specified in this law. Further powers to regulate are contained in Arts 5, 6 and 10.
Fig I.2: Afghanistan Land Management Law Analysis, Land Regulation Component Chart
In most cases the ALA is empowered to make recommendations to the HCLW for regulations to be approved by that body. The ALA is empowered to develop procedures to carry out the duties specified in the law (Art 118). A significant process mandated by the law is “land clearance.” The law establishes guidance for ALA to lead and support the Land Clearance Delegation (multi- Ministry membership). The process is to occur at the same time as the cadastre survey thus could be thought of as part of the inventory function. More will be said about this important process later. ALA is also empowered to control land access (Art 7), prevent usurpation (Art 7) and review legal documents (Art 18) all of which imply the necessity for legal powers within and in cooperation with the judicial portion of government. The law implies that ALA should promote development (similar to the US Economic Development organizations) of the land in a proper way and in accordance with the law, also implying a potential delicate balancing act of authority.
Fig I.3: Afghanistan Land Management Law Analysis, Land Inventory Component Chart
I.2.2.3 Inventory: Under this broad category and an important first step in land management is having a comprehensive knowledge of the available land assets. The functions of survey (Art 7 provides for cartographic and geodesic services), Identify (Art 7, 12, 13 and 91), classify (Art 5) and register (Arts 7, 10, 12 and 14),) provide a logical sequence that must be taken so land transactions can be conducted. The law establishes several categories of land (state, public, grazing, non-state owned, public grazing land, endowed, private, contested, etc). Article 5 empowers ALA to take the lead to collaborate to establish the land into zones and publish a regulation approved ultimately by the Cabinet. Regrettably, the law does not define the meaning of a zone nor how it might differ from the categories. Typically, a zone implies how the land within that zone “can be used” rather than what it is now (ie categorized). Perhaps, the regulation that is to be developed will clarify further the definitions. The law empowers ALA properly for the survey or mapping function to include allowing private services to be procured an efficient and proper way to conduct the inventory process more completely and quickly. A Spatial Data Infrastructure Board is to be established to guide the technical functions of mapping (Art 116). The implication is that proper standards of data collection, boundary determination, boundary marking, recordation, scales, etc.) will be developed or added to current documentation in this area.
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I.2. Land Management Law (LML) Review I.2.2.4. Transact: For purposes of this analysis, the inventory function has been separated from the transact functions (record ownership, manage disputes, maintain records, issue deeds, collect fees, transfer, sell, lease etc.). The inventory function is predominantly technical and carried out by professionals (survey, engineering, legal, geological, agricultural, etc.) with very little involvement of private citizens. As a contrast the transact function implies a “customer” responsibility. In fact, the law implies that ALA should have or establish offices (at least at the Provincial level: Art 18) to serve those who wish to conduct land related business. The ALA is to serve both the private citizens who have land transactions but also to serve other government organizations who have or need the use of land. In this role, ALA acts as an agent reporting to the HCLW and ultimately to the Cabinet. Clearly, the ALA will need to staff the distributed offices well with trained professionals. These offices can play a major role for the government in its proper treatment of the citizens. Also, this can be considered a portion of the desire for devolution.
Fig I.4: Afghanistan Land Management Law Analysis, Land Transaction Component Chart
I.2.3. Conclusions I.2.3.1. Importance: The law is comprehensive and appears to support the importance of the land to the Afghan people. The years of conflict and turmoil have no doubt made the issue of land ownership and use one that is and will continue to be contentious. The effectiveness of the law and how it treats the nation will largely be determined by how effective and how quickly the administrators at ALA are able to full implement it, while conducting everyday business as currently done. The law does not specifically address the importance of inclusion of the public in the land-based decisions but it implies that the role of the land owners and developers is vital. I.2.3.2 Wording: As with other laws reviewed, the lack of precision in the wording may be problematic. A couple examples stand out. Article 12 (3) seems to preclude the ownership of “public grazing land” by “anyone.” Perhaps this is a translation problem that only means that public grazing land is a national asset and must be well protected. The number of land categories appear to be overlapping. Reduction of the number of categories and better definition of them will assist in a more accurate inventory. Art 17 (1) says that “endowed land cannot be owned or possessed by either the endower or the endowed.” This appears to leave no one in possession of endowed land. The law does not seem to define endowed land, and this may, once again, be simply a problem in the translation from native languages to English. Article 112 refers to “urban informal property.” No definition of this category was found.
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Part I: Review of Afghan Laws Relevant to Urban Planning Framework
I.2. Land Management Law (LML) Review I.2.3.3. Inventory: The challenge for the organization, no doubt has been, and will continue to be to insure the inventory is complete and accurate while transacting land business during the inventory. Conducting the “land clearance” function (determination of ownership) at the same time as the “cadastral survey” function (identify the land category and use) suggests a very slow process. For efficiency, the survey should and will likely be done in multiple areas of the country at the same time. Article 45 requires establishment of “provincial land clearance commissions” under the authority and control of the ALA and central land clearance commission. There appears to be no effective reason to require the survey and land clearance functions to be done at the same time.
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I.3. Land Acquisition Law (LAL) Review I.3.1. Overview Land acquisition has always been a difficult task for government to deal with. Afghan government has been involved in land acquisition and resettlement for upgrading and building of new infrastructure such as roads, urban water networks, schools and clinics and new townships in the last 15 years since creation of new government in early 2000s. Most of public projects are failed at the stage of implementation because the government is not in the capacity to fully complete the private properties’ expropriation process. The main reason is the lack of appropriate regulations, procedures and policies for implementation of LAL and shortage of budget for reimbursement against the value of property. In Afghanistan, the law and practice of land acquisition, however painful in terms of government procedures, determination of property value and reimbursement of property value for the individuals subjected to it. Land acquisition for public purposes was first provided for by law in Afghanistan in 1935. The principles of this law were reflected in the Constitution of 1964 and again in the Constitutions of 1977, 1987 and 1990. Article 40 of the 2004 Constitution provides the following statements relevant to citizens’ property acquisition: “No person’s property shall be confiscated except within the provisions of law and the order of an authorized court. Acquisition of personal property is permitted only for securing public interest, in return for prior and just compensation according to law.” The following analysis focuses on articles relevant to urban planning and resettlement issues. Comments are in brackets with italic style.
I.3.2. Analysis
“No person’s property shall be confiscated except within the provisions of law and the order of an authorized court. Acquisition of personal property is permitted only for securing public interest, in return for prior and just compensation according to law.”
(Article 40, Afghan Constitution, 2004)
Afghanistan’s current LAL was adapted on March 5, 2016 in 7 chapters and 53 articles. The law states: “Land may be expropriated for public purposes with the approval of the Council of Ministers in exchange for prior and fair compensation.” The expropriating municipality must establish a committee to determine the compensation owed to the owner. The committee consists of the owner, user or their agent; a representative of the organization “that determined the expropriation was necessary”; an agent of the expropriating municipality; an official from the Ministry of Finance; and from the Ministry of Justice. Article 2 describes the objectives of the LAL. Among different objectives the article states: “Allowing implementation of urban masterplan and all other plans for projects of public interest”. Article 4 describes the enforcement authority for the implementation of LAL. The article states that the municipalities are responsible for implementation of LAL within the scope of urban master plans and ARAZI offices are responsible for implementation of LAL outside the areas of urban masterplans. [Comment: This article is not consistent with Land Management Law (LML) which states that the land management is the responsibility of ARAZI as well as it is not consistent with Town Planning Law where describes that
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Part I: Review of Afghan Laws Relevant to Urban Planning Framework
I.3. Land Acquisition Law (LAL) Review the preparation and implementation of master plans are the responsibilities of MUDH.] Article 7 and Article 8 describes the necessity for expropriation of the property by the acquisition authority. The article states that the acquisition authority must publicly announce the project goals and objectives and reasons.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;The basic rule of compensation is as follows: 1) The price of the expropriated land; 2) The price of any expropriated residential houses or other buildings located on the land; and 3) The price of any fruitful trees, greenery or other plants on the landâ&#x20AC;?
[Comment: In practice this process is not happening in a systematic way. The future project scope of work and details are not shared with local communities publicly in the pre-planning stage of the project implementation. There are examples that the acquired property was allocated for another project than the one announced before the project implementation process. An example of such issues happened in Kabul City, in Kart-e Mamoureen when the right-of-way along the Silo Street was acquired by the government back in early 1970s for public use and the compensations were paid to land owners at the time. Documents published in the Afghan media showed that the same acquired areas re-sold in a cheaper price back to private investors by Kabul Municipality In 2015,. This is a case of obvious corruption and failure of the acquisition process]. Chapter two mainly, Article 9 and Article 10, describes the responsibilities of expropriating authority and the owner affected by the expropriation. The expropriating authority must inform the owner of property six months in advance of project start in person and through media. ARAZI has responsibility of coordination among stakeholders and provide survey documents of the property. [Comment: Now when ARAZI has been merged with MUDH, this responsibility lays on MUDH. MUDH most likely is not in the capacity to fulfill such responsibility due to shortage of capacity and resources.] Chapter 3 deals with compensation. The basic rule of compensation is as follows: 1) The price of the expropriated land; 2) The price of any expropriated residential houses or other buildings located on the land; and 3) The price of any fruitful trees, greenery or other plants on the land. Article 13 and Article 14 describes the responsibilities of project affected person (PAPs). The destruction of existing structures, if the land has trees, the removal of trees, are the responsibilities of PAP and entitled to transfer them. If the PAP failed to do, then acquisition authority will destruct the structures and PAP is not entitled. [Comment: The issue of compensation for real value of acquired property by government has always been problematic and time consuming even, in some cases, the process failed at the end. Review of this chapter show the following possible deficiencies: 1. The law does not clearly clarify the measure or amount of compensation for land and buildings, what factors have to be taken into account or ignored or how compensation is to be assessed.
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Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
I.3. Land Acquisition Law (LAL) Review 2. The price of infrastructure within the property is not included in the total amount of compensation 3. There is no provision for a court to be involved in the process of expropriation as is specifically required by the Constitution 4. There is no provision for any appeal against the award of compensation 5. It is not clear how the resettlement committee determine the resettlement location for person affected by the project within urban area or outside of master plan 6. There are no provisions on how the land to be expropriated is to be delimited 7. In terms of who is covered by the Law, references to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;owners/usersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; are very vague and unclear 8. Unlike earlier laws, there are no provisions for a plan to be made for the land prior to expropriation, or for the owner to be able to buy back his/her land if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not used for the purposes for which it has been expropriated] Chapter 6 describes the resettlement outside the Master Plan. Article 38 describes the measure and process how a re-settlement committee organize resettlement process. MUDH plays key role in this process. [Comment: Articles in chapter 6 relevant to resettlement of private property owners affected by the project are vague. It is not clear when the acquired authority shall develop the resettlement plan prior to start of the project or not. It is not clear how the resettlement inside the master plan at city urban boundary level takes place].
I.3.3. Findings 1. The procedure for reimbursement and re-settlement is long and bureaucratic 2. Principle that involuntary resettlement to be avoided wh ere possible implies discussion of necessity for and alternatives to acquisition and resettlement is vague and not clear. 3. Lack of mechanism for evaluation of properties values and fair compensation and assistance with resettlement 4. In most cases resettlement plan is missing prior to the start of the project 5. Land values must be assessed as at pre-project or pre-displacement value whichever is higher 6. Involvement of MUDH and Municipalities in the process of acquisition is confused and procedures to be practiced by the government and relevant stakeholders in implementation of relevant laws.
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Part I: Review of Afghan Laws Relevant to Urban Planning Framework
I.3. Land Acquisition Law (LAL) Review 7. No special provision in the law for a resettlement plan outside of acquisition as part of implementing a Master Plan, no resettlement plan in practice 8. Shortage of budget for acquisition and re-payment of land value 9. Poor mechanism for assessment of land, house and infrastructure values based on market prices 10. No discussion with owners prior to start of projects and properties under acquisition
I.3.4. Conclusions The current LAL is not consistent with the latest version of Land Management Law and other relevant municipal laws and national urban policies. Old procedures in determining the market value of properties, unfair resettlement process and shortage of reimbursement fund to be paid for property value are the cause of failure of public projects at the implementation phase. In the experience of Turkey which discusses in the international practices section, the government has special fund and pay in advance the value of acquired property. In most of cases, the objectives of urban development projects are not shared with land owners and local communities prior to start of the project. The new National Land Policy (NLP) is expected to help the implementation of LAL. However; the policies need directives
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Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
I.4. Municipal Law Review A newer version of Municipal Law (ML) was ratified by the President of Afghanistan in September 3, 2018 during this review. The law has not been published yet in the Official Government Gazette. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Ministry of Justice, Municipal Law, the law reviewed, supersedes the Municipal Law and all amendments published prior to November 7, 2000. An older version of Municipal Law was apparently drafted prior to the latest version in July 2018 in original English language. The review elements presented in this review include observations from both laws, but the reader should be aware of apparent discrepancies. Regrettably, the newer ratified Municipal Law is not yet available in English so the review here is done via the informal translation.
Fig I.5: Municipal Law Analytical Chart
I.4.2. Analysis The law is intended to regulate Municipalities and their subordinate organizations, define their powers, regulate Government departments that interact with them, regulate financial affairs and importantly to establish a system of planning and land use within their boundaries. The analysis contained here focuses on the land development aspects.
I.4.3. Governance The law refers repeatedly, to how the Municipality is to work with other government institutions. An apparent effort to devolve more local control to the people who live locally, the law, confuses the matter it appears. High Council for Urban Development- HCUD, IDLG, MUDH and others are charged with establishing broad policy, planning and oversight. An example of the confusion is the chapter 10 transfer of power and responsibilities to municipalities by HCUD. Art 56 describes that HCUD can take decisions in giving power and responsibilities to one or number of municipalities, transfer the power and responsibilities of a government agency to municipalities, and giving power for planning and land use within Municipal boundary per request of IDLG. The Art 56 through Art 59 diminish executive power of IDLG terms of references. HCUD is a judiciary council strictly for overseeing of urban planning activities and approval of urban planning projects.
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Part I: Review of Afghan Laws Relevant to Urban Planning Framework
I.4. Municipal Law Review HCUD is not expected to be involved in power straggle in municipalities administrative structures and their mandates. Art 20 requires the Municipality Mayor to prepare the Strategic Plan, report to the Municipal Council and to IDLG. Art 20, Claus 8, item 3 says that the strategic plan must be prepared based on “Development of urban Affairs” according to country’s political, social and economic criteria. It is not clear if this plan is a urban development strategic plan or just a plan not covering future urban development of municipal boundary because the Art 7 (2) of the Town Planning Law suggests MUDH prepares the Strategic Plan. The law is unclear as to which entity actually prepares this plan type. Other examples of governance confusion are included in other aspects of this analysis and later in the comments on comparing and contrasting the laws.
I.4.4. Municipal Master Planning (MP) Preparation of Cities’ master plans including Kabul City Master Plan is the responsibility of MUDH (Art 68). The law clearly intends for the Municipality to implement the development of the more detailed planning process aspects. The intent of the law appears to be to strengthen the role of the Municipality for master planning within their boundaries and to empower them to perform the “permitting process (from detailed plan application through inspection and occupancy). Art 64 details the obligation of Governmental and Non-Governmental Entities in relation to planning and land use and requires those entities to work with the Municipalities. Art 68, item 10 states: “Land Development Company can request a document of design and development of Master Plan of any land (lot) from MUDH for development by the that company or any other company.” This clause is vague. It is not known the type of such land development company either private or government. Regrettably the law uses the general term “Master Plan” (Masterplan English version) instead of being more precise. The Municipal Law has no definition for Master Plan but one would assume the intent is to mean “Strategic Plan.” Art 65 suggests that the Municipality is only to be “consulted” on the Master Plan. All other plan types are for the purposes of bringing more and more detail and clarity for a specific project.
I.4.5. Building Permit (BP) Process Art 71, (item 10) assigns the responsibility to MUDH to regulate the BP Process while Art 71 defines the Municipality role in administering the process. Perhaps the BP Process regulation, if it exists, clarifies the intent of the law. The Municipal Law implies considerable administrative and detailed management within the Municipality, further implying adequate staffing and funding. The law is rather silent on the role professionals and citizens should play in the BP process as well as the MP process.
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Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
I.4. Municipal Law Review I.4.6. Miscellaneous (a) Regional Development Authorities (RDA) (including CRIDA): Art 39 describes cooperation with Regional Development Authorities and introduces another “player” in the MP process. The term that appears to translate to “township” is introduced. In English, a “township” typically means an entity with some amount of governmental authority. Further deduction leads to the understanding that the meaning may more rightly refer to subdivisions. In any respect, the relationship between the RDAs and MUDH is not understood completely and cannot be adequately reviewed in this report. The enacted law made no mention of RDA only CRIDA. (b) City Master Plans, Detailed Plans: Art 41 again appears to refer to MUDH’s responsibility to “develop” these plan types. It appears that Art 68 confirms the responsibility. (c) Institute of Municipal Education: Art 49 charges MUDH with establishing this Institute. The review would suggest that training of this type is the responsibility of IDLG. (d) High Council for Urban Development (HCUD): Art 50 provides for establishing subcommittees and is confusing. Art 56 suggests that the HCUD can transfer certain powers to other entities with the approval of IDLG. MUDH has the secretariat and nomination responsibilities for the HCUD, setting up certain conflict it seems. (e) National Association of Architects/Engineers: The law establishes the requirement to have building permits reviewed by professionals. The requirement could lead to slow approval times. It is always good to obtain professional advice on projects both private and public. There are numerous ways for government to partner with practicing professionals to accomplish good review. A requirement like this implies a process to issue and/ or check credentials. (f) Land Management: In apparent conflict with the LML and Town Planning Law, “state owned land” management was to be conducted by the ALA. Art 76 appears to reassign this responsibility to MUDH. Perhaps this is part of the recent merging of MUDH and ALA. Art 77 assigns Municipality to prepare, develop and implement strategies for management of lands within its boundary. The above two articles 76 and 77 are in conflict with each other.
I.4.7. Conclusions 4.7.1. Governance: The Municipal Law as written and enacted, confuses the authorities and responsibilities of the organizations who are charged with the “master planning (masterplan)” and general land development process. The new draft does not seem to provide clarity but rather confuses further. The Municipality should, clearly, be involved with strategic planning and the issuing of permissions for any projects within their boundaries. The laws appear to be in serious conflict with one another. 4.7.2 Terminology: It should of great concern that the terminology used in the laws is not sufficiently detailed nor consistently used. Confusion of terms can often lead to public frustration, slow processing, costly administration and potential litigation. For example: “Strategic Plan”, “Land Development Company”
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Part I: Review of Afghan Laws Relevant to Urban Planning Framework
I.4. Municipal Law Review 4.7.3 Master Planning/Permitting: In general, it is helpful to think of three major phases of Land Development (Phase I: Legislation, Policy and Regulation; Phase II: Planning; Phase III: Project Development, Permitting, Construction and Occupancy). The highest levels of government, national and regional are involved with legislation, policy and regulations, as these guide the remainder of the process. Once guidelines are enacted, the local jurisdictions can perform those activities of master planning (comprehensive planning in the US model) in consonance with the laws, policies and regulations needed to guide them. Thus, a Municipality must be able to do planning within their boundaries AND process project plans that conform to their planning and national policy, so they can be permitted. It is important to have the input of the citizens at both Municipality phases. The Municipal law, as now enacted and redrafted, does not offer much in the way of providing for public input. 4.7.4 Councils/Authorities: From review of the laws, both ARAZI and Ministry of Urban Development and Housing are involved with “land.” IDLG is to oversee Municipalities. Further, “councils” have been created in the laws to oversee the responsibilities of MUDH, ALA, the Municipalities, etc. Excess layers of poorly defined responsibility are not likely to make the land development process neither more fair nor more efficient. It appears that these organizational structures are over complicated and are likely to result in higher staffing costs and could lead to possible litigation to clarify the intent of these laws. 4.7.5 Role of Professionals and the Public: Government is best served, in land development programs, when practicing professionals and the public participate at ALL levels. Land development is always of concern to the average citizen whether they own land of not. The more participatory the land development program is, the better the projects that result will be, to serve the people. Government can assist in the goal of participation by being proactive in establishing clear opportunities for inclusion. Strong, clear, well defined laws, policies and regulations are essential to effective participation.
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I.5. Town Planning (Urban Planning) Law Review I.5.1 Overview The Town Planning Law (Qanoun-Shahrsazi) for the first time was adapted in June 2012 almost 10 years after the creation of Ministry of Urban Development and Housing - MUDH and ratified by then President of Afghanistan, Hamed Karzai and Afghan Parliament. This law was published at the Official Government Gazette (Jareeda-e Rasmi) on June 20, 2012 (1391). The latest version of law adapted on September 9, 2017 (1396), ratified by current Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani and published in the Government Official Gazette. Both laws defined the framework of urban planning activities in the country and the terms of reference for Ministry of Urban Development and Housing - MUDH. The law consists of six chapters and 30 articles. The chapters are: 1) General provisions, 2) Coordination of Urban Development and Housing Affairs, 3) Engineering and Architecture Agency, 4) Principles of Urban Development, Violations and Punishments, 5) Housing Provision Affairs, and 6) Miscellaneous Provisions.
I.5.2. Analysis The terminology and wording of â&#x20AC;&#x153;shahrsaziâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in Dari/Pashto have been confused with the terminologies of Town Planning and Urban Planning in both versions of the law. The translation of the law in English is problematic. Both laws have own gaps and deficiencies in terms of contents and clarity. The ToRs of MUDH is confused in both laws, particularly after the ratification of new Municipal Law. The old law (2012) specifies the administrative structure of MUDH and terms of references of the Minister and deputy minister, Board of leadership committee. While this part is missing in the updated law of 2017. The law of Urban Development and Housing is expected to be an important tool designed to help organizations and individuals who work in urban planning/development sector effectively use the land and better shape the future of Afghan cities. Comments are grouped in three categories: Suggested additions (to be considered in future revisions of the law); required clarifications (to be made in future revisions of the law); necessary revisions (required to avoid inconsistency and conflicting mandates).
I.5.3. Necessary revisions Article 3 gives the definitions of terminologies used in this law. Different types of urban plans are listed with confusing definitions. For example, it is hard to distinguish the difference between Master Plan and Strategic Plan, the same between Strategic Plan and Guided Plan.
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Part I: Review of Afghan Laws Relevant to Urban Planning Framework
I.5. Town Planning (Urban Planning) Law Review Article 5 gives MUDH authority for implementation of this law and other ministries, governmental agencies, independent commissions, governmental and mixed companies, enterprises, municipalities and private companies must cooperate with MUDH in implementation of this law. Article 7 identifies MUDH’s terms of references in 2 clauses. Item 12: the creation of construction enterprises and housing is conflicted the clause 1 where MUDH’s responsibility is development of policies in housing not construction enterprises. Item 15: (MUDH’s partnership with the private sector (national and international) in the area of urban development and housing) [ Comment: This partnership will create conflict of interest because the ministry is a policy making and, to some extent, regulatory entity. Supervision and enforcement of the urban development policy and regulatory guidelines is also work of the ministry. Additionally, the ministry will undertake surveys and technical studies for urban planning, develop codes and standards, and therefore will have access to all of the information and data relevant to urban development in the country, a relative advantage. The ministry will be issuing work licenses to national and international companies willing to work in the area of urban development in Afghanistan. Therefore, the ministry cannot be in two conflicting roles-- regulatory and implementing capacity.] Item 21 and 22, MUDH is responsible for regulating activities related to urban water supply and sewerage services issuing of water supply permit to private companies and Issuing business licenses to private water supply and sewerage companies and monitoring of their activities. It appears these two responsibilities are the ToR of Afghanistan Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Corporation (AUWSSC) and overlapping of activities. [Comment: There appears to be a discrepancy between two Articles of this Law which are concerned with the preparation and design of Descriptive Plans. According to Article 9, clause 3, Descriptive Plans are to be designed and prepared by the Municipalities. However, according to Article 7, item 2, Master Plans as well as all other types of Urban Plans [that includes Descriptive Plans too] are to be designed, prepared and managed by the MUDH. This discrepancy needs to be addressed.] Chapter 3 describes the creation of a “Engineering and Architectural Authority or Agency (EAA) and its responsibilities. It is confusing how this authority with the same ToR as MUDH’s Town Planning directorate works. One of the responsibilities of this authority is issuing business license and strengthening of quality of design and preparation of plans. It is not clear issuing business to whom and which field.
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Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
I.5. Town Planning (Urban Planning) Law Review I.5.4. Required clarifications Article 7, item 5 (Visa of various types of plans…) [The meaning of the term “Visa” should be explained and clarified]. The mentioned types of plans are developed at MUDH Town planning directorate. They may not need for issuing permit or visa. Article 9, item 2, (Special Commission): [In this Article a Technical Committee to assess the plans is mentioned; however, it is not described how many people and who would be members of this Technical Committee] Article 12, item 1 [In this Article it is not clear which scientific and academic institutions (national or international) can issue the specified certificate and what type of certificate is required to be obtained from these institutions] Article 12, item 4.4 (Submission of a credible certificate from a credible bank confirming availability of sufficient funds…). [The term “credible bank” needs to be clarified in a supplementary procedure manual to indicate which banks are credible and which ones are not credible. Otherwise, in the absence of clarification this article will become ground for misunderstanding and possible corruption.] Article 16, item 1 (Persons undertaking urban development affairs must follow these procedures: - while building a construction, take into consideration urban development norms and standards to include technical, safety and other natural hazards.) [It is suggested that “design” should also be included in this article to read “urban development affairs must consider urban development norms and standards, including technical, safety and other natural hazards, into consideration in design and construction…] The same comment is applicable in item 2 of this Article, too.
I.5.5. Suggested additions Article 2, item 1 (objectives of the law): [This article emphasizes consideration of the social, economic, environmental and geographic capacities when implementing the urban development vision. It is suggested that VALUES should also be added to read: “In consideration of values and capacities (با دز نظر داشت ارزش ها ویت های....). Urban development needs to be based on community values and lifestyle and be interpreter of their culture. Article 3, item 18, (Activities of Urban Development Affairs): [Urban Planning should also be included among this list of activities. Urban Planning is a very important activity without which no urban development affairs could take place in a balanced, controlled and coordinated way. In fact, urban planning is the back bone of any urban development activity and should not be neglected.]
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Part I: Review of Afghan Laws Relevant to Urban Planning Framework
I.5. Town Planning (Urban Planning) Law Review Article 7, item 6 (planning and design of infrastructure networks and transportation within the cities by MUDH) [It is suggested that the statement of “in close coordination with the relevant agencies directly responsible for these infrastructure networks” be added to this Article. These agencies, for example, may include ministry of public works for roads, the power and water utilities, ministry of communication for internet, telephone and other communication networks.] Article 7, item 3, (site selection of future cities should give priority to preserving areas of natural, agricultural, environmental and historical importance) [Green reserve and preserving areas of special importance to the military for defense purposes may also be added to the list in this Article.] Article 24 (National Construction Standards): [Construction material’s standards should also be included in this Article because establishing, monitoring, reviewing and updating construction material’s standards have an enormous effect on the quality of construction. Without monitoring and ensuring that construction materials used in a project are meeting the necessary standards considered by the design engineer, there is no guarantee that the construction would withstand the loads for which it was designed to carry.] Article 12, item 4.4 (Submission of a credible certificate from one of the credible banks to show that sufficient funds are available to implement the project is required. [In this statement, it is suggested that instead of “sufficient funds” which is vague and not a precisely defined term, a percentage of the total required budget for implementation of the project should be used to avoid any misunderstanding and meanwhile reduce corruption risks.]
I.5.6. Findings and Conclusions 1. MUDH’s terms of references have not been specific in this law 2. This law is in contradiction in some articles with Municipal Law 3. There are many discrepancies between articles 4. Types of urban plans and terminologies are confused 5. Creation of Engineering and Architectural Authority within MUDH is a duplication of activities with MUDH internal-directorates. It appears such authority must be independent and non-governmental 6. Issuing visa or permit is confused and creating conflict of interest
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Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
I.6. Afghanistan Property Law/ Regulation Review I.6.1. Overview By the President Decree on Sep 2003, the old Property Law was thereby superseded. The New Decree ratified in 19 articles. There is evidence that current Afghanistan property law system covering all of the four major aspects: 1) acquisition, 2) disposition, 3) use, and 4) exclusion - is a prerequisite and essential for economic development to take hold. All developed countries happen to have formal property law systems in which ownership claims are secure and recognized by the government. Clarity of property rights is of particular importance, especially land which is the principal physical asset for much of the population.
Fig I.6: Afghanistan Property Law Analytical Chart.
I.6.2. Analysis The foundational components of Afghanistanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s property law system are: The Scope of Property Rights under the Constitution of Afghanistan, Dispute Resolution, and Registration. It seems that the linkage and consistency among the above mentioned components does not have enough clarification. The registration of properties, state owned and private, has been a difficult task and complicated for government in the last 10 year or more. Merging of relevant land related agencies such as Afghanistan Cadastral and Cartography directorates with ARAZI and subsequently, ARAZI with MUDH has complicated the process of land and property registration in a centralized database and system. The confusion of responsibilities and authorities of land related agencies seems continues for sometimes unless to systematize the whole land management system in the country.
I.6.3. Conclusions According to detailed review of document, Afghanistanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s property law system faces three key challenges that are specific to the current situation in Afghanistan. First, Afghanistan has a weak federal government with limited capacity that has not yet established its role in promoting the rule of law. Second, Afghanistan politically a fragile country; thus laws could change quite dramatically depending on geopolitical situation in the country. Third, as a post conflict society, Afghanistan has a large displaced population and disputes often arise between those currently in possession of property and those who may have had claims to the property in the past but were forced to evacuate the region. The Afghanistan Independent Land Authority (ARAZI) is working to meet the challenge of land registration by developing the National Administration Titling program.
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Part I: Review of Afghan Laws Relevant to Urban Planning Framework
I.7. AUWSSC Bylaw (Charter) Review I.7.1. Overview Afghanistan Urban Water and Sewerage Corporation-AUWSSC is the prime urban water service provider in the country. AUWSSC is a joint venture government corporation established in 2009 as central authority for supplying of safe and sustainable drinking water to urban population in Afghanistan. Urban water supply was previously managed nationally under the Central Authority for Water Supply and Sanitation (CAWSS) until 2004. CAWSS was one of MUDH’s enterprises called MUDH Water Supply Enterprise. Like many aspects of public administration and service delivery in Afghanistan, the physical delivery of water to water-users in urban areas is difficult and complex. AUWSSC was granted water supply policy and contracting powers by the Afghan Cabinet of Ministers, within the context of the water and environmental laws approved by Parliament in 2009 /1378. AUWSSC has been a national budgetary entity per presidential decree since February 2011 (22/11/1390). The Afghanistan National Development Strategy ANDS says “In urban water supply, the public agency Central Authority for Water Supply and Sanitation (CAWSS) will be replaced by the semi-public Afghanistan Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Corporation (AUWSSC). All of these changes are aimed at improving the efficiency of water use and management.” By the end of 2010 AUWSSC headquarters was staffed by a small management team funded by the World Bank (WB) and by October 2013, the World Bank- supported management team had grown and is supplemented by the USAID-funded Commercialization of Afghanistan Water and Sanitation Activity (CAWSA) project. AUWSSC shareholders are: MoF- 40%, MUDH - 35%, Ministry of Economic 10%, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - 10% and Kabul Municipality 5%. Its internal organization consist of 9 strategic business units-SBU (regional branches) in 9 provinces and subsequently sub-business units. The Kabul Water Authority is under AUWSSC management structure. Kabul Water is one of AUWSSC’s SBUs. AUWSSC a new bylaw was prepared by Maxwell Stamp firm in 2013 in English language and the strategic business plan for 2014-2024 was prepared by ICMA. As of today, AUWSSC has struggled between be an independent or a semi-state corporation due to its confusing ToR and bylaw. The process of commercialization continues in a very slow path which was the main objective of AUWSSC creation.
I.7.2. Analysis AUWSSC has been the second state corporation experience after the Brashna Power Corporation DABS for Afghan Government. The Afghanistan Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Corporation (AUWSSC) law was ratified on July 2007 (1386/4/13) by the President of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in 4 chapters and 66 articles. Chapter 1 mostly is dedicated to general provisions and responsibilities of AUWSSC. The rest of 3 chapters and relevant articles are designated to finance affairs and investment issues, corporation’s organization and internal structures.
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Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
I.7. AUWSSC Bylaw (Charter) Review Article 3 describes the legal statute of the corporation “AUWSSC is a state shareholder corporation within the Ministry of Urban Affairs internal organization”. [Comment: This article gives legal right to MUDH to be involved directly in most of AUWSSC’s business activities, particularly, in selection of General Director and leadership of the corporation. MUDH is the chairman of AUWSSC board of Directors. ] Due to problems between shareholders on the recruitment of AUWSSC Management Team and extremely slow transition to a completely private corporation, AUWSSC has not been able to meet the expectation of Government and international urban water donors; the leadership of AUWSSC has been confused between be a private corporation or a state corporation. As a result, the process of corporation’s commercialization process has been extremely slow. In most cases, AUWSSC functions as government agency and follows government bureaucracy”. Article 7 describes AUWSSC’s responsibilities. In addition of provision of safe portable water and urban water supply facilities, the construction of large concrete pipelines for water distribution also is the responsibility of AUWSSC. [Comment: this article encourages the corporation in direct construction activities instead of management of urban water supply facilities and outsourcing of construction projects.] The Town Planning Law of 2017 articles 21 states: “Regulating activities related to urban water supply and sewerage services”, and article 22 states “Issuing business licenses to private water supply and sewerage companies and monitoring of their activities according to relevant legislative documents” are the responsibilities of MUDH. [Comment: The two articles are confused and created conflict of interests. The law does not clarify the mechanism of coordination between the two organizations, MUDH and AUWSSC, in issuing urban water supply permits to private individuals and firms. From the other hand given such authority of issuing permit to MUDH will create more wrongdoing and corruption.] The AUWSSC law is not identified the relationship of AUWSSC with other stakeholders including local municipalities. Key issues such as engagement of local communities in implementation of urban water supply projects and public awareness campaigns among the urban water users did not clearly defined in the law.
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Part I: Review of Afghan Laws Relevant to Urban Planning Framework
I.7. AUWSSC Bylaw (Charter) Review I.7.3. Conclusions: The existing AUWSSC law is not consistent with other recent ratified government urban laws and policies. Most of chapters are related to financial framework and administrative management rather than existing issues of sanitation and environment in urban areas as well as local community engagement in implementation of urban projects. As the structure of MUDH and its role has been changed many times since the creation of AUWSSC in 2009, therefore; the AUWSSC law needs to be reviewed and the relationship of AUWSSC with MUDH and local municipalities must be clarified accordingly.
I.8. Miscellaneous Laws I.8.1. Enterprises Law /Tasadi: The latest version of Enterprises Law or “Qanoun-e Tasadi” has been finalized in December 2018. However; the law has not been officially published in the Official Government Gazette. The mandate of the law does not directly relevant to review of Urban Planning Famework of the current project’s scope of work. Therefore, the law has not been reviewed in details. .
I.8.2. The Private Companies / Sherkat-e khosousi The Private Companies or “Sherkat-e khosousi” law has been reviewed fragmented by the consultant team. However, different parts of the law are not related to urban planning legal aspects . Therefore; the law has not been reviewed in details.
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Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
I.8. Part I Summary and Conclusions I.8.1. Introduction: For the purpose of finding gaps and deficiencies relevant to urban planning framework the following key documents were reviewed and analyzed. The methodology for finding gaps based on comparison of key urban planning activities and the definition of terminologies that are referenced in different documents. Due to changes in the latest versions of original documents or translation version the sequences of referenced articles, alphabetic sequences or numbers, may be slightly different. The following key ratified laws and policies have been reviewed. a. Town Planning Law (Urban Planning and Housing Law) b. Revised National Land Policy c. Land Management Law (ARAZI and UNAMA) d. Municipal Law
Brainstorming Session with Senior Advisers on Strategic Plans, MUDH, 2018.
I.8.2. Instances of Plan Types: Planning documents (plans) in both text and graphic forms are the backbone of communicating a coherent development process. Listed below are the types of plans listed in the various references for this study. Careful definition of each plan type with clearly articulated guides to responsibility, preparation, tenure, etc. is vital to the planning process. The (reference) after each plan type provides the location of the first reference to the plan name. I.8.2.1. Formally Defined (Ref a) 1) Country-wide Master Plan (Ref a: Article 3) 2) Regional Plan (Ref a: Article 3) 3) City Master Plan (Ref a: Article 3) 4) Strategic Plan (Ref a: Article 3) 5) Guiding Plan (Ref a: Article 3) 6) Detailed Plan (Ref a: Article 3) 7) Reform Plan (Ref a: Article 3) 8) Amendment Plan (Ref a: Article 3) 9) Improvement Plan (Ref a: Article 3) I.8.2.2. Other References to Plan Types (Alphabetical Order): 10) Building Complexes Plans (Ref a: Art 16/7 11) Cemetery Plans (Ref d: Art 218) 12) City Plan (Assume this refers to City Master Plan) (Ref a: Art 16/7, Ref c: Art 64) 13) Cultural-historic area Plans (Ref a: Art 7/4) 14) Economic Plans (Ref d: Art 37/d) 15) Housing Provision Plans (Ref a: Art 7/10, Ref d: Art 41/3) 16) Infrastructure Plans (Ref a: Art 7/2) 17) Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan (Ref d: Art 153 18) Land Re-Arrangement Plans (Ref a: Art 7/4) 19) Master Plan (Ref d: Art 68, Ref b: 5.8/c)
â&#x20AC;&#x153;List of Plans Identified in Town Planning Law, September 2017, Article 3 and Article 7: 1. Country-wide Master Plan 2. Regional Plan 3. City Master Plan 4. Strategic Plan 5. Guiding Plan 6. Detailed Plan 7. Reform Plan 8. Amendment and Infrastructure Plan 9. Improvement Plan 10. Reconstruction Plan 11. Renovation Plan 12. Land Re-arrangement Plan 13. Cultural-historic Planâ&#x20AC;? Note: Plans number 7 through 13 have not been Practiced by MUDH.
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Part I: Review of Afghan Laws Relevant to Urban Planning Framework
I.8. Part I Summary and Conclusions 20) Strategic Plans (Ref d: Art 20) 21) Kabul Master Plan (Ref d: Art 28, Art 68) 22) National Development Plan (Ref c: 5.8/c) 23) Public Buildings Plans (Ref a: Art 16/7) 24) Reconstruction Plans (Ref a: Art 7/4) 25) Regional/Provincial Plan (Ref b: 5.8/c) 26) Renovation Plans (Ref a: Art 7/4) 27) Residential Complex Plans (Ref a: Art 7/5) 28) State Development Plans (Ref c: Art 7/ 4) 29) Town Plan (Ref a: Art 16/7) 30) Urban Plan (Ref a: Art 16/2) 31) Zoning Plans (Ref b: 5.9/d)
I.8.3. Plan Types and The Urban Development Process The Urban Development Process (hereinafter referred to as the Process) typically proceeds from the general to the very specific beginning with rather subjective policy setting and moving to greater and greater objective detail. From the reading of the references, it can be inferred that Afghanistan intends to moving in the traditional direction by establishing a “Country-wide Master Plan” to guide overall development. The defined “Regional Plan” (assumed to align with Provinces) would logically be next considered in the process as part of the desired devolution. “City Master Plans” and “Strategic Plans” are not clearly delineated and provide confusion. “Strategic Plans” are clearly articulated and apply to municipalities. “Guiding Plans” are intended to provide short term solutions it appears but also seems to perform some functions redundant to “Country-wide,” “Regional” and “Strategic” plans. “Detailed Plans” are clearly intended to be the first series of plans that lead to detailed implementation of designs. “Reform,” “Amendment,” and “Improvement” plans seen to have some redundancy but are clearly aimed at altering previous plans and addressing developmental problems that occur as time goes on. Fig. I.7: Traditional Direction of Afghan Urban Planning Management.
I.8.3.1. Explanation of the Plan Type Table: The attached Plan Type table was assembled from the reading of the references listed in I.8.1 (a. Town Planning Law (Urban Planning and Housing Law), b. Revised National Land Policy, c. Land Management Law (ARAZI and UNAMA), d. Municipal Law). It includes every instance of reference to a “plan.” The reference entries in the various columns guide the reader to the specific document in which a function is identified for a specific plan type. For example: For the “Countrywide Master Plan the definition is located in reference (a): Article 1, paragraph 1. The most complete set of information for a plan type is for the “Strategic Plan” and is highlighted in yellow as an example of the information that would be very helpful for all plan types. (See the Annex 3)
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Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
I.8. Part I Summary and Conclusions I.8.3.2. Articulation of Plan Responsibilities and Functions: The references provide in various locations critical information relative to the following: Definition, responsibility, scope, enactment, design, preparation/ development, consultation, implementation, management and approval. Administrative actions such as establishing formats, publishing, frequency, etc. are also mentioned but inconsistently. Reference (a): Municipal Law, does the best job of describing what the framers of the law intend for the plan types, in particular “Country-wide Master Plan” and “Strategic Plan.” Perhaps the critical information for other plan types is included in other references not used in this study. The spreadsheet provided as an attachment to this report provides further references and information obtained from the references. However, it may be incomplete due lack of time and ability to cross check.
I.8.4. Analysis It is apparent that the various references cited were written at different times, perhaps by different groups of people, etc. As documented in paragraph 3 above, the authors referred to play types that lack definition, conflict with other plan types in their proposed execution, etc. In other words, a comprehensive dictionary of the plan types that covers all the information elements listed in paragraph 5 above does not exist but is definitely needed. An example relative to plan type naming was provided in the Summary above. Another example, more serious in consequence is Part 3 of Reference (d) indicates that IDLG prepares and maintains “Masterplans” for municipalities (older version of Municipal Law). This responsibility appears to conflict with reference (d newer version). In addition, use of the term “Masterplan” seems to muddle which of the plan types defined in Reference (d) is meant. The author believes the intent is for “Masterplan” to refer to “Strategic Plans” for the municipalities. The obvious problem these lack of definitions leads to is confusion, duplication of responsibility, inefficient use of capacity (more time spent on understanding what needs to be done than doing it), frustration to those attempting to use the process, etc.
Fig I.8: Afghanistan Urban Planning Key Stakeholders.
I.8.5. Summary The multiple laws reviewed suffer from lack of coherence and significant missing guidance. Reference (a) above introduces in Article 3, a long list of terms that define “plan types.” Cross referencing these terms with other references finds very little coordination and is likely to lead to difficulty of both the government to manage the development process as well as the professionals and citizens to use the development process effectively. One example is sufficient for this summary, however, others are provided later in this report (see the attached table). Reference a documents the purpose of the “Country-wide Master Plan.” Reference (d) refers in some detail to a “Masterplan” but does not explicitly connect the two plan types as one in the same.
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Part I: Review of Afghan Laws Relevant to Urban Planning Framework
I.8. Part I Summary and Conclusions One can infer they are the same but lack of this type of coordination within policy as set by law is confusing, leads to ineffective communication, inefficient implementation, redundancies, and omissions. Reference (d) also leads one to infer that “Masterplan” is the “Strategic Plan” for Municipalities. The author is led to believe (since reference (d) is the Municipal Law) that the term Masterplan is intended to be the Strategic Plan referred to in reference (a). The purpose here is to highlight the importance of consistently defining terms and the confusion created when consistency is not maintained. On a side note, in the urban planning process in the US, the term “Comprehensive Plan” is commonly used and appears to be one and the same with the intent of the Afghan references.
Fig I.9: Reviewed Laws Significant Shortcomings and Consequences
I.8.6. Conclusions: a. It is not uncommon for laws, that are promulgated, to have companion documents of administrative nature that lead to the implementation of the law. Those clarification documents, unless existing but not included for this review, are definitely needed before an assessment of MUDH responsibilities can be reviewed and MUDH capacity to perform the responsibilities. b. The plan types defined in Reference (a), Article 3 should be sufficient to conduct an effective urban planning and development process. c. Other plan types listed in this report, are likely just different words for the main plan types or they are more detailed portions of the main plan types. However, all participants in the urban planning and development process will be well served by clarifying and limiting the plan types to no more than eight or nine and better details on who, what, when, and how the plans are to be handled. d. MUDH responsibilities are identified throughout the references, in particular reference (a) and (d). It seems it would be of immense help to provide a companion document to these references that clearly identifies the MUDH responsibilities with regard to the urban development and planning process.
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Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
I.8. Part I Summary and Conclusions I.8.7. Summary of Urban Planning Stakeholders Terms of References and Functions The following chart is a summary of different urban planning stakeholders terms of references and direction of reporting hierarchy. The President of Afghanistan who is the chairman of Cabinet chairs also the High Council for Urban Development (HCUD), High Council of Land and Water (HCLW) and Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG). MUDH and Afghanistan Land Authority (ALA)-ARAZI report to HCUD and HCLW. This chart is the results of analysis and summary of reviewed laws before merging ARAZI with MUDH.
Fig I.10: Diagram of Urban Planning Stakeholders Terms of References Summary.
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Part II: Priority Programs and National Policies Review بررسی برنامه های دارای اولویت:بخش دوم و پالیسی های ملی
Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
II.1. GENERAL OBSERVATION II.1.1. Preamble At the earlier stages of Afghanistan reconstruction, cities and urbanization problems were neglected by both-donors and the Afghan authorities. More focus was on rural development programs. Urban development programming has been suffering from luck of data, poor coordination among actors, lack of an urban policy framework and required human capital and financial resources. While many of these challenges still continue to remain unaddressed, noticing the importance of the Afghan cities, which are home to approximately 1/3 of the Afghan population, the Government of Afghanistan with support from its donor community has recently taken significant actions to change this trend. Some flagship actions such as Urban Solidarity (Citizen’s Charter in Cities), Urban Property Survey, Safayi and Occupancy Certification and Kabul Metropolitan Initiatives have been initiated. These programs while establishing a first-ever baseline assessment of land use and dwellings in all 34 provincial capitals brought about a change in the Afghan Government development agenda in favor of the urban sector. This section focuses on review of some of key national priority programs and policies relevant to urban planning and local governance in Afghanistan. Recently, number of important priority programs have been designed with the support and help of international community and donors, USAID, World Bank, UN Habitat and UNDP on behalf of Afghan Government. Recently adapted priority programs are: Citizens’ Charter NPP, Comprehensive Agriculture Development NPP, Private Sector Development NPP, National Infrastructure Plan NPP, Women’s Economic Empowerment NPP, Urban NPP, National Housing Program, National Justice and Judicial Reform Plan NPP, Effective Governance Program, and Human Capital NPP. Some of latest policies which are in the draft version at the time of this review are National Housing Policy, Urban National Policy and Upgrading Policy which briefly were reviewed also in this report.
“Poor designs (often done using Google maps) and weak contractor management have been equally challenging, resulting in very high costs for poor quality construction” (The Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF) 2017 -2021)
The analysis, conclusions, strategic and policy recommendations provided or will be delivered by the Consultant under the MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review project, Task 2 have been based on a full understanding of the MUDH’s mission, vision, structure, goals, objectives and capacity strengths or weaknesses. The challenges and opportunities prevailing at the current sociopolitical, economic, legal, security and cultural circumstances of the country will be in line with the Afghan national peace and development strategies, policies, priorities and flagship programs. This section demonstrates the Consultant’s (L&Z International) understanding of the referenced documents reviewed in this context.
II.1.2. Key Reviewed Priority Programs and National Policies The following key national priority programs relevant to urban planning and development have been reviewed in Task 2:
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Part II: National Priority Programs and Policies Review
II.2. Urban National Priority Program (U-NPP) Priority Programs
Agency
Status
1
U-NPP Urban National Priority Program
GoIRA
Ratified
2
National Housing Program and Policy-UN Habitat
MUDH, UN Habitat
Draft
3
Urban Solidarity Program (USP)/NSP
Ratified
4
Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF)-20172022
IDLG-DMM, MUDH/UNHabitat Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Government, 2017
Ratified
5
Open Government Partnership (OGP)
GoIRA
Agreement
6
Afghanistan National Action Plan-1, 2018-2019.
7
Citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Charter National Priority Program
Open Government Partnership Afghanistan (OGPA) Government of Afghanistan MRRD, 20116.
8
Afghanistan National Urban Policy
9 10 11
Readjustment Land (RL) and Urban Redevelopment (UR) Procedure Afghanistan National Policy for Upgrading of Informal Settlement Sub-National Governance Policy (SNGP)
Ratified Ratified
UN-Habitat/MUDH
Draft
KM/UN-Habitat
Unknown
UN-Habitat/MUDH
Draft
GoIRA
Draft
Fig II.1. List of Reviewed National Priority Programs and Policies.
II.2. Urban National Priority Program (U-NPP) The new Urban National Priority Program provides the framework for subsequent urban policies and legislative action. It is closely related to another major set of policy and action, i.e. the Citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Charter and its expected implementation by means of a massive World Bank grant for urban improvements in four cities: Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kandahar, and Jalalabad; in recent World Bank Urban Development Support Project(UDSP) for MUDH. The outcomes of U-NPP set 3 pillars by 2024: 1) Strengthened Urban Governance and Institutions, 2) Adequate Housing and Basic Services for all Afghans, and 3) Strengthening of Economy and Urban Infrastructure. As an outcome focused program, the Urban National Priority Program (U-NPP) guides the urban development stakeholders towards collaboration and collective problem-solving of the Afghan cities. MUDH is expected to play the key stakeholder role in implementation of U-NPP. The strengthening of MUDH capacity must be the priority agenda of Afghan Government and MUDH leadership itself to be capable of implementing the U-NPP (see conclusions at the end of this chapter).
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Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
II.3. National Housing Program (NHP) and Housing Policy II.3.1. Overview III.3.1.1 National Housing Program The shortage of housing is continuing to get worse due to security and socioeconomic conditions in the country. An estimate given by the Afghan government is that there will be a need for another 15 million housing in the next 20 years in Afghanistan. In addition, the lack of proper housing policies, legal and regulatory environment, housing finance, and poor quality of housing in the country are key challenges that Afghan government and international communities face in the near future. Therefore, the government of Afghanistan has initiated the National Housing Program (NHP) in the context of Urban National Priority Program (U-NPP) and National Development Strategy (ANDS) to solve the shortage of housing. According to the UN-Habitat study “state of Afghan cities in 2016” over 40,000 adequate, affordable and suitably located dwellings must be created every year to meet urban housing demand between 2015-2025 in Afghanistan. The National Housing Program (NHP) is a 13 year (2017 - 2030) program under the Urban National Priority Program (U-NPP) pillar two “Adequate Housing for All Afghans.” U-NPP was developed in alignment with the Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF) (2017 – 2021), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (in particular SDG 11), and the New Urban Agenda (NUA) (2016 -2036). UN Habitat helps MUDH in developing a new housing policy as part of National Housing Program (NHP).
““The National Housing Policy for Af-
ghanistan will provide tools to establish a housing system that is socially viable as well as affordable, ensuring access to adequate housing for all, including vulnerable groups”. (National Housing Program)
II.3.1.2 National Housing Policy Draft The document produced by UN-Habitat on behalf of MUDH. The draft document is stated that “The National Housing Policy for Afghanistan will provide tools to establish a housing system that is socially viable as well as affordable, ensuring access to adequate housing for all, including vulnerable groups”. The National Housing Policy defines 9 objectives in alignment with Afghanistan Constitution, U-NPP, Urban National Agenda and Urban National Policy. For achieving the identified objectives series of policy statements are formulated that government will provide or facilitate them. In all policy statements referenced on ability of government to provide necessary resources, regulatory procedures and conditions for achieving the objectives set by the National Housing Policy. In some statements the word “Government” is not clear which branch of the government is responsible to take specific responsibility. It seems, the objectives set by the housing policy document is over estimated for current poor capacity and available resources at disposal of Afghan Government.
II.3.2. Analysis The MUDH is the key stakeholder and responsible government agency for implementation of both the National Housing Policy and National Housing Policy.
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Part II: National Priority Programs and Policies Review
II.3. National Housing Program (NHP) and Housing Policy In the last ten years or more MUDH has been confused with its ToR and suffered from acute shortage of capacity and resources as well as internal power struggle. Initial outcomes of capacity assessment of the organization (Task 1 deliverable report) shows that MUDH is more intended to be involved in construction projects rather than national urban projects which intended to be a policy maker body. A significant issue in the housing sector is the lack of an appropriate legal and regulatory regime which has prevented commercial banks and, to a lesser extent, micro-finance institutions from entering the housing finance market. According to the NHP “Inadequate enforcement of laws and structural weaknesses in the housing market have made housing finance an overly risky proposition.”
II.3.3. Conclusions MUDH as key sectorial government ministries have been targeted of organizational changes and leadership many times that had direct negative impact on its scope of work. It is unlikely that MUDH will be able to take burden of such huge national agenda with current organizational structure and confused ToR. Therefore; the government should carefully study the future alignment of MUDH and its ToR as well as ways to strengthening its capacity and ability to supervise national policies.
II.4. Urban Solidarity Program (USP) and NSP Review II.4.1. Overview The Urban Solidarity Program (USP) envisions citizen empowerment through Community Development Councils and Gozar Assemblies. Service delivery and neighborhood upgrading would be realized through neighborhood planning, block grants and community and municipal contributions in a way very similar to the National Solidarity Program (NSP). Another important component of the USP would be sustainable municipal revenue enhancement, economic development and job creation. Most of its components have been implemented by UN-Habitat funded by donors including Government of Japan. USP has been replaced by Citizens’ Charter National Program in 2017 and 2018. The National Solidarity Program NSP was involved mostly in rural areas and ended by 2017. (see review of Citizens’ Charter II.8)
II.4.2. Analysis To address the significant human and institutional capacity deficits in municipalities, human and institutional capacity development efforts will be launched. Activities such as reviewing and/or developing the required policies and laws such as the informal settlements upgrading policy; municipal law; urban services law, and so forth along with developing a municipal development fund and capacity development of IDLG-Deputy Minister for
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Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
II.4. Urban Solidarity Program (USP) and NSP Review Municipalities (IDLG-DMM) are expected to start, creating an enabling environment at the National level that would allow realization of this national flagship program throughout the country. The USP will include cross-cutting issues of gender, youth, environment, human rights, and peace building activities. It is envisaged that the program will adopt a phased approach, starting with Kabul and the four Regional Hub cities of Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kandahar and Jalalabad in the initial two years.
II.4.3. Conclusions The coordination of different stakeholders is a key issue to be addressed properly. Such coordination between local municipalities and central government authorities has been weak and some cases are non-existent.
II.5. Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF) Review II.5.1. Overview The Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF) is a fiveyear strategic plan prepared the Afghan Government for achieving self-reliance for fiscal year of 2017 through 2022. The framework presents a long-term development agenda for various sectors including the urban development and a long-term development for Afghanistan by providing high-level guidance to government, and other, stakeholders. The framework formulates Afghanistanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s immediate and long term development priorities, highlights key reforms, and outlines priority investments needed to achieve development goals in these critical areas. The ANPDF was developed through consultations between the Afghan government and its partners, including civil society, private sector, and international partners. The document has been translated from English into national languages in Dari and Pashto.
II.5.2. Analysis Currently major challenges in cities include weak governance, rule of law, and citizen participation. Additionally, financial and economic constraints, informal settlements and spatial inequality, significant infrastructure deficits and weak private sector investment are other problems to be addressed. There is immediate need for sustainable data collection, strategic and participatory planning, institutional building, finance and coordination. As reflected in the Afghanistan National Development Framework (ANPDF), the country must establish a civil service that is responsive to national development needs and promotes the balanced participation of Afghan men and women. These challenges will be addressed by: Reforming the civil service by revising existing laws and enacting new ones; Establishing, maintaining and improving professionalism; ď&#x201A;§
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II.5. Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF) Review
Reforming the civil service by revising existing laws and enacting new ones; Establishing, maintaining and improving professionalism; Expanding the use of performance-based management; and Enhancing the effectiveness of service delivery through the Citizens’ Charter;
II.5.3. Conclusions Afghanistan has recently adopted effective measures to enhance transparency, accountability and public partnership in formulation and implementation of national policies. A few of examples of these measures are: • Citizen Charter (2016-2026) Program • The High Council for Rule of Law and Anti-corruption • The National Anti-Corruption Strategy (1396/2017) • National Procurement Commission For the first time an urban development policy has been developed. However, human capital and financial resources are the key mechanism for turning the policy into tangible outcomes. In addition, there is a need of setting mechanism for monitoring and accountability during the process of these policies implementation.
II.6. Open Government Partnership (OGP) Review I.6.1. Overview Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has attained membership to the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in accordance with the Afghanistan Constitution, Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF), National Priority Programs (NPPs), and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Obtaining the membership of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) was one of the fundamental steps that the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has recently taken in order to create a functional administration, a prosperous society and the realization of democracy. Afghanistan is striving to make its governance culture citizen-driven. The government is striving to reflect OGP values – transparency, accountability and public partnership – in the formulation of public policies as well as public service delivery for all sectors including the Urban Development. This, fortunately, has been taken into consideration in commitments of the National Action Plan – 1 (NAP – 1) of the country which is further detailed below.
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II.7. Afghanistan National Action Plan (NAP) Review II.7.1. Overview Afghanistan National Action Plan (NAP) has been prepared based on the OGP guidelines in partnership with CSOs (Civil Society Organizations), private sector and public sector namely ministries and independent government agencies taking into consideration the SDGs (Strategic Development Goals), ANPDF, and NPPs. In order to fulfill the commitments of the government and based on the OGP guidelines, comprehensive consultations were carried out with government agencies, CSOs, private sector and OGP Supporting Unit for establishing OGPA-Forum. At the end, based on a number of OGP member states’ models, it was agreed to form General Assembly of the OGP Afghanistan Forum with 34 members – 17 members from government agencies and 17 from non-governmental entities. The 17 governmental members were selected from ministries and independent government agencies, which have more relevance with OGP goals, through sessions held among deputy ministers as well as policy and planning directors of ministries and independent government agencies. Among 17 seats for non-governmental agencies, 15 seats were given to CSOs, private sector and academic institutions with each earning one seat. Completion of the selection process for OGPA-Forum paved the grounds for the official establishment of the forum. OGPA-Forum was officially established based on the Presidential Decree 171 dated October 2, 2017 on October 3, 2017. Simultaneously to the establishment of OGP Afghanistan Forum, sessions were convened with stakeholders including CSOs and private sector to develop commitments of the National Action Plan. After passing different stages, the sessions resulted in the recommendation of 29 commitments to be incorporated in the NAP. Finally, OGP Afghanistan Forum General Assembly approved 11 commitments to be incorporated in the NAP. Cabinet of Ministers of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan approved 11 NAP commitments of OGP Afghanistan. Each of the NAP’s commitments, on the one side, is relevant with one or several values of OGP: transparency, accountability and public partnership and; on the other side, has relevancy with one or several National Priority Programs. Developing Urban Improvement and Rehabilitation National Policy as presented below was one of the 11 commitments approved by the cabinet in November, 2017.
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II.7. Afghanistan National Action Plan (NAP) Review II.7.2. Developing Urban Improvement and Rehabilitation National Policy Commitment Developing Urban Improvement and Rehabilitation National Policy January 2018 - August 2019 Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MUDH) Lead implementing agency/actor Commitment Description Lack of public service delivery in informal and unplanned urban areas has What is the public led to increased vulnerability of citizens; their denial to basic rights; problem that the heightened urban poverty; lack of infrastructure; lapse in social status; commitment will formation of social identity crisis; and increased environmental risks, and address? incurred staggering expenditures on the government, urban administration and broader society. What is the commitment? In order to address the abovementioned challenges, Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MUDH) decided to develop and approve national urban improvement and rehabilitation policy in consultation with social and civic organizations. It is expected that development of this policy will provide grounds for recognizing unplanned areas by the government in collaboration with the public. Under this policy, measures will be taken to prevent the growth of unplanned areas, given the factors that are contributing to this growth. This will restore basic rights of citizens and reduce their vulnerability. In addition, development of this policy will pave the grounds for investment and job generation for residents of informal, unplanned areas. How will the commitment Development of this policy in collaboration with the relevant public sector departments as well as social and civic organizations will highlight the need contribute to solve the for the establishment of Citizens Empowerment Offices at provincial level. public problem? Once this policy is approved by the cabinet, then the MUDH will develop an action plan for the policy with inputs from social and civic organizations. This policy and the consequent action plan will provide legitimacy to implementing a detailed adjustment plan for informal and unplanned areas, under which unplanned areas will be included in planned areas to benefit from public service delivery. It is expected that by formulating and implementing of this policy the basic rights of citizens will be restored and their vulnerabilities will be addressed. Since the Urban Improvement and Rehabilitation Policy is to be developed Why is this commitment and implemented with public participation, people will be able to effectively relevant to OGP values? take part in good urban governance to identify their socio-economic challenges and suggest and implement alternative solutions in collaboration with the government. As a result, this commitment has relevancy with public participation as one of values of Open Government Partnership, since CSOs and the related professionals will be involved in development of the mentioned policy. Municipalities, community-based councils, neighborhood
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II.8. Citizens’ Charter National Priority Program2016-2026 The Citizens’ Charter is a multi-sectorial and inter-ministerial program which is implemented in partnership with rural and urban Community Development Councils (CDCs) and recommendations gathered from CDCs regarding development projects. The program was lunched in 2016. The CCNPP is one of the key national priority programs of the National Unity Government (NUG) aiming to reduce poverty, improve socioeconomic conditions for communities and check out-migration of young people. Spread over ten-years, and divided into 3 phases, the Citizens’ Charter is a contract between the Government and its citizens over a basic set of Minimum Service Standards (MSS) that will be provided by the Government to all communities in the country. (See Urban Solidarity Program II.4 for details)
II.9. Afghanistan National Urban Policy Draft (N-UP) The draft of Afghanistan National Urban Policy has been prepared by the UNhabitat on behalf of Government of Afghanistan. First half of the document is dedicated to the problem analysis of Afghanistan urbanization process including Poverty and Income Inequality, Unplanned and Unregulated Urban Development, Scattered and Informal Housing, Food Insecurity, Tenure Insecurity, Resources for IDPs, Refugee Returnees and City Mobility. The National Urban Policy in Afghanistan set out seven objectives, which have policy statements for detailed and specific action-oriented description in alignment with the national urban vision of Afghan Government: “The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is committed to transforming urban areas as livable, vibrant, safe and healthy centers which enhance social well-being, economic prosperity, and cultural identity of citizens”. Brief review of the policies shows that the current draft seems incomplete document and some of objectives require more public and experts’ discussion to be finalized.
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II.10. Land Readjustment (LR) and Urban Redevelopment (UR) Procedures II.10.1. Overview Land readjustment (LR) and Urban Redevelopment (UR) Procedures document prepared by the City Planning and Implementation Department, Land Readjustment division of Kabul Municipality in November 2017. It is not clear that the document is a directive for the internal use of KM or the document officially ratified by the government for public use of other relevant organizations and donor funded projects involving in upgrading of informal and unplanned areas in Kabul City. The main objectives of the land readjustment and urban redevelopment procedures implementation as stated in the document are: 1) Better arrangement of affairs related to informal/ unplanned areas in Kabul city, 2) Use and implement the contemporary methods for arrangement and implementation of city plans, 3) Legal back up for upgrading of planned and unplanned areas in Kabul city, 4) Conversion of unplanned areas to planned areas in the city, 5) Establishment and Development of infrastructures and public services for residents of project area, and 7) Upgrading the environment of Kabul city. The document consists of two chapters with two parts land readjustment and urban redevelopment and 35 articles. Chapter 1 includes goals, objectives and terminologies.
II.10.2. Analysis
Article 1 says that this procedure is prepared following to the Land Acquisition Law Art.46, the Municipalities Law Art.16 and the Master Plan Implementation Regulation Art.2. Article 16 of latest and final version of Municipal Law describes the administrative structure of municipalities, and in an older version of the law, article 16 is about strategic plans not readjustment land or urban redevelopment land. Article 46 of Land Acquisition Law defines the readjustment: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Municipalities may for the purpose of planning unplanned areas use methods of land readjustment and its development, according to provisions of a separate regulation.â&#x20AC;? The definition of Land Readjustment (LR) is vague and not enough clear. It seems that LR is a horizontal conversion of land ownership only that contains the provision and sale of financial land for projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cost recovery. However; it is not clear the type of land and the procedure of re-sale land for cost recovery of the project. In this document the Land Readjustment is called a technique while in Land Acquisition Law is a practices in which the owner or possessor provides his/ her property or a part of it for the purpose of reforms and planning of unplanned urban area, without expropriation, to the implementer of the plan. The definition of Land Readjustment is missing at the Land Management Law. The document states that Urban Redevelopment (UR) is another successful method for the contexts of compact land development. UR is unique concept that is directly connected with consolidation of small land plots into a large plot, with high/mid-rise-building and open spaces within the plot. This statement is not enough clear.
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II.10. Land Readjustment (LR) and Urban Redevelopment (UR) Procedures Article 4 describes the conditions for LR project area: “KM can develop the project area using the LR method as a detail plan in the light of master plan, considering the agreement of landowners and current laws.” The document did not describe the details of the “Method” for LR. A consistency between developing a detailed plan and existing master plan is missing.
II.10.3. Conclusions The document seems to solve the issue of informal settlements and simplify the conversion of unplanned areas to planned. However; the methodologies and the compensation procedures and value of the property for readjustment and urban redevelopment is not clear enough. The document has weak linkage with the Land Management Law, Land Acquisition Law and Municipal Law relevant to informal areas articles. The definition of some terminologies is not consistent with other laws of the same terminologies and definitions. The document is difficult to follow the procedures and it is not consistent.
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II.11. Review of Afghanistan National Policy for Upgrading and Redevelopment of Informal Settlements II.11.1. Overview This draft document is the first time an attempt in the national level to recognize the upgrading and rehabilitation of the informal settlements in the cities of Afghanistan, which compose the majority of urban dwellers. The policy document prepared by UN-Habitat on behalf of MUDH in late November 2018.
Fig II.2: Informal Settlement within Heart City Urban Boundary, 2016.
The composition of the document contains: Key-terms and definitions; preamble; need/upgrading situation analysis; vision and goals; principles, eight policy statements overview, and detailed policy statements; an implementation strategy; national upgrading program; and monitoring and evaluation revision. While the consultant review team appreciate the hard work of people at MUDH and other relevant stakeholders that put together this important document, the purpose of experts finding and review of the document as anticipated is, to identify specific deficiencies relating to this document and then recommend measures to improve the deficiencies in the document. Similar to the previous review formats, we tried to organize the comments into three respective groups: technical review, editorial, and a summary for general comments. The new suggested revisions are included in Italic, and technical comments are put in [brackets].
II.11.2. Technical review Comment and suggestions are with the brackets Part-1, Pages 5 – 9: (Key terms and definitions). [We found this section to be very useful in defining and explaining the key terms used in the document.
Fig II.3: Kabul City Unplanned Area, Poor Infrastructure and Living Environment.
In page-5, 1st paragraph, 2nd line, stating the informal settlements as primarily residential settlements, we suggest the inclusion of “---also commercial and production establishments---“. Page-5, 2nd paragraph, 1st line, should be modified to include, “---property ownership rights ---” which includes the land and the structure. Page-6, paragraph 5, 1st line, should include “Land tenure security----“. Page-8, 2nd paragraph, 5th line, should add “ ---community and civic services, and livelihood----“. Page-9, paragraph-2, 2nd line, consider changing the word “segregation” to “recognition”. ] Part-2, Pages 10-12: (Preamble). [Page -11, 2nd paragraph, line-10th, consider changing the word “-poor –“ to “--increase --”.] Part-3, Pages-13: (Vision and goals). [Under the goals, we suggest the inclusion of, “upgrading and revitalization should aim the economic mobilization of the communities,” as an additional goal. Under the goals, 3rd paragraph, 1st line, consider “ right to citizenship ---“.
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II.11. Review of Afghanistan National Policy for Upgrading and Redevelopment of Informal Settlements Page-13, paragraph-6. We think that the real cause of proliferation of informal settlements is mostly due to migration from rural areas to major urban centers, because of the lack of necessary economic and social resources in rural areas. Mitigation of “push forces’” and improvement in rural areas should also be addressed together with upgrading goals and policies.] Part-4, Pages 14-16: (Principles and policy statement overview). [In addition to eight policy overviews stated in page-15, we suggest the inclusion of “reducing the risk of gentrification,” as an important policy overview]. Part-5, Pages 17-26: (Policy Statement Details). [Page-20, 1st line, consider including “ 3.3 A multi- sectorial approach, with full participation of community representatives ---,” to emphasize inclusiveness and participatory approach. Page-20, Policy -4, consider adding “ ---possible relocation and resettlement plans should be agreed and negotiated with the consent of residents.” Page-22, article 5.4, line-7, “ correct typo, it should be “loss of greenery,” not “less greenery.” Page-22, article 5.5, should include “ ---or compensation for fair value of land and property ---“. Page-23, article 6.2. Application of standard codes and regulations may not be feasible during the upgrading of the informal settlements. However, standard codes and building regulations may be required in post-completion stages or new developments thereafter. This situation is emphasized in article 6.3, which imply consideration for flexibility and pro-poor standards during upgrading. Also an article may be added under the “feasible public transportation” for integration. Since, without a sound public transportation and accessibility, a cohesive integration of informal areas to the general urban fabric may not be possible. Page-24, article 7-1. Should include, ‘”establishing mechanism for elected community council, and community representatives.” Also, it is necessary to establish a community base education mechanism, so that the community, especially those that are involved in the decision making process understand clearly the goals and vision of upgrading process.] Page-25, Policy-8. Should also include, “---feasible, long term loans under the financial plans.” Article 8.3, should consider, “encouraging private investment under the government guarantees and securities,” through community based financing mechanisms.” Page-26, article 8.5. The article is not clear, very vague. If the intention is, “Land-based value techniques and tools to be used as guarantee to finance loans and
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II.11. Review of Afghanistan National Policy for Upgrading and Redevelopment of Informal Settlements borrowing power of residents, for the purpose of improving their shelter,” than, this paragraph should be rewritten so. [Article 8.6, last sentence, consider adding “---affordable fee regulations”.]
II.11.3. Editorial We have noticed many errors in the original language including typos, grammar, punctuation, misspelling, formatting, and ambiguous language that need modification in order to improve the quality and make the document user-friendly. In addition, we have notices that the majority of words and terminologies used in this document are influenced by Iranian terminologies – unfamiliar to most Afghans and difficult to understand the meaning, if no definition for these terms were provided. The general organization and content of the document seems to be consistent. II.11.3. Summary and General Remarks The content, order and organization of the policies for upgrading seem to embrace a comprehensive set of directives on the issues of practice, provision, and implementation mechanisms, for upgrading the informal settlements. However, the following important issues are not given enough priority in the policies, that we think need to be integrated in the vision, goals and implementation policies of the document.
Fig II. 4: The Upgrading of Informal Settlements Shortcomings Key Issues.
1. Plan for economic mobility. The task of economic recovery and revitalization is an important factor that should be given a priority, and coordinated simultaneously with the process of upgrading, so that the livelihood of the residents are assured, both during and after, the completion of the project.
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II.11. Review of Afghanistan National Policy for Upgrading and Redevelopment of Informal Settlements Assuring an â&#x20AC;&#x153;economic mobility planâ&#x20AC;? during the upgrading, requires a recovery and restoration process of the existing businesses, small scale stores and venders, and small production establishments in the area that provide sources of employment for the communities. Government economic sector plans to encourage public and private investment is vital to address the short term, as well as, the long term economic vitality of the population in the post upgrading stages. 2. Plan to reduce rural-urban migration. Upgrading plans and policies should supplement mitigation for rural-urban migration or the push-factors. Unless, there is equitable and effective policies in place to target the improvement of social-economic conditions in rural areas, migration will continue to impact the cities, and in reality, the upgrading of informal settlements will continue to attract and accelerate the process of migration. 3. Plan to reduce risk of gentrification. So often, in post-upgrading stages; the integration, improvement, and legalization of the informal settlements, attract the possibility for speculative practices and price gouging (risk of land-grabbing is already stated in the policies). This process, will result into gentrification of the population which changes the character and culture of these districts. In this process where the wealthier segment of the population moves into the upgraded districts, by increasing the price of rent and property values, this will impact the poor negatively and consequently, the displacement of poor communities by rich people.
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II.12. Sub-National Governance Policy (SNGP) Review II.12.1. Overview Recently per order of the President a sub-national governance policy has been drafting for the purpose of better governance at the city level and accountability by local municipalities. To develop such a policy a taskforce was set up in 2017. The Taskforce is made-up of the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG), Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy, and Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development. The current document is in its early draft and must be reviewed by all actors involved in local governance sector for approval by Afghan Government. The overall vision of the SNGP is that Afghanistan will have a subnational governance system that is responsive and accountable to citizens, perceived as inclusive and impartial, and effective in delivering quality services in an equitable manner across the country, utilizing local knowledge and capacities for planning and implementation by 2027. The Objective of Sub-National Governance Policy aims to take lessons learned from the past 15 years to provide operational guidelines that will enable good governance, which better serves the people of Afghanistan to realize their constitutional rights. This policy has three specific objectives: 1) Enhancing trust and accountability between citizens and the government; 2) Alleviating poverty and improving the delivery of quality services; and 3) Promoting economic growth and job creation.
Fig II.5: Sub-National Governance Policy Key Objectives.
II.12.2. Analysis: In the implementation of subnational governance policy different actors and stakeholders are involved and each one must clearly understand their role and responsibilities. It seems more work on the document to be done for its improvement. For the government to achieve the SNGP objectives, it is vital to understand the socioeconomic, physical, cultural, and demographic composition of the territory. This will also require clarifying the roles and responsibilities of key actors at the subnational level and a structural review of IDLG at the national and provincial levels.
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II.12. Sub-National Governance Policy (SNGP) Review II.12.3. Conclusions The document is in the early stage of its editing and drafting. It needs to be consistent with the Municipal Law. It is expected to be a very helpful policy document for local authorities to be used as directive of accountability and good governance.
II.13. Part II Summary and Conclusions II.13.1. Summary It is expected that the emerging urban support programs will constitute a real breakthrough in the mix of difficult socioeconomic and political conditions with the massive challenges of urbanization. The Citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Charter is perhaps the most ambitious, as well as most promising, long-term program, especially if the present main actors in the urban sector (the Government, UN Habitat and World Bank) are joined by a range of other important international players. The menu of projects eligible for program support is essentially sound as a tool for interventions at the lowest sub-municipal levels. However, it is not quite satisfactory as a tool or reference framework for the entire municipality, as it is not connected to urban facilities at higher levels. The four cities are ready to start the preliminary work for the program while the operations and implementation modalities are to be finalized with the assistance of the international agencies.
II.13.2. General Conclusions The majority of policies relevant to urban development and housing policies are mandated to be implemented by MUDH. It is unlikely that MUDH be able to take the load of such huge agenda with its current capacity and resources, particularly, when its ToR has been confused for many years. Unless a clear agenda for strengthening of MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capacity will be set by Afghan Government and international donors. The issue of coordination among different stakeholders involving in implementation of policies are not clearly specified in most of reviewed documents. Afghan Government should develop a working mechanism of monitoring for implementation and coordination of activities relevant to these programs and policies. It would be necessary to organize continuing workshops and seminars for different categories of MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s staff to understand the goals and objectives of each policy. Otherwise, most of these policies will be left on paper without practical realization.
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Part III: Review of MUDH Urban Planning Legal Documents Reveiew بخش سوم :بررسی اسناد رسمی وحقوقی پالن گذاری شهری وزارت شهرسازی ومسکن
Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
III.1. Introduction Afghanistan lacks core Architecture & Engineering (A&E) management policies and processes, including: of land use and zoning codes, urban planning legislation, uniform construction standards or building codes, systematic quality control and assurance programs, staff training for technology adoption, and research into economically sound construction and A&E best practices; and finally institutions that can regulate the activities toward standardization of above mentioned activities. The country currently has very few governing land use and building codes or processes and practices allowing for consistent known quality in the construction products executed. To date, urban development and construction sector in Afghanistan has followed foreign codes and norms. Depending on the source of the funding, infrastructure facilities were designed to different donor country’s standards, which were proven to be insufficient or inapplicable to Afghanistan’s environment, geographic, climatic, and seismic and landscape particulars. There is an indisputable need to establish laws that govern the practice of engineering including urban planning, land development and construction to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people in Afghanistan, all inevitably linked to the national economy. The laws and the rules and regulations to implement them must define engineering practice and establish requirements for an individual to become a licensed practicing urban planner, architect or engineer. Such license can be a requirement for a professional private company or enterprise also. The law and regulations, may be titled “Engineering Practice Legislation” and must be ratified by the Government and Ministry of Justice. In order to maintain the economic growth achieved so far, and to set the foundation for success of the Afghan Government’s new strategic plan (ANPDF), especially supporting its urban development agenda, there is an urgent need to provide opportunities for strengthening the human skills of Afghan architects and engineers. They need to enhance their abilities to mobilize, manage, and use resources skillfully so that achievement of their objectives is ensured on a sustainable basis. By the Town Planning Law and other relevant laws, the above duties have been mandated to Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MUDH) to improve the urban built environment to a safe, durable, livable, and environmentally sustainable place. Regrettably, MUDH as a policy maker body has not been successful in developing of relevant policies, procedures and regulations so far. Some efforts have been taken in developing of technical guidelines, urban development codes but they are incomplete with serious shortcomings, and finally they have never become law and ratified by legislation. The following are the review of some available technical guidelines prepared by MUDH Town Planning Directorate.
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III.2. City Master Planning Guidelines (DRAFT) Review III.2.1. Overview This document is prepared in 2017 by the MUDH, Town Planning directorate, in a printed hard copy format, not officially published. The current document is under the review and updated by the directorate. Preparation, process management, and implementation of Master Plans are areas of strong client demand for technical advice and operational support. This Review seek to help the Town Planning Directorate of MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Urban Affairs Deputyship, and improve the quality and usefulness of its draft City Master Planning Guideline. While the Reviewer acknowledges the hard work and level of effort devoted to make this valuable Guideline available, and wish the MUDH officials more successes in their efforts to prepare additional manuals and instructions of this kind, this review presents the following remarks and suggestions for improvement consideration. Comments are presented in three groups respectively: technical review, editorial, and general complementary remarks. Technical comments are put in brackets [comment] right in front of each specific section of the Guidelines as referenced by page number, article, and item number to which they apply.
III.2.2. Content of MUDH Guide to Master Plan The Guide to Afghanistan Master-Planning Cities, prepared by the MUDH, Department of City Planning dated 2018, and written in the Persian language consists of six sections and is structured in the following ways. Section-1: General information. Includes general guidelines envisioned for the new city planners and designers who will take charge of preparing and managing the design of city master plans, in order to become familiar with technical terms, definitions and the process of underscoring planning principles relevant to the cities in Afghanistan.
Fig III.1: Example of Master Planning, MUDH, 2018.
Section-2: Master Plan. This section tries to define and describe what is a comprehensive master plan. It illustrates methodologies for preparing a successful master plan, explains the process and types of master plans with their broader goals and strategies to create a better city environment. Section-3: Master planning process. The process of beginning to design a master plan and important steps in its preparation, such as understanding the physical, social, economic, legal and environmental characteristic of the city, and identification of stakeholders, selections of teams of advisors, project leaders and the role of all participants. Section-4: Preparation of Master Plan. Before the design of master plan, it is necessary that the design team identify the prerequisites for the master plan clearly.
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III.2. City Master Planning Guidelines (DRAFT) Review Characterization of the design and planning ideas; scope, time frames, choosing strategies, logistic of team building, endorsement of government bodies, documentation of the stakeholders’ interest, and plans for the implementation. Section-5: Survey and analysis. Careful assessment and research of baseline information for the targeted region; analyses, documentation and formulation that is crucial in the design decision making process. Section-6: Land Uses. In this section attention is made to lawful classification of land uses and identification of legitimate verses unlawful functioning of urban land uses. Effort has been made to identify important settlement factors and institute conventional standards of land-use potentials, such as compatibility, desirability, comfort, security, and practicality in order to guarantee a suitable living environment for every Afghan citizen.
III.2.3. Technical Review Part -1, Pages 8-10 (Introduction and general information): [The inclusion of this part is a useful feature of the Guidelines. During the review, this part found to be especially helpful and necessary. However; absolute majority of the words and terms used in the document are Iranian terminologies – unfamiliar to most Afghans and difficult to understand the meaning if no definition for these terms were provided.] Part -1, Page 11 (Terminology - types of Urban Plans): [Introducing ten types of urban plans, while totally understandable, it seems excessive at this stage, especially when MUDH is not able practically to develop any of them, and there are no examples of these plans provided in the Guidelines. Focusing on the Master Plan, nevertheless, is a good first step. Whether the plan is labeled comprehensive, master, or general, we are, in most instances, describing the same thing: capturing in words and graphics the hopes, dreams, and ambitions a community holds for itself]. The types of plans referenced from the latest Town Planning Law. Article-1, Page 6 (main objectives of the Guideline/methodology): [Suggest adding the word ( بهبود/ improving) in front of each of the three objectives listed 1, 2, and 3] Article-2, Page 6 (Implementation of the Guideline): [The language of this Article is very strict and would likely result in reducing creativity, innovation and efficiency in master planning exercises, because of the fact that there is no universally accepted “one best way” to develop a master plan. It is suggested this language to be softened and to allow plan developers to exercise their own methodology, if they wish, provided their final plan meets the minimum quality/value requirements of this Guideline]. [Also, it appears that the initial preparation phase for planning the PROCESS
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III.2. City Master Planning Guidelines (DRAFT) Review (plan to plan) is overlooked in this Guideline. Key factors associated with this first step include the allocation of time, human resources, money, and energy to do the planning. This step is too often overlooked but there are many questions that need to be answered in this step.] Article-3, Page 6 (Changes and modifications to the Guidelines): [This Article encourages public proposals for enriching the Guidelines to be addressed to the MUDH but it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t provide any information about how the ministry would react and/or respond to the recommendations being received.] Article-5 Page 6 (Authority for review, change and completion of Master Plan): [Item one of this Article restricts this authority to the Technical Board of the MUDH. However, it is not known which Master Plan this Article 5 refers to (Kabul Master Plan? Any other City Master Plans? Or any City Master Plans?). It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem practical, if this authority for review/change of any master plan, be vested with the Technical Board of the MUDH. It is suggested that in each master plan, there should be a section where the authority for revising/amending and changing that master plan, should be determined, and the procedures for any potential modifications be explained in the master plan itself.] Article-5, item 2, Page 6 (Review of Master Plans): [As specified in this Article, once in ten-year review of a master plan is too less frequent. Master Plans are living documents, and need more frequent periodic reviews, and adjustments based on new findings, information and new circumstances. They must be selfcorrectable and adaptable to change. Therefore, intermediate reviews and revisions are suggested to be undertaken at five year intervals and perhaps annually, if the new changes warrant development reviews]. This is a subject for more discussion by relevant stakeholders. Last section on Page fifteen (Factors causing non-implementation of Master Plans): [A very important and key factor that is not referenced here is the commitment in communication. Lack of or poor communication and coordination between the planning team and the governing body/authorities, especially during the plan development phases, often causes Master Plans to be rejected, ignored or set aside. This can be addressed by the planning team through opening lines of communication with and engaging the governing body in various phases of the plan development, share information, and updating them on their work progress that would yield good results at the end.] Page 20, (How to Design a Master Plan): [The use of numbered Phases as reflected in the Guidelines (Phase I, Phase II, Phase III, etc.) doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to be so practical. For example, involving the community is shown to be done in phase V, but in reality the community participation needs to be ensured at the very beginning stages. In fact, the public needs to be engaged as early as in Phase II to set/ agree on vision statements, goals and objectives.]
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III.2. City Master Planning Guidelines (DRAFT) Review Page 41 (Land use Planning Goals/Big Goals/Environmental Goals): [The 2nd goal – “preserving the linkage between city and the environment” doesn’t make much sense. May be is a good idea that this statement to be changed to “preserving the linkage that exists between human being and the environment”.] Page 45 (Seven Phases of land use planning) [Bullet five and six appears to be together and might be accidentally separated.] Page 48 (Criteria for site selection/residential land use): [Suggest adding some additional factors such as being close to shopping centers, businesses (for work), health care, education and entertainment facilities as well as having access to utilities (water, gas, telephone, internet and electricity). Although a few of these proposed factors are listed in the Guidelines as permissible uses/activities, but that is not sufficient. They are essential factors that need to be considered when selecting residential land use.] Page 70, item one (Criteria for urban view and urban landscape) [In item one of this section reference is made to the “High Council for Urbanism and Architecture” but it is not clear whether it is a different entity or another name for the “High Council for Urban Development” as defined in the Law of Urban Development and Housing]
III.2.4. Editorial There are many errors in original language including typos, grammar, punctuation, misspelling, formatting, and ambiguous language that need modification in order to improve the quality and make the Guidelines user-friendly. The chapters and paragraph contents are not consistent and needs reshuffling.
III.2.5. General Complementary Remarks It would be very useful if this Guideline document provides an outline of a basic typical master plan format and contents (characterized as required and optional). There should be specific direction about the minimum requirements for a Master Plan in terms of content. In this draft, however, no requirement is set for a Master Plan to include, for example, transportation plan, natural resources plan, utilities plan (water, sewer, energy, etc.) and other public facilities or any other requirements such as ensuring affordable housing, green development, etc. The language and format of the current draft requires improvement as it sounds more like a law and/or policy document rather than a technical guide or methodology for city master planning. There should be provisions (guidance, procedure and other details) for modification and amendment of the master plan when required. Regular monitoring of the planning indicators (physical and socioeconomic changes) is suggested to be included as a necessary requirement of the master planning management.
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III.2. City Master Planning Guidelines (DRAFT) Review The Guidelines on page 35 include, control as a basic tool for implementation and supervision of Master Plans. However, it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to be sufficiently clarified. Timely review of the Master Plans shall ensure mid-term correction and modifications if needed in the Plan, as well as, the implementation procedures, which will help to reâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;adjust the events in the plan that could not be foreseen or anticipated during the Master Plan formulation. If the plan is timely monitored and appropriately reviewed, the development can lead in the right direction, according to the needs of the people of the city. Land-use modeling techniques are totally overlooked in this Guideline. There are some important questions left unanswered, that can only be answered using land use models. For example, how land-use regulations or housing programs would affect land-use development and transportation. Land-use modeling is a quantitative method that uses existing and projected data combined with economic and social behavior theories to predict future changes in the types as well as longer term impacts of land-uses. Computer modeling of alternative land use and transportation situations can contribute to a more measurable, and therefore more objective, planning process. Modeling can also add value to the planning process by providing opportunities to visualize complex systems and outcomes. Modeling land-uses allows decision-makers and residents to visualize and compare the potential impacts of land-use change at a neighborhood, community, and regional level. Therefore, suggestion of measures and more specific guidance to reduce the need for mobility by promoting higher-density, mixed-use urban forms that are more suitable for public transport would have added more value to the Guideline. In this current version no clear guidance is provided to encourage, for example, compact urban form, and build disaster resistant communities (see international practices section Reduce Risk Disaster) or any other guidance in line with the principles of Smart Growth. The best plans are tailored to reflect an individual community â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s needs, based on current community data and analysis that can be facilitated through the application of various techniques including modeling. An effective Master Plan is the result of a collaborative effort. Planning is a common sense approach to decision making. It involves examining what you have and asking the public what they want, so you know what to do tomorrow. Due to the difference in the level of social and economic development, one single standard or methodology cannot be applied in each situation/country. Each country needs to develop its own standards of land-use and regulations. In this guide, land-use is extensively discussed and detailed guidance is provided but there is no sufficient and/or clear guidance about land use development standards. The review concludes the need to go beyond the present limits of the
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III.2. City Master Planning Guidelines (DRAFT) Review subjects covered and level of details that was possible to propose in this undertaking. The use of consultations with a broader audience including public and private sector, experts of various background and the planners, architects and engineers outside of the MUDH, is essential to convert the Guidelines produced under the current exercise into a regulation with a wider scope and beneficiaries. It is, therefore, important to make a sincere effort to solicit more diverse technical expertise and public opinion for incorporation into the document before it turns to a rule. Perhaps a zoning regulation should also be developed without which implementation of this Guideline alone would not produce desirable results.
III.2.6. Summary The MUDH guide to Master Planning the cities of Afghanistan are mapping comprehensive directives, processes, strategies and implementation guidelines that are necessary for planning and the building of cities and communities. The document covers a wide array of planning process and urban design principles and aims to put in place a contemporary vision and course of action for planning policies and regularity tools in Afghanistan. The purpose of our finding and review of the document is not to be critical of the content or editing the materials, but as anticipated our review will adapt a normative approach for carrying out a gap analysis and identifying specific deficiencies relating to this document and then recommend realistic measures to improve the deficiencies in the document. Above we highlighted these critical deficiencies and put forward measurable recommendations that are necessary for the purpose of improvement.
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III.3. Technical Guidelines for Developing of Urban Plans Technical Guidelines for Developing of Urban Plans, Guidelines for Urban Development Directorate Working Process Publication: Town Planning Directorate, MUDH, October 2014 (Mizan 1393). Original Language: Dari
III.3.1. Overview The document is a set of technical guidelines and directives for preparation of cities’ master plans, urban detailed plans, review and updates of plans as well as Urban Affairs Directorate working procedures. The document was prepared by Urban Affairs directorate of Ministry of Urban Affairs (MUA) and officially signed by the Minister of Urban Affairs (MUA) back in 2014. MUA is the former title of the current MUDH. The document is the joint effort and collaboration of Ministry of Urban Affairs’ engineers and architects. The final version of the document was presented in a seminar for feedback and inputs of internal-departments staff. The document has never got the third party review and inputs. This technical guidelines document consists of seven parts: 1) Technical guidelines for preparation of urban detailed plans, 2) Guidelines for use of color codes and legends for urban plans (master plans and detailed plans), 3) Guidelines for correction and updates of urban development and detailed plans, 4) Procedures for monitoring of Shahrak (townships) working group, 5) Guidelines for design and preparation of cities’ master plans, 6) Guidelines for preparation cities’ master plans reports, and 7) Guidelines of working procedures of Urban Affairs directorate.
III.3.2. Analysis Comments and suggestions are in brackets with italic fonts. Part I: This part consists of three chapters: 1) General Provisions, 2) Detailed plans and requirement for development and preparation of urban plans, 3) Urban Planning Calculations. Chapter one has only three articles which describes the main objectives, implementation of the guidelines, changes and updates, publications of the guidelines and date of ratification. In chapter one, the article relevant to the “implementation” of the current guidelines document states that “government agencies, particularly, municipalities, government development projects and private sector, and national and international design organizations that develop urban plans (plan-e shahri) are obliged to set their [design] plans according to these technical guidelines, otherwise such plans do not have legal status and will not be acceptable”. [Comment: first, the term of Urban Plan (plan-e shahri) is vague and it is a general term in this article. The same term is used in the Town Planning Law and Municipal Law also. Second, such strict directive to force all parties to implement the guidelines may not be practical as the document has never
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III.3. Technical Guidelines for Developing of Urban Plans been shared with other stakeholders and ratified as legal document by the Council of Ministers or the Ministry of Justice. Assessment and review of urban planning projects developed at MUDH in Task -1 shows that the guidelines and normative that are recommended in the current document have not been used even by relevant MUDH’s directorates and departments including Design of Regional Development Plans, Strategic Development Plans (SDP) and even Town Planning directorate itself]. Chapter two covers some general information including the definitions for detailed plan, structural plan, site plan, Urban design plan, red and blue lines. In the special condition part of the chapter, it states that detailed plans can also be developed outside the existing urban boundary of the city according to special conditions. New satellite towns or shahraks are allowed to build outside the urban boundary of cities in a minimum of 500 jireebs (100 ha) land for 30,000 inhabitants if the adjacent city has more than one million population. [Comment: First, the guideline does not clarify the legal definition of Shahrak and its complete parameters as part of urban structure of cities. Second, unplanned growth of satellite towns or Shahrak inside and outside the urban boundaries of cities have been in direct violation of cities’ legal master plans and serious obstacles for sustainable growth of urban areas since 2001, the creation of new government in Afghanistan. Hundreds of new satellite towns or Shahrak (townships) have been built in adjacent of large cities, which caused the chaotic growth of cities even within the existing boundaries of cities’ master plans. This article will create more opportunities for land grabbing and corruption by building of illegal satellite towns in suburban areas of cities by power brokers and influential people]. Chapter three covers some urban calculation and definition of FAR (Floor Area Ratio) and BCR (Building Coverage Ratio). Number of tables are included with net area, service area and transportation percentages by types of land use (residential general, residential pure and residential villages). For example, for Residential General type net area is 40 to 50 %, services area- 28 to 40 % and transportation – 16 to 22 %. It does not make reference to the category and type of land-uses. [Comment: The document does not give any description of land-use codes and zoning. It is not known how the percentages for land use and other parameters are calculated. The differences between the two terminologies of residential areas and pure residential areas have not been clarified in the guidelines. It is difficult to understand the speed limits for different types of roads because the definition of streets and roads types are not specified]. Part-II of the document covers the legends and symbols to be used in development of plans. [Comment: The list of color coding and legend are not consistent.
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III.3. Technical Guidelines for Developing of Urban Plans Some of legend and symbols are not according to accepted standards used in Afghan urban planning or with common accepted international standards.] Part-III covers the guidelines on development of citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; master plans, recommendations on steps for developing a master plan document. The document states that the developing of the master plan is the responsibilities of MUA and its approval is the joint responsibility of MUA and Cabinet of Ministers. [Comment: The pre-requisites, requirement and necessity for developing of citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; master plans are vague. There is no specific recommendation on type of cities master plan to guide development based on the size of population]. The development of citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; master plan by MUDH and its approval by technical board of the ministry may create a conflict of interest because the third party is not involved in review and evaluation of the document. Master plan must be a legal document. Such statement is missing in the document. A new version of technical guidelines for preparation of detailed plans is being under review by the current Town Planning Department of MUDH. This updated version mostly copied the directives from USA land-use codes and zoning laws. Unfortunately, due to continuing changes at the leadership of directorate this draft is still incomplete.
III.3.3. Findings 1. A complete and legal definition of Shahrak is missing in this document. 2. The term of plan-e shahri (urban plan) is vague and it should be clarified which type of design plan is it. 3. The type of cities and classification of cities are not discussed in the document. 4. Terminologies are given from Iranian references and difficult to understand for Afghan users.
III.3.4. Summary Lack of legal directives and regulations have caused a major urban development chaos in sustainable growth of cities in the country. Existing guidelines and directives prepared by MUDH and implemented by MUDH itself have created conflict of interests and open opportunity for wrongdoing and corruption. Some of key articles such as definition of Shahrak, its requirement and parameters are kept vague in technical guidelines directives. Guidelines are internal departmental documents and they have rarely shared and discussed with other relevant authorities such as Kabul Municipality, provincial local municipalities and private sector. Corruption and lack of transparency continues in issuing of permits for construction of new commercial sites and residential areas at national and provincial levels. These issues must be addressed properly by new leadership of MUDH.
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III.3. Technical Guidelines for Developing of Urban Plans A revised version of “Guidelines for Development of Urban Detailed Plans” is under draft by the Town Planning Directorate. Work on this document as of September 2018 has been suspended due to changes in the leadership of Town Planning directorate. This version is incomplete and per request of former director the document was not reviewed in details as such draft has no any legal status.
III.3.5. Conclusions Both the old approved version and the updated version of the technical guidelines have serious shortcomings in terms of consistency of topics, technical contents and language. The terminology of “plan-e shahri” in Dari and its English translation ‘Urban Plan‘ does not cover the full meaning and understanding of “Urban Development Plan.” The wording should be revised and needs meaningful definition through the document. This published technical document was prepared in 2014 when the mandate, ToR and name of the ministry was different: Ministry of Urban Affairs and Directorate of Urban Affairs. Since then a new Town Planning Law and Municipal Law have been ratified. Therefore; there is a need for updating the document according to new ratified laws and the definition of terminologies subsequently to be reviewed by a diverse team of urban planners, architects, engineers, economists and lawyers. Such technical guideline documents and directives must have legal status to be enforced by all stakeholders.
III.4. The Shahrak -Township Legal Status Review III.4.1. Overview The construction of so called new Shahrak or townships has started since the creation of new government in Afghanistan in 2002. An exact legal definition for the term of “Shahrak” or township in English has not been revealed in the reviewed laws and other legal documents. According to different government accounts approximately 3,000 illegal townships within or outside the urban boundaries of cities have been constructed in the country in the last 15 years. This process still continues with grabbing of government and public lands in the country. A number of new Shahrak have been built by the government funded projects also. However; both the government and private built Shahrak have been built without any standard, urban and zoning codes with poor facilities and infrastructure. Per presidential order the evaluation of more than 100 private owned township projects was conducted in 2012 by a special commission from MUDH.
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III.4. The Shahrak -Township Legal Status Review The physical assessment of newly built Shahrak (townships) shows consistent violations of design documentations and pre-approval conditions. MUDH’s survey and evaluation team report officially published a list of townships that violated all available guidelines, design standards, and initial detailed plans. However, because the MUDH has no ratified regulations on how to fine and stop further violations, the owners of townships never faced consequences.
III.4.2. Analysis
Fig III.2: Example of New ShahrakTownships, Kabul.
It seems that there is no legal definitions and status for terminology of Shahrak or township in the hierarchy of urban development structure in none of the Municipal Law and Town Planning Law. MUDH has played key role in review of new townships or shahraks projects documentations and issuing of building permit. An old directive in the form of ToR for building of new Shahrak in the country was signed by the Minister of MUDH in 2003, and it has been valid until now. It is a two pages of document without having any legal status to be ratified by the government of Afghanistan or any other higher authorities than MUDH itself. MUDH claims that such authority given to MUDH by the Town Planning Law of 2012. Kabul Municipality also issues such a permit for construction of private townships. For review and approval of townships construction MUDH has set up a commission called “High Visa Commission for Approval of Urban Plans.” The same visa commission functions at MUDH for issuing building permit for construction of commercial complexes. Results of consultant’s review of documents and brainstorming sessions with both Town Planning and Building directorates leadership show obvious conflict of interest and source of corruption.
III.4.3. Summary The expansion of cities with construction of illegal Shahrak (townships) is a serious threat to living environment and sustainable growth of Afghan cities and urban areas at all. Assessment and evaluation of existing Shahrak site within cities’ urban boundary shows constant violation of all existing legal regulations and urban development standards. The majority of Shahrak have been built without infrastructures, and facilities and essential amenities. The quality of design and construction standards are very law compared to standard projects level. MUDH continues to issue permit for construction of new townships and commercial complexes not only in Kabul but all over Afghanistan. The legality of such authority is ambiguous. Most likely, giving of such authority to MUDH has created conflict of interests. The review of existing regulations for construction of new townships must be addressed as priority agenda of MUDH’s new leadership to avoid further chaos in implementation of cities’ master plan of development. This move is very important, particularly, when a new draft of national urban policy is under consideration.
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III.5. Part III Summary and Conclusions The current existing guidelines and directives including master planning guidelines document and technical guidelines for preparation of urban plans have serious shortcomings and they are incomplete. Land-use and zoning codes are not covered in the guidelines. Such guidelines document is necessary, as a legal document for the use of not only MUDH, but other relevant government agencies and private sector involving in urban planning. The guidelines must cover wide range of issues relevant to sustainable growth of Afghan cities. In summary, both documents; guidelines of cities’ master plans, and technical guidelines for preparation of detailed plans, are lacking some of the following important facts and directives as it relates to the specific conditions of Afghan cities: A. The present document does not emphasize the critical impact of the unplanned developments in the cities where 70 -80% of the Afghan city’s population resides. It is vital to include specific directives and strategies conducive to the context of these settlements. B. Historical cities and important heritage areas in the cities are another important Afghan cultural heritage, so that the master plan should have clear directives for realistic revitalization and rehabilitation process of these areas. C. Ecology and sustainability are another areas of importance. The master plan should have a clear directive and propose defined strategies towards sustainable development of cities and preservation of regional ecology. Therefore; this document needs to be seriously reviewed and updated by a team of urban planners and legal experts. As the internal organization of MUDH has been changed few times in the last few months, even the name and title of “Urban Affairs Directorate,” to a new title of “Town Planning directorate,” therefore, it is necessary to update all technical documents and should be at the priority agenda of MUDH, particularly, the Town Planning Department.
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Part IV: Comparative Study of Urban Development Models (International Practices) Review بررسی مطالعه مقایسه وی:بخش چهارم )مدل های توسعه شهری (تجارب بین املللی وزارت شهرسازی ومسکن
Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
Introduction Afghan cities are suffering from the lack of effective regulatory framework and legal practices. The following deficiencies are indicators of weak urban planning system and management: 1. Procedures and directives for implementation of existing laws relevant to urban planning 2. Appropriate land-use and zoning policies 3. Urban system management â&#x20AC;&#x201C; urban administration at national and city levels 4. Monitoring and evaluation mechanism 5. Disaster risks reduction (relevant to urban development) 6. Housing policies This document focuses on the comparative international urban planning practices, in particular, countries that are similar to Afghanistan. The international planning practices illustrated bellow present relevant urban development approaches in the countries of Turkey, Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and USA that provide a basis for comparative analyses and insights through which the planning professionals and policy makers in Afghanistan can augment the planning deficiencies and implementation policies in designing the urban environment of the Afghan cities. A Generic Model of US Urban Development is included in this study based on outcome of review of Afghan current laws in part I. The review shows that some of legal documents prepared on the approach and concept of US model of laws such as LML and LAL through USAID funded projects.
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IV. 1. The case of Indonesia IV.1.1. Overview With similar cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, Indonesia tackled their urban growth and policy implementation programs successfully that can provide a source of inspiration for the Afghan cities. Effective and realistic practices to improve life and shelter provision in the unplanned settlements and reduce poverty in urban and rural areas, establish environmental standards, and augment the bureaucratic administrative structure of the cities, are the hallmark of planning accomplishments in the country. A study by UNDP and World Bank shows that in Indonesia the government took the direction of sustainable urban development approach and focused on three important urban development strategies, 1) Enhancing the city governments’ capacity to expand coverage of public services, 2) Improving the quality of public services, and 3) City governments’ fiscal autonomy to expand finance coverage for public services [9] The core approach toward sustainable urban development that has been taken by authorities, involving urban planning in Indonesia is: • Enhance regulatory frameworks that promote transparency and accountability, reduce bureaucracy • Strengthen democratic institutions and practices • Support economic and social development • Facilitate dialogue and communications between national and subnational governments • Facilitate the transition into an information driven society • Improving the quality of public services • Improving access to public services on the ground The Indonesian urban planning practices are directed by two widely cited strategies that are recognized both in the regional and international levels as successful models. First, Indonesia being a diverse society, administered a “decentralized” governance policy for its urban and regional planning implementation programs. And second, promoted actively a “sustainable urbanism” by flourishing community environmental initiatives, and encourage wider metropolitan and provincial cooperation. Under the decentralized administration, the goal has been, to bring the government closer to people and increase representation from diverse political, ethnic, religious and cultural groups in the decision-making process. The local provincial governments are given a fiscal and administrative autonomy to monitor and implement their own urban development programs and improve the urban and economic resources in equitable and peaceful manners. Provincial governance and provision for the election of the head of the region and associated issues were powerful tools for local political accountability in order to elect the right people in the leadership positions to take charge of public administration and manage effective urban development practices. Decentralization, allowed local governments to implement the urban policies more creatively and experiment with innovative urban solutions.
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IV. 1. The case of Indonesia It also relieved top managers in central ministries of the task to concentrate on general policies [1]. Some of the effective urban practices that are successfully implemented in many cities across the country, include the provision and expansion of public facilities and green spaces, investment in traditional market and small business rather than succumbing to large investment corporation, and provided a conducive political environment to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to encourage public participation.
IV.1.2. Green City and Sustainable Growth The green city development program initiative â&#x20AC;&#x153;GCDPâ&#x20AC;? is the second hallmark of the Indonesian environmental planning success that tackles the vast issues of sustainable urbanization. As part of planning reform, GCDP is dedicated to create a strong linkage between policy, planning, design and implementation, in order to promote sustainable city development across the country. Within the context of autonomy, GCDP is a collaborative program between the city and provincial governments, facilitated by the central government through technical assistant and incentive delivery. Under the GCDP green initiative, the design professionals work in close collaboration with local administration and communities to ensure that an integrated planning vision is achieved, and the environmental resources are converted into tangible new opportunities. Now there are 60 municipalities nation-wide, which voluntarily committed to implement their green city action programs [2]. Elaboration on local action plans guided by objectives set in the city master plans which is approved with the participation of local representative, serves the bases for successful implementation. These objectives are formulated into eight green city attributes, namely; green planning and design, green community, green open spaces, green water, green waste, green energy, green transportation and green buildings. These indicators are essentially seen as an integrated system [3].
IV.1.3. Compared Model Indonesia One of the award winning show-case is the city of Solo located in the heart of Java provides a vibrant example that achieved a successful environmental management program through hands-on local government leadership and community cooperation. The city is included in 2008, UN-Habitatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s database for best urban practice and have received a host of international awards. Some of the best urban development practices in Solo are the following [1]. a. Relocating informal street venders from public spaces through effective public dialogue, negotiation and persuasion. Involved a long process of public meetings with representatives of street venders so that the issue of relocation could be settled peacefully.
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IV. 1. The case of Indonesia This process allowed the city to use the vacant land for the purpose of public green spaces and in turn mitigate the environmental quality of the city. The process of negotiation and peaceful relocation in Solo has gained national attention and recognition. b. The process of negotiation was seen a progressive method in resolving the problem of most of the informal settlements in the city, unlike conventional practices and force evictions that are common in many cities. Through the support of funds from central government, and UN-Habitat, as well as from the city government budget, the households in the informal areas of the city were provided land in manageable locations in the city. This process also provided legalization of state land, which was occupied by the informal settlements, into legal landholding residents of Solo, justified a sound investment in the poor communities. c. Participation of community and civic society in the planning pro cess. Through an effective support of NGOs, the city raised awareness about urban issues and assisted residents to better prioritize development projects during annual participatory budgeting cycle. Specifically, initiated a community-mapping method to provide information about each neighborhood profile such as population data, housing, poverty and social and economic indicators. The mapping process was highly participatory, and indicated how informed citizens can contribute to transforming their city from bottom-up, in line with the original spirit of the decentralized government. d. Under the sustainable waste management program, an effective waste management planning is utilized, centered on reduce; reuse, and recycle (3Rsâ&#x20AC;?), and effective strategies were used to encourage community participation in 3Rs campaign. Establishing composting centers across the urban neighborhoods through state-community partnership. And organized a community based network of environmental squad who educate community members to clean up their local environment and reduce waste by practicing waste segregation and composting.
IV.1.4. Conclusions The model of urban planning framework and sustainable urban development of cities in Indonesian in most criteria close to Afghan conditions and can be a good model for further study and analysis.
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IV. 2. The case of Turkey IV.2.1. Urban Planning Model Overview The urban planning framework, particularly, relevant experiences in land management, land acquisition, housing policies and local governance in Turkey is a good model to be studied further in details and compared with Afghanistan’s urban planning model. Being a republic, Turkey from the beginning, recognized the power of urbanization to fuel its agglomeration economy that made modernization and industrialization possible. Rather than resisting urbanization, turkey has been able to combine rapid urbanization with sustained increase in living standards of its population. Through liberalization of its market economy, that attracted the flow of private and foreign investments, and by allowing rural-urban migration to supply the needed human capital and know-how, resulted in innovative development and growth. In addition, the urban development approach across the Turkey is heavily based on affirmative national policies and good governance, which are the foundation for action. By putting effective public policies and regulatory measures in place, the cities in Turkey, yielded measurable economic and social gains that improved the standard of life for its citizens.
Fig IV. 1. Ankara, Turkey, Hillsides.
A recent Brookings report, counts four Turkish cities (Istanbul, Bursa, Izmir, and Ankara) among the top 10 most dynamic worldwide, in terms of an expanding market and growing employment opportunities. These systems of cities by far performed above average in achieving density and efficient land uses with higher productivity. Effective policies in improving and expanding municipal services and infrastructure in the informal areas of the city are features of a successful urban demographic transformation [5]. Turkey’s national urban policy is the “integrated urban development strategy and action plan 2010 – 2023,” establishes principles and strategies for providing healthy and balanced livable urban development, as well as structural solutions for urbanization. This action plan, which was adopted by High Council in 2010, provides a road map for national and local governments to implement their urban development and planning practices [4]. .
IV.2.2. Land and acquisition laws and regulations Studies show that the requirement of land acquisition for public infrastructure has been always critical for the site selection and project appraisal phases. There is more than one method to acquire land for projects such as purchase, easement, land donation, lease, land readjustment and expropriation. In Turkey, the expropriation is often preferred for public investments, state and public legal entities are able to partially or completely expropriate private real estate ownership for public interest by paying in advance the value of such real estate. Such approach in Afghanistan has not been practiced
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IV. 2. The case of Turkey due to shortage of funds and proper financial planning. In this context, expropriation processes frequently used by public institutions in Turkey are carried out according to principles defined in the Turkish Constitution and Expropriation Law No. 2942, and purchase methods in accordance with the Public Procurement Law 4734 [10]. Paying in advance the value of property is worth to study in details for comparison with Afghan Land Acquisition Law (LAL). Under the Turkish Legal System, immovable property ownership and use, intervention in ownership, regulation of residential construction and infrastructure projects are regulated according to the Constitution and different laws for the public and private sectors. If expropriation is not performed using the purchase procedure, the court will determine an assessed value and the real estate will be registered in the name of the administration an approach that may be suitable to the urban conditions of Afghanistan also.
IV.2.3. Housing Development Administration Afghanistan suffers from significant shortage of housing both in terms of quantity and quality due to the lack of relevant urban development laws and implementation policies. Therefore, the experience of Turkey may provide a good model for solving the housing problems in the country. Chronology of housing development in Turkey shows that the housing shortage in Turkey has been recognized as a problem based on the quantitative insufficiency of the number of produced housing projects since the end of the World War II (1945) and since then the enactment of Property Ownership Law and Housing Cooperatives Law have played crucial role in solving of quantity and quality of housing problems in Turkey. However; the increasing demand for housing in early 1970s, resulted in illegal housing developments due to shortage of housing and due to high migration rates from rural to urban areas. This brought social, economic and physical burdens to the cities by creating unauthorized housing, inefficient urban services, congestion and increasing urban density problems [12 and 13]. This is a similar experience that can be noticed in most Afghan cities. Fig IV. 2. Ankara, Turkey, Headquarters of Ministry of Urban Planning and Environment. Formed 29 June 2011 Preceding agencies: Ministry of Public Works (1920–1983) Ministry of Development and Housing (1958–1983) Ministry of Public Works and Housing (1983–2011)
In Afghanistan the similar relevant housing laws and regulations are missing or not efficient. However; the most effective legal regulations during these periods in Turkey were the two mass housing laws, which were enacted through the end of 1970s. In 1984, according to the Mass Housing Law, a fund for mass housing was created including several sources of income under the Mass Housing Law. In the same year, a new and legal entity, the Housing Development and Public Participation Administration was established. In addition, a new legal entity, TOKI was also established as a state agency in the same year [12 and 13]. Functioning outside the Ministry of Urban Planning and Environment administration, there is an additional administration called TOKI
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IV. 2. The case of Turkey (Governmental Mass Housing Administration). TOKI is a relatively autonomous entity with its own budget outside the regular budget, which has played an increasingly important role in urban renewal and development over the past decade. TOKI has the authority over city master plans to establish new development areas, in some cases, the boundaries of environmentally sensitive sites can be changed to accommodate its development projects. (See also official TOKI website: http://www.toki.gov.tr/en) Another experience for Afghanistan can be the investment concept in housing in Turkey. Particularly, having an independent housing administration, not part of Ministry of Urban Development and Housing MUDH in Afghanistan, may function better than within the strict Afghan Government supervision. In Turkey for many years the investment and provision of mass housing take place in the following types of investments:
(a) Government investment: • Social housings (TOKI); • Public housings; • Disaster housing; (b) Private investment: • Social housings; • Mass housings; (c) Mixed investments: governmental land allocation and private investment The government mass housing administration TOKI, contemporary missions and duties are as following: Renovation of squatter areas; provision of new housing stocks in cooperation with municipalities; production of luxurious housing for the purpose of creating financial sources for social housing projects; production of land with infrastructure in order to decrease land prices; credit support to individuals, cooperatives and municipalities; provision for mortgage loans with long maturities and low yield for the beneficiaries of the projects; application of disaster housing; application of agriculture village projects; application of migrant dwellings; restoration of historically and/or culturally important buildings; organization and application of international projects;organization of new partnerships of TOKI with many private firms. In the case of Afghanistan, the similar activities such as development of housing policy, mortgage law and provision of affordable housing to all layers of population is the responsibilities of MUDH that clearly mandated by the Town Planning Law and National Housing Program (NHP). MUDH has not been able fully to produce such policies and directives. In Turkey there are two separate ministries that involves in urban planning and transport infrastructure:
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IV. 2. The case of Turkey 1. The Ministry of Urban Planning and Environment in Turkey is responsible for the environment, public works, and urban planning in Turkey. 2. The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure is a government ministry office of the Republic of Turkey, responsible for transport, information and communication services in Turkey.
IV.3.4. Summary and Conclusions The followings are a summary of the integrated urban development strategy in Turkey. a. A strong metropolitan municipality regime. Provide the necessary framework to effectively manage the fast growing cities across the economic footprint. Two major policies that are important in the success of Turkeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urbanization are, first; the metropolitan municipality law passed in 1984, which consolidated city planning and the provision of public services in large cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir at the level of metropolitan municipality in line with the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic footprints. This greatly facilitated urban development and investments in critical municipal infrastructure. Secondly, the central government investment program on transportation connecting major urban areas across the country, to make sure that transport infrastructure was kept pace with economic development [4]. b. Improving the economic and social structure of the settlements. Including rural-urban migration by strengthening rural settlements; increasing urban solidarity, integration and tolerance towards rural migrants, providing services to disadvantaged groups; and ensuring citizen participation in the spatial planning process. Security of land tenure to informal settlements has increased the regularization of the informal areas, including the delivery of infrastructure and municipal services. Regularization of land and creating property rights avoided the urban slum and assured the residents to invest on their dwellings which improved the quality and availability of shelter for the urban poor in line with economic opportunities. c. Sustainable urban development. Cities were encouraged to plan for sustainable living, and make efficient use of urban land resources through promoting density in their urban development. Achieving appropriate densities can lower the cost of infrastructure and municipal services and make the provision of housing affordable per unit cost of land and services. It can also reduce the carbon footprint of the city by making efficient public transport more feasible as an alternative to private automobiles. d. Urban infrastructure and services. From its early stages of urbanization, a national program was launched to support the provision of municipal urban services and infrastructure to the urban population in adequate level (access to clean water, sanitation network, solid waste collection and power). Integration of infrastructure investment into spatial planning included; revitalization of central business districts and neighbourhoods, balanced distribution of social services; preservation of open space and cultural heritage and historic areas; disaster risk mitigation; and building safety standards.
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IV. 3. The case of Islamic Republic of Iran Iran’s urban development policies have the most similarity to the context and urban issues of Afghanistan. This similarity extends to historic, cultural, and environmental characteristics. The review of land laws and policies, urban planning management, investment policies and organizational structure of Iranian Ministry of Urban Development and Roads can be further studied by MUDH leadership as relevant model of international urban planning system for Afghanistan.
III.3.1. Land Laws and Policies Since the Islamic revolution of 1979, several urban land laws and regulations, as well as a new urban land development policy, have been initiated in Iran. The implementation of these policies was mainly based on public land ownership as a fundamental principle. That alongside the primary advantages of public land ownership, such as urban growth control, preventing land speculation and providing land for various social needs, the land policy has succeeded to some extent in meeting residential land demand. However, in terms of the effectiveness of the land supply policies, there are some concerns such as the centralized nature of the land development process, land wastage and isolation from the general process of planning that can be seen in some research papers [13].
III.3.2. Urban Planning Management The administration and organization of urban planning management relationship in various cities in Iran is concentrated in a single organization, centralized urban planning management system. The structure of urban system in the country identifies different aspects, influencing the performance of urban systems in Iran. Almost all relevant urban planning activities have been combined under Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads umbrella [See Annex 3: Iranian Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads Organizational Chart]. The evolution of urban planning and management system in Iran has many common characteristics with urban planning practices in Afghanistan. Likewise, the contemporary urban planning and management in Iran suffers from many shortcomings such as, the lack of stakeholders’ participation and coordination, the involvement of many existing actors in the process of urban planning management without proper responsible mechanism. Review of sources relevant to Iranian Urban Planning Management System show that like Afghanistan, Iran also lack local administrative authorities such as local governance and municipalities power, shortage of capacity and resources, and poor implementation process. What distinguishes Iran’s urban planning and growth of cities from Afghanistan is due to the availability of resourceful economic power and country’s higher income (because of oil and gas prices) further boosted the development of major cities and increased urbanization in the last 40 years after Islamic Revolution.
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IV. 3. The case of Islamic Republic of Iran As reported in the country’s Fifth Development Plan (1974-1978), the necessity to prepare a comprehensive plan was indicated for all cities with a population of more than 25,000 people so that the city could cope with rapid urban population growth. In addition, important laws such as the “High Council of Architecture and Urban Development” (HCAUD) of Iran that were enacted in 1973 highlighted the importance of preparing a comprehensive plan for the medium and big cities and guide plans for smaller cities [13].
Citizens
City Council
Mayor (City Manager)
Deputy B
Deputy A
Deputy C
Fig IV.3: City Management Model in Iran.
Such council has been established in Afghanistan recently called “High Commission for Urban Development” (HCUD) to review and approve urban planning projects. Like in Afghanistan, Iran also experienced a period of war and instability (1980-1988) that undermined the growth of economy and reduced investment trends in urban areas. A process of rural-urban migration took place. Contrary to Afghanistan geopolitical situation 1978 and early 2000s, in Iran the process of urban development significantly decreased because the government of Iran focused its efforts in rural areas to avoid the rural to urban migration process. But in Afghanistan, the rural population migrated to urban areas, particularly, to the large cities due to the lack of security and economic hardships. In Iran, a period of reconstruction process between (1989 to 1996) happened to pursue some key projects for urban planning after the war ended in 1988. Such trend can be seen later in Afghanistan after the fall of Taliban in 2002. But studies show that in Iran the idea of developing comprehensive plans has been slowly abandoned as the dynamic of growing cities and implementation process created serious obstacles. But in Afghanistan there is a confusion among urban development authorities in developing various type of urban plans including comprehensive, strategic, master plans and etc.
IV.3.3. The Policy of Investment In Iran, the policy of investment in urban development management system is fitted into the general law system of investment in the country. Accordingly, investment policy in general is the duties of the Board of Ministers and each of its subsidiaries, which are parts of the organization. The following organizations are: a. The Supreme Council of urban development and architecture of Iran which is under Ministry of Urban Planning and Road responsible for implementation of enterprise policy. The responsibilities are: • Check the necessary proposals on the overall plan for urban development policy. This council is under Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads of Iran. • The Board of Ministers: Commenting towards urban planning and regulations, bills and proposals relating to comprehensive care plan. b. The Department of housing and urban development The task of the Department of Housing and Urban Development is the development and implementation of investment policy including applying the
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IV. 3. The case of Islamic Republic of Iran policy to determine the optimal balance between the population and the creation of centers of population and urban areas in the country. This general policy in the form of an executive order functions as following: • Locate the towns and population centers of the future • Determine the scope of development and capacity of the current and future cities • Preparation of the Executive order and policy for the conditions necessary to guide the control of urbanization c. Development of the province and Planning Council The Supreme Council of architecture and urban development to review and approve the development plans of the city and others that deal with the situation, and the province’s Planning Council to form the High Council for policy enforcement and urban development. Such structure shows more centralized urban planning system in the country. [See Annex 3: Iranian Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads Organizational Chart].
IV.3.4. Hierarchy of Urban Planning in Iran The hierarchy of urban planning in Iran can be categorized into four levels, namely; national, regional or provincial, sub-regional or county and local level. Each level of the hierarchy consists of a number of plans [13 and 14]. The urban plans are placed at the local planning level, which is at the bottom of the Iranian planning hierarchy. The first and top level of the Iranian planning hierarchy consists of national plans, which are prepared and approved by different organizations and authorities in power in Iran. The second and the third levels of planning comprise the subsection of national plans for each province and county. However, plans are prepared for smaller-sized cities to guide the city development and address short-term and urgent problems of these cities. One of the major critiques highlighted is a lack of communication and inconsistency between the national level and the local level, because the regional and sub-regional levels do not work properly to connect between these two levels. In other words, these four levels do not work as a system with a systematic relationship. Thus, a significant gap emerged between national plans and urban plans in terms of plan formulation and implementation. The same issue can be seen in Afghan urban planning process and in the implementation of urban development projects.
IV.3.5. Iran Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads (MUPR) Organizational Chart
Hierarchy of Urban Planning in Iran Level 1: National Level Twenty-year vision of the country Five-year economic, Social and Cultural Development Spatial Plan of the Islamic Republic of Iran Acts of Parliament and Government circulars Sectoral National Plans, such as national housing plans, educations, agriculture, etc.
Level 2: Regional / Sub-national Level Twenty-year Provincial Vision Sub-national and Regional Spatial Plan Regional and Provincial Plans
Level 3: County /Sub-regional Level County Structure Plans Development Plans of Metropolitan Areas
Level 4: Regional / Sub-national Level City Comprehensive Plans-master plans (for Large and Medium Cities) Detailed Plans (follow the Comprehensive plan for the large and medium cities Guide Plans Rural Guide Plans New Town Plans Provision of Site Service Programs Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Plans for Old Cities
The Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads in Iran plays a crucial role in urban planning and implementation process in the country. Under the ministry’s internal organization, there are seven supreme councils that supervise a wide range of Fig IV. 4: Hierarchy of Urban Planning urban planning activities. Management in Iran.
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IV. 3. The case of Islamic Republic of Iran In addition, the ministry consists of six large departments and on the top of each department there is a technical bureau. The ministry consists of six large departments 1) Transportation, 2) Urban Planning and Architecture, 3) Housing and Construction, 4) Resource Planning and Management, 5) Legal, Parliamentary Affairs and Provinces, and 6) Human Resources and Development. At the leadership level, for each category there is a supreme council, which supervises the activities. In addition, within the structure of current organization there are multiple bureaus. [See Annex 3: Iranian Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads Organizational Chart]. The detailed review of Iranian Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads was discussed in details in Subtask 2 of Task 1 deliverable report. One can research and study the experience of organizational chart of Iranian Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads and compare its Terms of References (ToR) with current Afghan Ministry of Urban Development and Housing. (See Annex 5)
IV.3.6. Summary and Conclusions There are lots of similarities in both countries in urban planning management and institutional structure. In Afghanistan, the three ministries; Public Affairs, Transportation, and MUDH are involved in similar activities that are relevant to urban planning general tasks. Looking at Iranian Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads, all entities and agencies related to urban development, regional planning and transportation have been structured under one large ministry. The only difference with MUDH organizational chart is that MUPR include all types of transportation entities within its structure. (See Annex 5)
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IV. 4. The case of Saudi Arabia IV.4.1. Overview In Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Rural and Municipal Affairs, which is established in 1975, is responsible for the urban planning and implementation activities through the channels of its city municipalities. Realizing the importance of local act, in 1992 the law of Provinces (Regions) was established to improve the provincial administrative standards and local capacities through decentralization act in the Kingdom. The local act law divided the country into 13 regions, each headed by a prince, who is appointed by the King, and regional councils that include the governors of the region, elected citizens and local civic leaders. There are 285 active municipal councils in KSA and each council through the use of Regions Act of the Municipalities Statute recommend the legislative and institutional requirements for effective implementation of policies for regional development and city master plans, and supervise the socio-economics development in their regions. The municipal council is the only public agency that includes elected members by the public, and in recent years the participation of women representatives was also encouraged in the election process.
IV.4.2. Saudi Arabia Urban Planning System Research and studies on Saudiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban planning framework shows that in general, the structural organization and decentralization framework of Saudiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cities administration is commendable, but in reality, the deliverable capacity of the system of development is perceived to be static and lacks the effective regulations. As a result, there is less confidence in the ability of the ministries and municipalities to deliver effectively the required development goals. In addition, there is lack of a monitoring development system against the strategic planning document of localities. The existing land development in most Saudi cities is generated by formal land subdivision and informal land development, usually referred to as unplanned settlements. Both types of developments are typical in the cities of Saudi Arabia, and in the case of Jeddah contributed to urban sprawl and other urban challenges. Published data show that there are about 60 unplanned settlements in the city of Jeddah and about one third of the population of Jeddah lives in these settlements. Jeddah Municipality attempted to improve land development by encouraging large urban developments. Recently, Jeddah Municipality approved four large urban developments, which appear to manifest, encouraging implications for urban growth and land development.
IV.4.3. Summary Some of highlight of Saudi Arabia urban planning system are the following: 1. Urban development in Saudi Arabia takes the form of both formal and informal land development. 2. There is an inadequacy of land policy measures to limit urban sprawl and
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IV. 4. The case of Saudi Arabia to stop the growth of unplanned settlements. 3. Potentially, large urban developments might be expected to improve the land development process in cities and particularly in Jeddah, which is one of the fast growing urban centers. 4. Such large urban land developments pose many challenges to planners. 5. One beneficial outcome might be an increase in the number of public private partnerships in land development.
IV.4.4 Conclusions Some of the above highlighted summary urban planning experiences in Saudi Arabia may fit with the current Afghanistan model of urban planning framework which require more detail and broad further studies and research.
IV. 5. The case of Egypt IV.5.1. Overview The centralized administration system is the source of national power in the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the role of the local governments is restricted to limited tasks. There are four ministries expected to draw on complementary and synergic roles to develop urban policies and reform the legal and institutional frameworks. These are: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Communities, the Ministry of Local Development, the Ministry of Planning, and the Ministry of Finance. The general goals and policies at national, regional and local levels for planning and urban development is decided and coordinated between ministries, in consultation with state and local agencies. There are five hierarchical local administrative units in Egypt and one local popular council. These are the governorate, the region, the city, the neighborhood, and the local village administration. For each unit there is an appointed official who is in charge of heading the executive council, to insure the proper implementation of planning and distribution of urban services. In each region there is a General Department for Planning and Urban Development, which is mandated to prepare detailed plans for cities and villages. At the lower tier a local popular council with elected representatives exists to monitor the proper delivery of basic infrastructure and services in their communities, and hold the competencies of the authorities accountable.
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IV. 5. The case of Egypt In the seventies the government of Arab Republic of Egypt, due to the population growth and in particular the informal settlement expansion in cities, promulgated the establishment of the New Urban Communities Authority to stress the importance of social and economic stability for the purpose of redistribution of growing population outside the existing towns and villages. Under consultation with the central state, the NUCA is authorized to draw up policies and urban development programs and implement regional utilities and services for new urban communities (mainly the desert hinterland).
IV.5.2. Urban Development Activities Egypt is currently on the track to reform its planning system shifting from the conventional master plans towards strategic urban plans (SUPs). The Regional Strategic Plan in Egypt sets urban developing goals, policies, and development programs for each regions of the republic, and defines the role of both public and private authorities in implementing urban projects. A critical review on current practices of the monitoring and evaluation in the preparation of strategic urban plans within the Egyptian context briefly describes as following: • A paradigm shift in planning schemes has been taken place in Egypt since 2007. • Strategic urban planning is currently the dominant approach. • The system of monitoring and evaluation has dramatically changed. • Its primary thrust is to ensure participatory and subsidiary decision-making. Such a change facilitates the potential for plan implementation.
IV.5.3. Summary and Conclusions The case of Arab Republic of Egypt urban planning and housing development model is relevant to Afghan model of urban planning to be further studied and researched. The issue of informal settlements and illegal housing due to high density of population and low income of population in both rural and urban areas indicators have been a priority agenda for Egyptian government for many years. Some of problems of informal settlements and relevant cultural similarities in both countries in Afghanistan and Egypt can be a good model to look at the approaches and policies are being implemented in Egypt and possible solutions for Afghanistan.
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IV.6. The case of USA- Urban Land Development Model IV.6.1. Overview In the United States the legislative and administrative act of land–use planning is the responsibility of local city and state governments, rather than national and central. Within the framework of urban development, the states have the constitutional authority to regulate land-use-planning, enact laws that mandate, and guide the local governments in their local adaptation of land-uses and regulations. However, these mandates may vary from state to state, and often the state regulations play only a supporting role to local governments. The local governments exercise the greatest control over the majority of land-use development. Nearly all local governments adopt local zoning regulations in their political boundaries, and various local land-use planning models such as: comprehensive plan; general plan; or master plan; covers the planning needs of a local jurisdiction. When it comes to the role of national government on land-use planning and regulation, it extends only to specific land-use problems that concern the national interest, rather than local solutions. Some of these land-uses may involve: environmental regulation; management of nationally owned land; transportation policy and finance; housing and economic development; and anti-land-use planning and regulations. Zoning laws which dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, intended to protect the safety, health and general welfare of the population, determine the basic design framework for the land-use planning of cities. Through strict separation of incompatible land-uses in the city, the zoning regulations divide the city into areas with separate land-uses and regulate the density, services and volume of the building structures in each one of them. Nowadays, many urban designers and city planning professional in the United States are questioning the zoning laws for segregation of land-uses and urban functions. They blame the zoning regulations for weakening the identity of communities, which led to the ever growing sub-urban sprawl with much low densities, almost impossible for “sustainable” forms of development. Recently, however, the influential movement under the “Charter of New Urbanism,” initiated the implantation of “mixed-use” urban developments that emphasize pedestrian oriented communities and denser integrated urban fabric that will benefit the city and environmental sustainability. The “New Urbanism” planning and design approach is taking wider support for planning new communities and a tool for rejuvenating the central cities.
IV.6.2. A Brief History Over the course of the past three centuries, the United States has evolved from a predominantly rural society to an increasingly urban environment. The rate of urbanization between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
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IV.6. The case of USA- Urban Land Development Model was remarkable, with the twentieth century dispersing of a burgeoning urban society into a decidedly suburban surrounding. The pace and pattern of urban development is driven by the economy as well as the demands for and transportation of goods and services. The economy of the US is one that has, over time, shifted from primarily agriculture to manufacturing and industry, and now to services. Urban growth followed suit, with population and infrastructure relocation having been largely driven by the mode of transportation most prevalently used to move people and goods. This is evident in the fact that urban areas in America began in locations with access to navigable rivers, with a decided shift west with the advent of rail transportation. In todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s US, the size and location of urban areas are influenced heavily by proximity to airports. In order to support the growing economy and the demands of an ever increasing urban population and associated infrastructure, in the l92Os, the federal government facilitated the adoption of local land use regulation and instituted zoning by local governments. This action, while technical in nature, had the effect of facilitating governmental control over land use and the modern approach to urban land planning had begun.
IV.6.3. Land Acquisition 6.3.1. Property Owners - While there are tracts of land owned by the government (federal, state, and local), property ownership by private citizens, businesses, corporations and even foreign investors is a fundamental base that supports the US urban land development process. 6.3.2. Financing - The ability to secure mortgages from federally insured banking institutions provides the seeds to prosperity and a sustainable life cycle of land development. This current state of affairs was not always the case. In 1934, with much of the country struggling financially, Congress created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). In the mid-1930s, America was primarily a nation of renters with only four in ten households owning their homes. By 1996, the statistics had drastically changed, with homeownership in the US topping 66.3 million households. By 2001, the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s homeownership rate had soared to an all-time high of 68.1 percent. 6.3.3. Investing - With greater stability and prosperity in the residential markets, people are able to invest in business opportunities. Business leaders in the community are the drivers of urban land development. They begin with an investment idea and then endeavor to enter the urban land planning process with their concept. 6.3.4. Policy - Urban planning efforts, on the municipal level, are collectively reflected in a document called a master plan or comprehensive plan. This plan often includes written reports, charts, graphs, and maps and is created from input received from residents, government officials, and business leaders.
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IV.6. The case of USA- Urban Land Development Model The master plan addresses land use, transportation, recreation, economic development, historic preservation, and environmental considerations, and could be considered a blueprint for the quality of life of a community. An instrument of urban development control, the master plan both encourages a productive pattern of land use while discouraging inappropriate uses or intensities of development. In some areas of the US, the master plan is a guide that is advisory in nature, while in other areas of the country it is more directive and rises to the level of being law. Regardless, all new development addresses the details of the master plan. If a proposed development deviates from the master plan, special consideration is applied for by the property owner to the local municipality. In order to create such a comprehensive collection of documents, professionals such as architects, engineers, and urban planners are supplied with information gathered from the community and other historical documents. This team of professionals constructs a document that addresses current development problems and meets challenges presented by future construction. GIS technology is often instrumental in the creation of this and similar governing documents. The master plan itself is not static and is modified on a regular basis so as to adjust to changing needs of the community. Local governments determine the rate at which the master plan is re-evaluated, typically every 3 or 4 years. While plan changes are performed on a regular, short-term basis, the document is strongest when it searches for the best solutions to long term development goals. Success is often found through balanced consideration of the physical, social, and economic needs of the community. 6.3.5. Public Sector Input - Achieving political support for a master plan through its initial creation and each one of the regular updates to the document can be frustrating. Shifting priorities, both social and economic, have an impact on the details of the document. Debate, support, opposition, and influence from the public is prevalent during this process. Allowing all interested parties to participate at the early stages of the creation and modification process can be beneficial to its success. It is for this reason that savvy prospective land owners are well-versed in the details of the master plan. Prospective real estate developers begin their investment process with a deliberate strategy to achieve acquisition of land for their envisioned project. Consultation with local municipal officials, and a thorough understanding of their regulatory documents, often provides a welcome source of information on possible future markets that may possess lucrative business opportunities. 6.3.6. Zoning Ordinance - Permitted land use in a given municipality is defined by the local jurisdiction through a document commonly referred to as a Zoning Ordinance. A Zoning Ordinance is the legal and legislative means by which a community sets detailed requirements for land use. Within a local municipality, there is often a team of public sector employees that enforce the Zoning Ordinance.
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IV.6. The case of USA- Urban Land Development Model This enforcement is ever present from the initial phase of development applications by the land owner, through the ultimate build-out and continued use of the property. The enforcement group is commonly referred to as the Zoning Administration. Land owners proposing a land use for a project that is in concert with the economic and development goals of the local municipality enable the land owner to benefit from the agreements achieved in the creation of their governing documents. In some cases, a property owner may continue with the current land use or zoning of the property while, in other cases, they may wish to change the use (rezoning) to suit their investment needs. If a rezoning is desired, care is often given to propose a zoning that comports to the details of the master plan. If, however, the land owner wishes an ultimate use that deviates from the master plan, then the land owner must approach the local municipality to request an exception. This process of requesting an exception can be costly and time consuming, with no guarantee of success; however, given the metrics of the investment, the pursuit of an exception could prove to be beneficial.
IV.6.4. Entitlements 6.4.1. Feasibility- Concurrent with review of land use options, the property owner evaluates the suitability of the site for their projected ultimate development. Soils, water, sewer, dry utilities, topography, environmental mitigation, adjacent uses, deed restrictions, access to, and archeology of the existing site are evaluated for impacts to development and to cost of the project. The complete investment strategy includes all facets of financial considerations, including total costs to develop the land and the projected margin of profits over time. Estimates of unit costs for construction labor and materials are often provided by professionals who track and collect this information from other construction projects. This stage of the project is often called due diligence. 6.4.2. Strategy - The results of due diligence and an evaluation of the risks associated with the project determine whether or not the project is one worth continuing. Risks are often associated with the development of land in situations where approval or consideration is required of another party. For example, if access to the property requires the acquisition of easements off the project site, the offsite property owner may not be willing to grant these easements. Costs to secure permissions may prove exorbitant. Physical access to the property must be completely understood. The US has a vast and comprehensive system of public roads that are located on property owned by the local, state, and/or federal government, known as right of way. Improvements within rights of way are carefully regulated with the most important goal being safety of the people who would use the improvements. Most projects in the US require unobstructed access to these rights of way. Further, the ability to tap into existing public water and public sewer is often of paramount concern.
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IV.6. The case of USA- Urban Land Development Model Wells and on-site septic systems are rare in urban developments, so the ability to utilize public water and public sewer that is of a capacity that can accommodate the projected development is a critical concern during the due diligence stage. If existing pipe sizes for the public system require up sizing to accommodate the project, these situations should be discussed with the local municipality. 6.4.3. Municipal Interests - The municipality is the authority on the use, maintenance, and acceptance of public utilities. Using federal regulations and standards as their guide, the local municipality has a collection of ordinances that they employ to provide oversight of land development applications within their jurisdictions. This oversight is important as roads and utilities contribute much to the quality of life of the citizens and provide a reliable structure not only for everyday situations, such as the movement of goods and people, but also for larger implications - including the ability to mitigate disasters. To keep a community safe is, at its core, the purpose of infrastructure. Infrastructure is provided by the government through municipal projects that include everything from roadways, to public parks, to utility lines, to government offices. These municipal projects are funded by the taxes paid by the citizens. 6.4.4. Plan Creation - Once zoning considerations have been accounted for and due diligence is completed, investors continue the process of entitling the land for their prospective development by the creation of civil plans. Using professionals in the industry, site plans are created and submitted to the local jurisdiction for their review of compliance with applicable ordinances. 6.4.5. Plan Review - Reviews are often performed at various stages and by various agencies. Commissions tasked with compliance with governing ordinances are often specialized and perform reviews of a defined nature, such as storm water, sanitary sewer, public water, roadways, parks, school, environmental conservation, erosion and sediment control, and legal review. The structure of this review varies between jurisdictions; however, they all have the same goal of ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local ordinances. 6.4.6. Plan Approvals - It is important to note that throughout the entitlement process the public sector always maintains influence on a project. Public input throughout the life of the project is pervasive, and this is by design. A working knowledge of the public process is essential for the success of an urban development project. While regulatory in nature, the reality is that the municipality has the authority to shape project, deny applications, and ultimately grant project approvals. 6.4.7. Incentives - The public sector is also uniquely poised to provide incentives to entice businesses to invest in their municipality. This incentive is often provided through tax incentives. The municipality can also be helpful to the life of a development by utilizing a government right known as
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IV.6. The case of USA- Urban Land Development Model eminent domain. Eminent domain is the appropriation of private land for public use. Just compensation is provided by the government to the land owner in the rare case where eminent domain is employed.
IV.6.5. Development 6.5.1. Site Construction - Development of the property begins once approvals from the municipality are achieved. The beginning stages of development are often a flurry of securing permits, posting bonds, and recording plats. Permits must be secured for a variety of construction activities. In order to work within a municipal right of way (included utility easements and existing roadways) a permit must be granted by the applicable agency. Fees are often associated with permits and include acknowledgements by the developer of conditions in order to be granted permission to perform the approved work. Bonds are often associated with permits as they provide a guarantee that the work will be performed completely, correctly, and timely. Should a developer walk away from their commitments, and in order to ensure that the public is not left with a detrimental situation, the bonding company ensures that the work is completed. Finally, record plats are recorded at the municipal courthouse to confirm and/or transfer legal ownership of property, define any deed restrictions to the property, and convey easements for utilities, roads, etc. Plats and their associated deeds are key legal documents in the land development process and are the paramount instrument used to secure a developerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rights as a land owner. After the initial stages are completed, construction efforts begin in earnest. 6.5.2. Project Administration - Project schedules are created and bidding documents are sent out to contractors. Winning bids enter into a contract with the project owner, and then the land development activities commence.
IV.6.6. Occupancy 6.6.1. Ultimate Use - Urban land development projects can take on many forms. They can be primarily focused on building construction in the form of residential, commercial, retail and municipal, and they can also be in the form of transportation networks, utility transmission lines, and communications structures. Further, an important component of land development also addresses cultural community needs in the form of recreation and historical preservation. 6.6.2. Sustainability - A thriving urban environment is multifaceted and supports many aspects necessary to gain a true quality of life for its inhabitants. In order to solidify and grow that success, an urban development must also have the ability to achieve sustainability. 6.6.3. Reuse/Redevelopment - Sustainable urban environments identify areas of urban decay and target these areas for reuse and redevelopment. Once identified, investors initiate the same beginning stages of urban planning.
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IV.6. The case of USA- Urban Land Development Model 6.6.4. Life Cycle - The goal is to create a new and reimagined urban development that is in keeping with the times, and grows to meet the needs of an ever changing population. The life cycle of urban development is continuous, and in the most successful US cities, a sustainable and profitable one.
IV.6.7. Life Cycle Graphic The following chart shows the US model of Urban Development Projects Life Cycle. The life cycle strats from pre-design activities, then design and development stage, next occupancy stages and finally Review/reclaim.
Fig IV. 5: US Model of Urban Development Life Cylce, prepared by LZ International, 2018.
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IV.7. The case of Japan and South Korea Both the Government of Japan and South Korea are key donors in implementation of urban development projects in Afghanistan. Study of their urban planning models would be helpful in preparation of recommendations for urban planning management and relevant government institution structure in Afghanistan. The government ministries involving in urban planning and development, housing, transportation and environment have similarities in both countries of Japan and S. Korea. The Japanese Government through JICA has been involved in many development projects in Afghanistan since 2001. The development of Kabul New City Master Plan and Kabul City Master Plan projects funded by the Government of Japan. The Government of South Korea has funded a multi-million USD project to study urban development of Afghan cities all over the country. The project is expected to be started in 2019.
IV.7.1. Japan Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism In the case of Japan, number of relevant government agencies that involve in urban planning and urban development have been structured under one umbrella “Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism - MLIT”. MLIT is an English abbreviation. MLIT was established as part of the administrative reforms of January 6, 2001, which merged the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Construction, the Hokkaido Development Agency, and the National Land Agency. Before the ministry renamed itself on January 8, 2008, the ministry’s English name was “Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. MLIT is one of the largest and strongest ministries within Japanese Government. The MLIT consists of several bureaus such as: Government building Department, Policy Bureau, International Affair Division/ Construction industry, National spatial Planning and regional Policy bureau, Land economy and Construction industries bureau, Maritime bureau, Water and Disaster Management bureau, Road bureau, Housing Bureau, Rail way bureau, Road Transport bureau, Ports and harbors bureau, Civil Aviation bureau, Hokkaido bureau, Director General Policy Planning and City Bureau. Each bureau consists of relevant sections. For example, Organization in Regional Development bureau is subdivided into three sections: Planning and general affairs section (a. Planning coordination of the basic national land utilization, b. Region planning, based on the Emergency Measures Act for Depopulated Areas and the Act for Developing Mountain Villages and the Natural Park Act.). The first section includes: a. Research and coordination of the coast for the comprehensive national land development coordination b. Coordination of the comprehensive development in resort areas c. Community planning and development to promote charming environment and landscape d. Regional disposal of construction surplus soil
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IV.7. The case of Japan and South Korea The second section a. Research and coordination of the Action Program of the Regional Living Zone and the Local Core Area b. The 21st Century Vitality Zone Project c. The Joint Project in a Border Area d. Regional disposal of construction surplus soil e. Planning and coordination of the construction by-product and construction surplus soil The third section a. Project coordination of the institutions, relation to the housing and residential land b. Project coordination in the formation of the decentralized national land use and in the regional development based upon High-technology industrial complexes c. General Project Coordination in rural districts d. Regional Planning Information System The third section organizational structure is recommended for further detailed study and comparative analysis with existing structure of MUDH. (See Annex 7)
IV.7.2. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korea It would be very useful to study the urban planning management and government structure model for formulation of recommendations relevant to Ministry of Urban Development and Housing of Afghanistan. The main tasks of the Ministry of Land and Infrastructure and Transport Korea (MLITK) are establishing and coordinating national territory policy and basic laws related to national territory, preserving and developing national territory and water resources, construction of urban, road and housing, construction of coastal, river, and land reclamation, and land reclamation. MLITK has two vice ministers: 1. Vice Minister for Land and Infrastructure, and 2. Vice Minister for Transport. Each vice minister supervises number of bureaus and offices. Under Vice Minister for Land and Infrastructure administration the following offices are positioned: 1) Deputy Minister for planning and coordination, 2) Territorial and Urban Development Office, 3) Housing and Land Office, and 4) Construction Policy Bureau. Under Vice Minister for Transport administration the following offices and bureaus are functioned: 1) Transport and Logistic Office, 2) Civil Aviation Bureau, 3) Road Bureau, and 4) Railway Bureau. Subsequently each office and bureau is subdivided into number of departments. Such administrative model can be seen at the Iranianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads (MUPR) also. Similar model is recommended to study in depth for Afghan Ministry of Urban Development and Housing institutional reform and restructuring also. (See Annex 6)
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IV.8. The case of Germany IV.8.1. Overview In Europe, Germany has been at the forefront of creating sustainable cities with goal of zero carbon initiatives. Innovative new ways of achieving sustainable cities can be learned from Germany. Germany has also had a long history of cooperation with Afghanistan. They have had effective aid programs to Afghanistan in the last two decades including urban development, local governance, urban water supply and strengthening of local governance projects through GTZ. Germany can provide new technologies for energy-efficient buildings, construction materials technologies in the field of housing and public schools and clinics.
IV.8.2. Urban Development / Government Institution Model The German Urban Planning management system is a decentralized system. The city hall - ‘Rathouse’ has strong power and authority involving in urban development of cities and coordination of construction projects. The German Rathouse (city hall) activities has similarities with Afghan local municipalities. At the federal level there is a Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (MTDI). MTDI covers all types of government transport structures including roads, railways, civil aviation. The Minister is supported in his work by two parliamentary state secretaries and two permanent state secretaries. These four most senior staff members assist him in his functions as head of the department and a member of the government. In addition, each federal ministry has advisory board which is missing in the internal organization of MUDH in Afghanistan. In addition, there is a “German Association of CitiesGAC” which provide key recommendations in urban development of cities to Federal Government. For example, GAC calls upon the Federal Government to strengthen the legal and financial framework for an independent local authority urban development policy in the context of the National Urban Development Policy, and to adopt a clear stand on strengthening the financial position of local authorities, municipalities. National urban development policy should strengthen the framework for integrated strategies is another strong urban management pillar of Federal Government. In addition, there is another key association called “The German Association for Housing, Urban and Spatial Development” which is a cross-sectoral, interdisciplinary and neutral non-profit organization for promoting sustainable and integrated policies as well as actions in the field of urban development, territorial cohesion and housing. The political and practical activities of the German Association are not limited to Germany; they have close contacts to various actors in other European countries and the EU institutions. Creating and functioning of similar key associations in close coordination with government urban development high level institutions such as MUDH certainly is helpful and should be considered for further study and research.
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IV.9. Case of Other Countries Beyond the above, learning can be from other countries urban and city planning experiences such as North Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, north and South America. In the previous chapters the focus was mainly to those countries with similarities in history/cultural, climate and environment. Marrakesh, capital of Morocco has a lot of affinity with Afghanistan, environmentally and culturally. Urban heritage preservation can be learned from /Ecuador with two cities on World Heritage, something that Herat can learn from. The planning concepts that emerged from Corteba, Brazil and the creative ideas forwarded by Jaime Lerner can be a model for any city in the developing world including Afghanistan. Lastly, the US can provide lessons of its own in terms of city regulations. In this case Portland Oregon will be excellent to follow.
IV.10. Reduce Risk Disaster (RRD) in Urban Development In the modern urban planning practices, the Reduce Risk Disaster terminology in built-environment becomes common. Many countries or regions have instituted legislation related to reducing disaster risk through regulating land uses in areas at risk. Countries that develop policy, legislative and institutional frameworks for disaster risk reduction and are able to develop progress in sustainable land and development planning. A good example is the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, while Turkey has had some success in ratification of laws at national level. More recent legislations regarding RRD and land-use, such as those in Turkey, are less specific in terms of prescribing exact zoning regulations and thus have the possibility to offer more flexibility in terms of how legislation is implemented. While most governments do see the need to mainstream RRD into planning and building, they also struggle with limited budgets and capacities, either to make land use plans based on good information about disaster risk and/or to implement and enforce plans and zoning laws. Studies show that legal frameworks and plans that provide an enabling environment for risk reduction may be in place; it becomes the responsibility of the local/municipal government to implement the measures. In some countries the disaster management is separate from urban planning activities. Disaster management counts as government responsibilities. In Turkey, as in many other countries, there are essentially two different Ministries carrying out the activities related to 1) land use planning and, 2) disaster risk reduction. The RRD become a serious debate relevant especially when it comes to vulnerability of informal settlements. As an increasing number of city and national governments support upgrading in informal settlements, as a key part of their policies, and regulatory frameworks they ensure and support disaster risk reduction in the upgrading process. In some instances, therefore, the risk of flood and earthquake mitigation urged the governments to demolish the informal settlements. Examples of this practice can be seen in African countries, Argentina, Buenos Aires and Turkey.
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IV.10. Reduce Risk Disaster (RRD) in Urban Development One of the most important things that municipal governments can do, is to provide an enabling environment for the disaster risk in terms of land and planning, is to enable people to have access to safe land on which to build. Afghanistan is one of the most vulnerable countries in term of natural disaster where in one account from 60 to 70% of population live in informal settlements. Natural disasters mostly earthquake, flood and landslides cause significant damages on living environment of urban and rural population in the country. As a new draft of upgrading national policy is on the process of ratification, therefore; it is very important that the Afghan Government and other relevant authorities must coordinate efforts by developing appropriate policies in directives for RRD at the national and local levels.
IV.11. PART IV SUMMARY The above international approaches represent relevant urban development practices that can provide good lessons for urban planners and policy makers in Afghanistan. In the case of Turkey, recognizing the potential of productive urbanization by putting in place measurable planning policies and regularity tools in order to boost economic and social conditions of the cities, and the decentralization policies and sustainable development approaches in the case of Indonesia are powerful tools of urban development and implementation. By adopting these approaches, the Afghan policy makers and design professionals must take into consideration their particular local conditions and capacities, that should have relevancy to the cultural context in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan
UP Management System Centralized
Urban policies / Risk Reduction Not
Municipalities /Local Governance Yes
Public Services Policies No
Urban Land Use and Codes No
Indonesia
Decentralized
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Turkey
Decentralized
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Iran
Centralized
Not
Yes
Yes
Yes
Saudi Arabia
Centralized
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Egypt
Centralized
Not
Yes
Yes
Yes
USA
Decentralized
Yes
County/Govâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
City Hall
Yes
Yes
Countries
Japan & Kore Semicentralized Germany
Decentralized
Fig IV. 6: Key Criteria for International Urban Planning Practices Comparison Model.
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IV.12. PART IV References 1. Bunnell, Tim, Miller, Michelle Ann, Phelps, Nicholas A., and Taylor, John. Urban Development in a Decentralized Indonesia: Two Success Stories. Pacific Affairs: Volume 86, No. 4, December 2013. 2. Kirmanto, Djoko, Ernawi, Imam S., and Djakapermana, Ruchyat Deni. Indonesia Green City Development Program: an Urban Reform 48, Ministry of Public Works, Indonesia, ISOCARP Congress 2012. 3. Witoelar, Rachmat. Sustainable Vision for Cities in Indonesia, Griffith University, The Office of the President’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, Jalan Teuku Umar 10 – 12, Jakarta, Indonesia 10350, 2018. Web site: ic-sd.org/wp-content/ uploads/sites/4/2018/02/Rachmat-Witoelar.pdf 4. Rise of the Anatolian Tiger: Turkey Urbanization Review, The World Bank, Report No. 87180-TR, 2015. 5. Raiser, Martin. Don’t Mind the Construction: Turkey’s Growing Cities Are Good for Development, the World Bank, 2015. Web site: http://www.worldbank.org/tr/ news/opinion/2015/06/09/turkeys-growing-cities-are-good-for-development 6. Nada, Mohamed. The Politics and Governance of Implementing Urban Expansion Policies in Egyptian Cities. EGYPTE monde arabe, Ville et revolution en Egypte, 11/ 2014. 7. Kayden, Jerold S. Natioal Land-Use Planning In America: Something Whose Time Has Never Come. 3Wash.U.J.L. & Pol’y 445, 2000. 8. Dinic, Milena and Mitkovic, Petar. Planning Regulations in the USA and Their Implications on Urban Design in the Central City Zone. FACTA UNIVERSITATIS, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Vol.9, N2, 2011. 9. UNDP Indonesia Sustainable Urban Development Strategy, UNDP Publications, December 2017. 10. Harun Tanrivermis, “Principles of Land Acquisition, Expropriation and Compensation, Calcultion for Infrastructure Projects in Turkey and an Analysis of Key Issue”, Paper prepared for presentation at the “2017 World Bank Conference on Land Poverty”, The World Bank - Washington DC, March 20-24, 2017. 11. Satilmis, E., The Contribution of the Housing Production of the TOKI (Source: Housing Development Administration) in Meeting Housing Need in Turkey by Provinces. Ankara: Middle East Technical University Science Press, 2011. 12. Isikkaya Ali Devrim, Housing Policies in Turkey: Evolution of TOKI (Governmental Mass Housing Administration) as an Urban Design Tool, Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Istanbul, 2016. 13. Mustafa Rasulimanish, Urban Planning and Management in Iran: A review and Assessment, School of Housing, Building and Planning, University of Sains, Malesia, Institute of Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 2013. 14. Ali, Sanaei, Analysis of the Urban Planning System in Iran, Department of urban management, University of Nourtouba, Tehran, Iran.
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جمع بندی ونتایج:بخش پنجم
Part V: Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework in Afghanistan Summary and Conclusions
V.1. Regulatory & Legal Constraints and Opportunities in Urban Planning in Afghanistan V.1.1. Background Traditional cities in Afghanistan grew incrementally following some basic norms and values that the community aspired and adhered to. Historic growth of cities depended on their location which was affected by a number of factors: relationship to transportation and trade routes, access to water and natural resources, potential for agriculture, strategic value to political and military centers of power. What often started as a small settlement grew incrementally adopting urban characteristics and eventually a powerful ruler built fortifications to protect their interest and surrounding territories. Such growth pattern was mostly organic with some geometric elements such as the fortification, main transport routes and placement of grand mosques and public squares.
Fig V.1: King Nadir Shah Afshar, (17321747).
But not all cities were created by small incremental acts of its residents. Powerful rulers created new cities or made their marks on existing cities. The Iranian conqueror Nadershah Afshar (1736-1747) attempted to build new cities in places he conquered and named them after himself. He destroyed the historic Kandahar, a city which went back centuries to the Greek times when it was named in 329 BC as Alexandria in Arachosia. The Hotaki Kingdom who ruled a good part of Iran as well made Kandahar their capital. Subsequent to the destruction, Nader Shah nearby laid the foundation of a new city he called Naderabad (built by Nader). His ambition was abandoned after his death. However, Ahmad Shah Durrani who afterwards ruled Kandahar (1747-1772) had the will and built a new Kandahar in a new location where the present Kandahar is. His city was modelled after Herat in scale and layout. Two streets crossing each other in the center formed the commercial spines of the city and divided the town into four residential quarters inside surrounding city walls. The center was covered by a dome. Ahmad Shah placed his tomb and the grand mosque near the Center. These traditional cities were pedestrian oriented following an organic pattern with the human scale in mind. Only the commercial streets were straight and wide enough that allowed movement of horse-drawn vehicles, which later became the main streets adopted to automobiles. Urban layouts that was plotted by surveyors in geometric patterns came later as part of the new colonial subdivisions built outside the historic city. In terms of urban management, these cities did not have municipal organizations that would regulate land use and growth strategies or have buildings that can be called a City Hall as was common in European preindustrial cities.
Fig V.2: Kandahar City Old Town Plan, 1890.
In the absence of a structured bureaucracy and codified laws, most issues related to planning and building were resolved at the community level through a consultative body (shura). The city had a kotwal, a title given to the protector of a kot (fort) who oversaw management of a town and in function came close to a Mayor. He worked in a building known as kotwali, which functioned like a town hall and police
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V.1. Regulatory & Legal Constraints and Opportunities in Urban Planning in Afghanistan station. Below him there was a neighbourhood representative (Vakeel-e Guzar) and a bazaar warden (Kalanter) who kept track of things and intervened in the disputes and resolved conflicts. Urban regulations were community based which followed some basic rules of thumb. With modernization and westernization that started in the last decade of the 19th century with the reign of Amir Abdul Rahman Khan, major cities like Kabul gradually expanded outside the boundaries of the Old Town. Prior to its damage by the British, for centuries Kabul Citadel (Bala Hessar), overlooking the old town, served as seat of government and residence of ruling family. Abdul Rahman built a new fort-palace Arg outside old Kabul across the river. The new Arg housed seat of government and residence of royal family inside. This was the first major attempt to move outside the confines of walled city. His son Amir Habibullah Khan expanded palace grounds outside of his father’s fort and built the Dilkusha palace designed by an English architect. It was Abdul Rahman’s grandson, King Amanullah who is known to have secured Afghanistan’s independence from the British, and started building a new city west of Kabul gorge he called Dar-ul Aman. He built his palaces there and establishment of his seat of the government. This was the first move for expansion of Kabul west of the mountains that now divide east and west Kabul. His plan was abandoned following his downfall in 1929 and Nader Shah settled in Abdul Rahman’s Arg. During the 1930’s. Amanullah however for the first time appointed a mayor Rais Baladia/Sharwall and formalized the office of the mayor baladiya. At his time there was considerable Turkish influence over the administrative system in Afghanistan which helped urban management. Although the first automobile was introduced during the time of the Habibullah, its effects on layout of cities were not felt till the 1930’s when automobile access became a primary consideration in layout of subdivisions in the City.
Fig V.5: King Abdul Rahman Khan, (Born: 1844, King: 1880- 1901)
Fig V.6: Kabul Bala Hessar, 1879.
It was at this time that the western concepts of gridiron layouts were used outside the confines of Shahr-e Kuhna the old city in a place that later became known as Shahr-e Naw, the new city. There was also the French administrative influence which introduced the concept of Kartie which the word is used in for different districts in the City such as Kart-e Chahar, Kart-e Se, Kart-e Naw, etc. The traditional courtyard house was reinterpreted in the new urban house combining the concept of single family detached housing of America and the traditional courtyard houses. These modernization efforts drastically changed the face of the cities requiring more formalized laws to regulate land use and building construction.
Fig V.7: King Amanullah Khan, (1919-1929) (
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V.1. Regulatory & Legal Constraints and Opportunities in Urban Planning in Afghanistan VI.1.2. Land Tenure and Acquisition
Fig V.8: Arg Palace in Kabul built by King Abdul Rahman Khan.
Land ownership has always been an important aspect of Afghan life. In an agrarian and patriarchal society like Afghanistan, land ownership brought security and power, For the powerless, whether a farmer, an artisan or factory worker, owning a plot of land meant security and stability to their family life. For the nomadic population access and rights to grazing land has been important. For migrants, refugees and internally displaced people squatting on a piece of land at cities that would them shelter and security became important. For the powerful, accumulating valuable urban and rural land has been a source of expanding their social and political influence. Since 1978, with various changes in government and perpetual state of war, the laws of the land providing protection of public land and private property have often been violated. The communist governments that came to power following the April 1978 Coup, tried to bring land reform putting a ceiling on the extent of ownership of private property confiscating and redistributing what was above the permitted limit. The policy created resentment and fuelled insurgency which eventually made the government to retract the policy. Failure of the experiment also set the stage for a changing appetite for violating private and public property rights. Disturbing, the honored harmony and stability regarding land provided the opportunity for land grabbers to violate private and public property laws. The mujaheddin governments that came after, well served themselves on grabbing public land and private land through coercive means and fabrication of false deeds, a problem that still has not ended and has become part of the culture of corruption. Loss of public land in prime locations of the city and the open periphery, has become a serious obstacle to urban planning and government developmental projects. The political instability, safety threats, emergence of land mafia and speculators, have expanded squatter settlements to new levels. With a change of government in 2001 and the pouring of international aid for developmental projects, schools, health clinics, hospitals, judiciary buildings and government administrative buildings in capital and the provinces, the issue of land for public welfare projects became more acute and challenging. Good lessons can be learned from building these projects in Kabul and the provinces. The 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan, Article 16 guarantees its citizens that their property shall be safe from violation, no one shall be forbidden from owning and acquiring property except by law, and private property can only be confiscated by legal order. Acquisition of private property shall be legally permitted only for the sake of public interests. Any individual suffering damage without due cause from the administration shall deserve compensation.
As a follow up to the Constitution, other laws and policies affecting the built environment were ratified. The Law of Preservation of
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V.1. Regulatory & Legal Constraints and Opportunities in Urban Planning in Afghanistan Afghanistanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cultural and Historical Artefacts (2004) was created to safeguard cultural heritage of the country. The Environment Law (2007) lays the foundation for management and protection of the environment entrusted to the new National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA). Subsequently, the 2008 Law of Managing Land Affairs (revised and strengthened in 2017), lays out principles of land classification and documentation (land deeds), and the principles governing allocations of state land, land leasing, land expropriation, settlement of land rights, and restoration of lands. The law also encourages commercial investment in state-owned agricultural land with opportunities for long leases. The 2009 Water Law provides the legal framework for protection of water resources of Afghanistan. The Land Expropriation Law of 2001, which is administered through the Council of Ministers, is an older law that was amended in 2009 into Land Acquisition Law. Again in 2017, the Land Acquisition Law was further expanded with specifics for better implementation. The law recognizes private property and provides that acquisition of private land for public purposes should be done with great care and by the competent authorities and compensation for all other assets e.g., structures, crops, trees etc., on the land should be paid based on market rate. Issues that are not covered by the Law on Managing Land Affairs are governed by the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Civil Code. These updated laws are a good framework for healthy urban development and a good basis for developing more specific regulations for planning and construction and opportunity for better management of urban affairs.
VI.1.3. Land Tenure Types Afghanistanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s land is vested: (1) individually in private individuals and entities; (2) communally in families, clans, and communities; and (3) in the government. Ownership is the most common tenure type in Afghanistan. Ownership may be based on formal or customary law, and ownership rights can extend to all land classifications. Ownership confers a right of exclusive possession of land, and owners are entitled to use and dispose of land freely. Under the Law on Managing Land Affairs (2008), all land not proved to be private is deemed to be state land. The Law on Managing Land Affairs (2008) also permits leasing between private parties, subject to requirements for written leases that describe the land and set forth the agreement of the parties regarding the length of the lease and payment terms. For purposes of attracting investment, Afghan Land Authority (ALA) created under the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) can lease agricultural land to individuals and entities for purposes of agricultural activities for periods up to 50 years for fertile land and 90 years for virgin and arid (i.e., uncultivated) land. Virgin and arid land can be leased for non-agricultural investment purposes with the agreement of other departments and consistent with considerations of land type and proportion.
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V.1. Regulatory & Legal Constraints and Opportunities in Urban Planning in Afghanistan Customary law provides that individuals and communities can obtain exclusive or non-exclusive rights of access to government-owned pasture land through customary use and deeds. In urban areas, landholders in formal settlements generally have formal occupancy rights to the land. Occupants of informal settlements, including squatters, usually have some type of informal rights that are based on principles of customary law, the nature of the land, and the means by which the occupants took possession of the land. Formal and customary law recognize two types of land mortgage: one type operates as a debt secured by the land; the second type, which is the most common, is a use mortgage under which the lender takes possession of the land until the borrower repays the debt.
VI.1.4. Land Tenure in Urban Planning and Design Using and designing public spaces has an important influence on quality of urban environment. In this regard land tenure in design and control of spaces can be defined in in the following categories: Public Space: Land that is owned by the government but is designed as a space for public use like right of way dedicated to roads, walkways, public parks, and others with free access by the public. Semi-public Space: Land that is owned by the government and is part of public facilities for specific use that is also accessible by the public under certain restrictions. An example will be a high schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sport facilities that are mainly for use by the school, but public and community can enjoy as well. Fig V.9: Traditional Types of Residential Housing. (Research Study: Mahmoud Samizay, 1990.)
Semi-Private Space: Private land that is provided as part of land-use permit to be used and enjoyed by the community. Examples will be in a multifamily housing project, or a commercial complex of buildings, the open spaces between buildings are required as amenities by municipal design guidelines. Such landscaped areas are on private land, but are meant to be used and enjoyed by the public. Private Space: This the space inside oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house or a commercial or industrial building which is private and is protected by the constitution from violations or trespassing.
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V.2. Building Code, Land-use Code & Permitting Process VI.2.1. Overview The contemporary Afghan city is faced with a complex set of issues such as globalization (economic, political and socio-cultural), imposition of perpetual wars, influx of refugees and climate change with wide ranging consequences. Afghan cities need an effective city administration, an elaborate set of laws and regulations to deal with the complex emerging challenges they are encountering. Modern municipal jurisdictions elsewhere have multitude of codes they enforce such as building code, plumbing code, electric code, mechanical code, land use code, energy code, environmental and historic preservation code. Furthermore, they have detail plans and design guidelines that deal with specific areas of the city such as a downtown plan, plans for each neighborhood that regulate interventions in the built environment. At minimum, a municipality should have a building code and a land use code. The Afghanistan Building Code (ABC) based on the International Building Code (IBC) was approved in 2012. But currently Afghan cities does not have a land use and zoning code, essential for enforcement of urban planning regulations. The permitting process for land use and construction projects in Afghanistan is ad hoc and at best vague leaving interpretation and enforcement at the mercy of building officials. To begin with Afghanistan only issues a building permit that covers land use permit without distinguishing differences between the two. Such lack of clear legal framework feeds corruption of municipal officials. This has led to various means of public land grabbing, abuse of environment, destruction of historic heritage and degradation of quality of living environments. Walking through the major cities of Afghanistan, one encounters a variety of code violations: building encroachment on sidewalks and public right of way, building in public parks, invading air rights and many more. High government officials have often issued illegal decrees granting public property for private use. To cite one example among many in Kabul, is allocation of public land in Kabulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shairpur district in 2002 to government officials and their friends who used it for speculative purposes, not their own need of housing as they claimed. This was prime land in a historic site and congested part of town that badly needed, public schools, health facilities, and recreational parks. Elsewhere at the periphery of the city, public land is taken for building private satellite subdivisions without provision of public amenities. In the narrow congested Flower and Chicken Sellers Streets, new buildings instead of having setbacks, encroach on narrow sidewalks and air rights.
Fig V.10: Building Permit and Construction Codes Violation, Kabul, Wazir Akbar Khan,2012.
Both in Zarnegar Park and Shahr-e Naw park, buildings with inappropriate use has been built in a city already lacking in green space. In neighborhoods such as Wazir Khan land dedicated to a City park was given to other uses. New housing in the city disregards setback requirements, leaving no open green space. Sustainable development strategies and environmental stewardship measures are often ignored contributing to air pollution, water contamination, disappearance of green space, creation of heat islands, loss
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Part V: Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework in Afghanistan Summary and Conclusions
V.2. Building Code, Land-use Code & Permitting Process of cultural heritage and others. There are two intertwining aspects to the issue of codes and regulations; legislation and enforcement. The two are interactive and necessary for each other. When there is absence of appropriate and effective legislation that would regulate urban development, environmental safety and quality are violated. At the same time when there are laws and regulations, but there is failure to enforce as is often the case, again safety and quality are compromised. This dual problem is the prime source of corruption that allows profiteering at the expense of public good. Deficiency in effective laws, inability to enforce the laws and corruption are interrelated. They need to be dealt with at all three levels.
V.2.2. Development of an appropriate and effective Land Use Code There are parts of building codes that are universal and should be applied everywhere, but from another perspective, codes are constrained by context. The socioeconomic level of development in a country determines the types of code that is appropriate, affordable and enforceable for that country. The land use code and construction codes in the United States are the most stringent, conservative and therefore its application also costly which in a wealthy society is affordable and worth the extra assurance. At the socioeconomic level that Afghanistan is, the risks are widespread in all aspects of life. People die from diseases that can be prevented, from the wars that are imposed on them, from reckless driving that are preventable. Dangers from unsafe buildings or living in unhealthy environment not always register high and not everyone is willing to pay for it given their other needs. If the laws are remote from other aspects of daily life and impractical to apply and enforce, they will be ignored altogether, It is therefore important to develop codes that are realistic, affordable and enforceable. Most of developmental projects in Afghanistan for the last fifty years have depended on foreign aid. It has been customary for the donor countries to apply the codes they have used in the country to their projects in Afghanistan. But that does not solve the overall problem. In the 1960â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and 70â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when the East Europeans, Soviets, Bulgarians, Polish and Czechoslovakians were the dominant expert force working in Afghanistanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban planning, design, and construction departments, they mostly applied the norms they were familiar with. USAID mostly used US codes in their projects. This brought a lack of uniformity across the board. The development of International Building Code which Afghanistan has modeled its code on, have to some extent brought uniformity to the regulations affecting building construction. But it still needs to go a long way before it becomes effective in terms of enforcement. The building codes and zoning ordinances also relate to other laws in Afghanistan as part of the larger problem of judicial system.
104
Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework
V.2. Building Code, Land-use Code & Permitting Process Since 2002, the international community mainly the United States, the European Union and the United Nations have spent billions of dollars on Judicial reform. But effectiveness and the results have been mixed. The education link providing legal professionals is also missing. The same way that absence of a department of urban planning at Kabul University negatively impacts provision of competent professionals entering urban planning field, lack of an appropriate School of Law has affected the training of lawyers and enforcement of Afghan laws. The faculty of Huquq that has been given this task has not been the right place because it has primarily been a faculty of political science and government. In the modern sense of a college of law, there has been a gap in the educational system. The perpetual existence of war has not helped the legal situation either. There are worries about what will happen to the hastily executed construction of buildings with weak enforcement of safety codes in Kabul in the last fifteen years if a severe earthquake hits the city.
V.2.3. Summary and Recommendations: 1. Efforts to identify and protect public land in Afghan cities should continue by the Afghan Government. Afghanistan has lost some of its prime public lands in cities so needed for developmental projects. 2. The issue of illegal occupation of public land by powerful speculators and uncontrolled expansion of squatter settlements will continue to require attention and legal action. 3. With the rising demand for public welfare projects that need land in critical locations, the law of expropriation of private land for public use (eminent domain) should be refined and developed to make it easy and just to serve its purpose. 4. Kabul University Department of Architecture should be expanded and transformed into a School of Architecture and Urban Planning that will provide education and research strengthening urban planning cadre. 5. The MUDH should have an active department of research and developments of its own that conducts research in critical related to urban planning and building construction. Such research, as mentioned above, will provide material for development of regulations. Such a department should also have connections with Kabul University for coordinating and funding critical areas of needed research. 6. It is important for MUDH and Kabul Municipality to develop a land use code for Kabul City that will become a model for other cities. As a first step this code should be simple and user friendly enriched with graphics to make it understandable for Afghan enforcement officials. The master planning process often emphasized, will be one among many other subjects that will be included in this code. This should be given the highest priority for funding and should be the next project by the Afghan government in the area of urban planning.
105
Part V: Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework in Afghanistan Summary and Conclusions
V.2. Building Code, Land-use Code & Permitting Process 7. Building Code and land use Code should have a one-page guidance, some jurisdictions call â&#x20AC;&#x153;tipâ&#x20AC;?. Tips should be designed to provide user friendly information on the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s permitting, and code compliance policies and procedures that a customer may encounter while conducting business with the city. 8. In critical zones of the city, every project should go through a two-step permitting process., first a land use permit followed by a construction permit. For projects of significance, the neighbors of the project should be informed of the permitting process and seek their input to prevent potential harm to neighbors and stakeholders. 9. MUDH and Kabul Municipality should have a public awareness program that educates and informs citizens about developments in their city, potential hazards in their living environment and seek their participation. They can be a source for bringing violations of labor laws, city codes and ordinances to the attention of enforcement officials. It should have a fruitful relationship with the media to become an informational and educational outlet for the public.
106
ANNEXES
ضامیم و اسناد مربوطه
108
5
4
3
2
1
rule
of
law
in
U.S.
efforts
to
Project
A
success
Rule of Law in Afghanistan
story in the making
Afghanistan:
The rule of law efforts in
Afghanistan failed
promote the rule of law in
Why
Report
Project (JSDP),
Justice Services Delivery
Justice Sector Survey
General Population Poll &
from the 2016 Extended
Afghanistan: Key Findings
The
Title
Annex 1: Review of Literature
Kyle
SIGAR
Bayless, US Army
Colonel
W.
Geoffrey Swenson
Project
World Bank Funded
World Justice Project
Author
to find out the deficiencies in justice system in
Reconstruction (SIGAR) from 2001 through 2015.
in Afghanistan by Special Inspector General for Afghanistan
The report includes evaluation of USAID funded rule of law projects
Afghanistan with other countries with armed conflict conditions.
The report is a case study rule of law in Afghanistan and compared
why US efforts in justice projects have failed.
2004 to 2014 on justice projects in Afghanistan. The article examines
It is a systematic analysis of the major U.S.-backed initiatives from
instrument of interest groups.
Generalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office (AGO) was perceived by the public as an
capacity to fulfill its wideâ&#x20AC;?ranging responsibilities and the Attorney
source of societal order, The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) had limited
Key conclusions are: Local community organizations are a primary
Afghanistan and help the authorities in strengthening the system.
The objective:
analyzed.
society and Rule of Law & governance priorities are discussed and
Afghan justice institutions, bribery victimization, women in Afghan
as perceptions of government accountability, corruption across
experiences with the rule of law in Afghanistan. Key questions such
The report represents the voices of over 6,500 people and their
Contents
The
London
Defense
SIGAR, USA, 2015.
USA, October 2016.
Staff College School,
University Joint Forces
National
2017.
and Political Science,
School of Economics
LSE,
2018.
Document, Published in
World Bank, Official
2016 and 2017.
Washington D.C, USA,
World Justice Project,
Publication Agency
109
11
10
9
8
7
6
Reform
with
Intâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l
its
Legal
Reform
Tech
ARD/
Tetra
Tech,
Thomas J
Establishing Rule of in
conflict countries.
Afghanistan is examined in the research and compared with other post
of countries where US Army is involved. The rule of law in
Mark R,
justice system in Afghanistan.
The project's development objective is to strengthen a centralized state
Naval
Academy ndupress.ndu.edu, 2010
US
Commission of Jurist
International
2012.
The project's immediate objective is to enhance the capacity of the justice sector institutions to deliver legal services.
Document, Published in
justice system and to increase access to justice for the Afghan people.
Vermont, USA, 2013.
Report:
World Bank, Official
Consensus
Afghanistan
University
Journal, USA, 2014
Harvard
International, 2013.
Amnesty
project's development objective is to strengthen a centralized state
In line with the ANDS and the National Justice Sector Strategy, the
land occupancy/rights
planning, deed registration and legal framework and formulization of
urban planning such as upgrading of informal settlement, urban
This a research thesis how to rebuild the rule of law in the post conflict Hagerott,
DR. Martin Lau
Project
World Bank Funded
USAID
Tetra
The LARA project included some of current issues of post-Taliban
the issue at national and local communities level.
article includes an analysis of failure of rule of law and how to resolve
A Patchwork Strategy of
Human Rights Standards
Compatibility
System
and
Sector
Afghanistanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
Project
Justice
Project
Afghanistan (The LARA)
Land
in
framework
for local accountability
constitutional
law in post conflict of Afghanistan and transitional societies. The
Carol Wang
Afghanistan: Enabling a
Law
reconstruction of judiciary system in Afghanistan.
Analysis of informal justice system and recommendations on
An introduction to Afghan judiciary system and reform in early 2000.
Mainly, the article tackles the building and implementation of rule of
of
International
Amnesty
in
Rule
law
Re-establishing the rule of
Afghanistan
Annex 1: Review of Literature
110
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
Katzman Hatem Elliesie
Assistance
Rule of Law in Afghanistan
-
Informal
Component Program
Stabilization
USAID
Afghanistan and how to stabilize the rule of law.
The report mainly focuses on informal system of justice in
USAIDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rule of Law Stabilization â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Informal Component program.
Law
the
of
This report presents the results of a final performance evaluation of
Performance Evaluation of
Rule
system in Afghanistan.
informal legal system and obstacles to accessing the state justice
State Justice System in
Rural Afghanistan
The report includes an overview of Justice system, formal and
Obstacles to Accessing the Kara Jensen
the justice system in the country.
report
system in Afghanistan. The report examines the case of corruption in
In Afghanistan: A brief
State
Hood,
University,
May 2014.
Checchi Inc /USAID
Studies, 2011.
Journal of Global Legal
Indian
Maurer School of Law,
USA, November 2010.
Nevada Lawyer Journal,
2010.
system in the country. The report addresses few experiences with the justice and military
Limited
Governance in Areas Of
It is a research and analytical article on how rule of law is implementing in different parts of Afghanistan and the type of justice
September 2010.
Service, US Congress,
Congressional Research
January 2011.
Rule of Law 3, No 1,
Hague Journal on the
The report examines the role of US in Afghanistan
Rule of Law Development Larry Sage, Judge
Wyler,Kenneth
Law and Justice Sector
Institutions (JSI), anti-corruption and oversight bodies in Afghanistan.
Report to US Congress on perceptions of Corruption, Justice Sector
Liana
Afghanistan: U.S. Rule of
Sun
University.
within higher educational institutions of Afghanistan including Kabul
Education
and Eli Sugarman
Legal
of
Importance
Swenson
The study examines how to promote and initiate the legal education
Geoffrey
The
Afghanistan:
University of London,
Berlin, Nov. 2011.
Afghanistaan.
University
Freire
Edition, 2011
School, CA, USA, 3rd
ALEP, Stanford Law
The article examines the implementation of rule of law in A research study on current state of legal education in the country.
Matthias Koetter
Rule of Law in Afghanistan
institutions to deliver legal services in Afghanistan.
The objective is to enhance the capacity of the justice sector
Building the Rule of Law in
Alexander Benard
of Afghanistan
Sugarman,
Eli
An introduction of the law
Annex 1: Review of Literature
111
24
23
22
21
20
of
Law
in
and
of field study of informal and customary justice in Afghanistan.
informal justice systems. The report mainly includes the assessment
improving access to justice and relations between the formal and
informal justice sector and make preliminary recommendations on
of
Afghanistan (GoIRA)
Islamic Republic of
Government
and Corporation
Studies,
USA, 2005
Checchi Inc /USAID,
2009.
Cooperation
Journal of International
presented data on Afghanistan’s 34 PCC. Evaluation
Unit
Research
Official
fur
GmbH, 2017.
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
Internationale
Gesellschaft
(AREU) and Deutsche
and
Afghanistan
continuation of the ‘State of Afghan Cities 2015’ report which Report, 2016.
strategic district municipalities in Afghanistan. The Atlas is a Government
The Atlas presents data on the five major city regions and 28
regulatory barriers with a bearing on the housing market.
at the state of housing finance, and examines legal and 2008.
The research paper discusses two interrelated directions: the Urban Governance in assessment of current urban sector conditions in Afghanistan, Afghanistan: and recommendations for implementing the Assessing the New H. Detlef Kammeier program in the four cities (Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kandahar, Urban Development and Zabihullah Issa and Jalalabad): Program 1. Principles of decentralized urban development, with three and Its Implementation sub-issues.
Region 2106
Bank
Inc.
Project to assess the current condition and characteristics of the
This study was conducted under the USAID Afghanistan Rule of Law
government and compare with the context of Afghanistan.
The paper focuses on concept of rule of law in democratic
This study examines the constraints on the housing sector in The World Bank International Finance Afghanistan. It evaluates government policy on housing, looks South Asia Region,
in World
Atlas of Afghan City
Opportunities
Challenges
Afghanistan:
Finance
/USAID
Project
Housing
Checchi
Jon EDDY
Afghanistan Rule of Law
of Reality
Afghanistan: The Intrusion
Rule
Annex 1: Review of Literature
112
26
25
Who Governs Kabul? Daniel Esser
Australia
Government
of
by
funded
Project
215.
Municipality IDLG-DMM
Kabul
UN Habitat, MUDH,
State of Afghan Cities, and
Annex 1: Review of Literature
It is research paper explaining urban politics in a Post-War Capital City in the example of Kabul City after the fall of Taliban in 2001. The author argues that ensuing city-centered Columbia University, struggles are not only about resources and access to power but also take issue with the meanings and functions of the nation as New York, February a whole. It is argued that the result of such multi-layered 2009. conflicts in capital cities produce a kind of ‘over-determination ’ of political deliberation, putting additional weight on already ambitious urban development and governance agendas.
and housing policies are covered in the report.
such as chaotically growth of Afghanistan cities, lack of urban IDLG-DMM, 2015.
provinces of Afghanistan. Issues relevant to urban planning Kabul Municipality and
assessment covers provincial capital cities –PCC in 34 UN Habitat, MUDH,
A comprehensive report on state of Afghan cities. The
113
Official Gazette
Presidential decree
Official Gazette
Ministry of Urban Affairs Internal Organization + MUA ToRs + Leadership Commission Responsibilities Urban Affairs Pillars + Urban Terminologies Definition + HCUD Organization and responsibilities + MUDH ToRs + Visa Commission ToR + Engineering and Architectural Authority Municipalities Administrative Structure + Responsibilities + Implementation of Urban Planning
Law On Land Expropriation
Regulation on Managing the Procedures and Activities of Ministry of Urban Development Affairs
Law on Urban Development and Housing (Town Planning Law)
Municipal Law (Latest )
3
4
5
6
Official Gazette
General Provisions + Compensation + Final
Law On Land Acquisition
2
Official Gazette
Law Terminologies + Responsibilities + Valuation of Expropriated Properties + Resettlement outside the Scope of Masterplan + Miscellaneous Provisions
Official Gazette
Land terminologies + Afghanistan Land Authority ToR and Authority + High council for Land and Water + Land Management + Land and Properties Ownership + Land Distribution + Land Lease + Usurpation of Land + Enforcement of the Law
Law on Managing Land Affairs (Land Management Law-LML)
Source/Gov Authority
Chapters
1
No Law Official Title
Annex 2: Table of Ratified Afghan Laws Relevant to Urban Planning
Enacted
Ratified
Enacted
Enacted
Enacted
Enacted
Status
1-Oct-18
1396/06/08 1-Sep-17
1391/04/19 19-Jun-12
10-May-87
1395/12/14 5-Mar-16
1395/12/14 5-Mar-16
IDLG, MUDH
MUDH
MUDH
Ministry Of Justice
Municipalities Enforcement of Master Plans and ARAZI
Afghanistan Land Authority (ARAZI)
Official Date Implementation Publication Agency
114
Ref a: Art 3
Ref a: Art 3 Ref a: Art 3 Ref a: Art 3 Ref a: Art 3 Ref a: Art 3 Ref a: Art 16/7 Ref d: Art 218 Ref a: Art 16/7 Ref a: Art 7/4
Ref a: Art 7/10
Ref a: Art 7/2 Ref d: Art 153 Ref a: Art 7/4 Ref d: Art 68 Ref b: 5.8/c Ref d: Art 68 Ref b: 5.8/c Ref a: Art 16/7 Ref a: Art 7/4 Ref c: 5.8/c Ref a: Art 7/4 Ref a: Art 7/5 Ref c: Art 7/4 Ref a: Art 16/7 Ref a: Art 16/2 Ref b: 5.9/d
Guiding Plan Detailed Plan Reform Plan Amendment Plan Improvement Plan Buildings Complexes Plans Cemetery Plans City Plan (aka City Master Plan ?) Cultural-historic area plans
Housing Provision Plans
Infrastructure plans Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan Land Re-arrangement plans Master Plan/ Masterplan Kabul Masterplan National Development Plan Public Buildings Plans Reconstruction plans Regional/Provincial Plan Renovation plans Residential Complex Plans State Developmental Plans Town Plan Urban Plan Zoning Plans
Ref a: Art 3/5 Ref a: Art 3/6 Ref a: Art 3/7 Ref a: Art 3/8 Ref a: Art 3/9
Ref a: Art 3/4
References First Definition Mention Ref a: Art 3 Ref a: Art 3/1 Ref a: Art 3 Ref a: Art 3/2 Ref a: Art 3 Ref a: Art 3/3
Strategic Plan
Country-wide Master Plan Regional Plan City Master Plan
Plan Type
Annex 3: Table of Plan Types and References
National Provinces City
Scope
MUDH
MUDH
MUDH MUDH
MUDH
City
MUDH MUDH/ Municipality MUDH
Municipality
Municipality
City
City
Municipality
MUDH HCUD/MUDH MUDH MUDH
MUDH, Mayor Municipality
HCUD/MUDH HCUD/MUDH HCUD/MUDH
Responsibility
Design
Ref a: Art 7/2
Ref b: 5.9/d
Ref a: Art 16/7
Ref a: Art 7/2
Ref a: Art 7/2 Ref a: Art 7/2 Ref a: Art 6/4 Ref a: Art 7/2 Ref a: Art 7/2
Ref d: Art 20
Ref a: Art 6/2 Ref a: Art 7/2 Ref a: Art 6/2 Ref a: Art 7/2 Ref a: Art 6/2 Ref a: Art 7/2
Enact
Consultation
Ref b: 5.9/d
Ref a: Art 7/4
Ref a: Art 7/4
Ref a: Art 7/4 Ref d: Art 68 Ref b: 5.8/c Ref d: Art 59/2
Ref a: Art 7/2
Ref a: Art 7/10
Ref a: Art 7/4
Ref a: Art 7/2 Municipalities Ref a: Art 7/2 Ref a: Art 7/2 Ref a: Art 7/2 - Ref d: Art 20 Ref a: Art 7/2 Ref a: Art 7/2 Ref a: Art 7/2 Ref a: Art 7/2 Ref a: Art 7/4
Prepare/ Develop
Ref a: Art 7/10
Implement
Approval
Ref a: Art 7/2
Ref a: Art 7/2 Ref a: Art 7/2 Ref a: Art 7/2 Ref a: Art 7/2
Ref a: Art 7/5
Ref a: Art 7/5
Ref a: Art 7/5 Ref a: Art 7/5 Ref a: Art 7/5 Ref a: Art 7/5 Ref a: Art 7/5
Ref a: Art 7/2 Ref a: Art 7/5
Ref a: Art 7/2 MUDH, HUDC Ref a: Art 7/2 HUDC Ref a: Art 7/2 MUDH, HUDC
Manage
Four years IDLG
Ten years
Frequency Format
Annex 4: Afghan Laws Comparison Investigation Afghan Law Comparison Investigation Objectives Ensure effective land management and land administration throughout the country; Resolve issues arising from the implementation of land reform; Recover usurped land; Recover land that was distributed and occupied contrary to the provisions of Sharia and the law; Provide the opportunity to utilize state land for agricultural and commercial activities, public services, industry, and to encourage domestic and foreign investment. To implement Afghanistanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban development vision with the consideration of existing social, economic, environmental and geographical capacities based on statistical data. To grow the cities based on sustainable and balanced development goals with the consideration of national and international standards. To provide the ground for development of a desirable urban system to achieve public welfare. To provide the grounds for construction of cities, towns and residential complexes in appropriate areas with the observation of cultural and environmental standards, conservation of green and agricultural areas, mines and natural resources, graze lands, water sources and archeological-historical areas. To prevent from unplanned and unsustainable urban growth.
a.Town Planning Law
X X X X X
X
X X
X
X
To make accessible basic services, urban infrastructure and standard and affordable housing for the citizens.
X
To conserve and rehabilitate historical areas and heritage and cultural values in coordination with relevant agencies. To encourage the private entrepreneurs to invest in urban development and housing and provide support in these areas. Provide every Afghan access to land Promote and ensure a secure land tenure system Encourage the optimal and sustainable use of land resources Establish an efficient systems of land administration and land management Ensure that land markets are efficient, equitable, environmentally sound and sustainable to improve productivity and alleviate poverty
X
Ensure trust in land administration and land management regulating the establishment of and institutional framework for Municipalities and their nahias and gozars;
Reviewed Ratified Laws and Policies c. Land d. Municipal b. Revised Management Law Land Policy Law
X X X X X X X X
115
Annex 4: Afghan Laws Comparison Investigation establishing a system of planning and land use within the boundaries of each Municipality; establishing the powers and functions of each Municipality with respect to the delivery of infrastructure and services within their area and making provision for the devolution of further responsibilities as appropriate;
X
X
regulating the roles of Government departments and agencies that perform significant functions within the area of Municipalities and codifying Municipalities' cooperation with such departments and agencies;
X
regulating the financial affairs of Municipalities so as to ensure their long-term, sustainable capacity to fulfil their functions and powers as established in this Law.
X
IDLG District Classification Province Classification List Municipalities Receives Municipality Strategic Plans Establishes Municipal regulations Recommends elections Establishes progress indicators Appoints mayors (except Kabul) Oversight and accoutability of mayors Enact and publish procedures for delegation Enact and publish mayoral code of conduct Strategic plan consultation Enact and publish social policy objectives
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Enact and publish format and length of Strategic Plans Enact and publish meeting, voting procedures for Municipal Councils Conduct feasiblity study on devolution of Kabul Oversee and regulate affairs of Municipalities Enact and publish performance improvement notices procedures Dismissal of mayors and council members
X X X X X
Enact and publish procedures for establishing gozars. E&N procedures for election and conditions of the Wakili Gozar MUDH Country Plan Master Planning Regional Planning Strategic Plan Urban Policies Housing Policieds Urban Water Supply Permit Land Management
X X X X X X X X X
X X
X
X
X
116
Annex 5: Iranian Ministryof Urban Planning and Roads
Ministry of Urban Planning and Roads
The Housing Foundation of IR Iran Bank Maskan (Housing Bank)
The Supreme Council of Transport Coordination The Supreme Council of Urban Planning and Architecture Commission for Road Safety The Supreme Council of Technical Affairs of Transport Infrastructure The National Headquarters of Sustainable Regeneration The Supreme Council of Authorized Land Border Points of Entry The Supreme Council of Civil Aviation
Ministerial Bureau
Bureau of Performance Mgt and Citizens’ Rights
Center for Communication and Information
Bureau of International Affairs
Center for Assemblies Affairs & Contracts
Center for Development & Strategic Policies
Housing and Construction
Urban Planning and Architecture
Transport
Protection and Security Center
Departments Human Resource Management and Development
Legal, Parliamentary Affairs & Provinces
Resource Planning and Management Bureaus
Center for Human Resource Modernization and Reform
Bureau of Parliamentary Affairs
Bureau of Planning
Bureau of Housing Economics
Bureau of Urban Planning Development and Construction Plans
Bureau of Economic Evaluation & Management of Transport Efficiency
General Office of Administrative Services and Welfare
Legal Bureau
Bureau of Attracting Investment & Mobilization of Resources
Bureau of Construction Engineering Development
Bureau of Supervising Development and Construction Plans
Bureau of Compiling the Codes, Transport Safety, Passive Defense and Crisis Management
Bureau of Statistics, Data and Refining Programs
Bureau of National Construction Codes
Bureau of Architecture and Urban Design
Bureau of Comprehensive Plan and Transport Modes
Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Urban Planning and Architecture
Bureau of Commercialization and Professional Associations’ Affairs
General Office of Finance and Accountancy Affairs
Bureau of Budgeting
Bureau of Information Technology and Communications
117
Annex 6: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korea
118
Annex 6: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korea (continued)
119
Annex 7: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Janpan Ministry Of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and tourism Japan
Minister OF Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
State Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (2)
Parliamentary Vice-Minister Of Land, Infrastructure Transport and Tourism (3)
Vice-Minister Of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Vice-Minister For Engineering Affairs, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Private Secretary to the minister of land, infrastructure, Transport and tourism
Vice-Minister For Transport and Tourism, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and hokkaido Development, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Vice-Minister For International Affairs Ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism
Institutions
Special agencies
Local branch department
External stations
Policy Research Institute for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Geospatial Information Authority of Japan
Regional Development Bureau
Japan Tourism Agency
National Institute for Land And Infrastructure Management
Ogasawara General Office
Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau
Japan Meteorological Agency
College of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Japan Marine Accident Tribuna
District Transport Bureau
Japan Transport Safety Board
Regional Civil Aviation Bureau
Japan Coast Guard
Aeronautical Safety College
Air Traffic Control Center
Bureau’s
Road Transport Bureau
Minister's Secretariat
Policy Bureau
National and Regional Policy Bureau Policy Bureau
Land Economy and Construction Industries bureau
City Bureau
Road Bureau
Water and disaster management bureau
Railway Bureau
Ports and Harbours
Housing Bureau
Hokkaido Bureau
120
121
Vice-Director-General
Deputy Vice-Minister for Policy Coordination(2)
Counsellor (16)
B u i l d i n g Eq u i p ment an d Environment Division
Ar c h i t e c t u r e a n d B u i l d i n g Engineering Division
Pl a n n i ng Di vi si on
Administration Div ision
Di r ect o r- G en e ra l
Government Buildings Department
D i r e c t o r f or T r a n s p ort S a f et y
D ire ctor for S ecur it y Po l icy
I ns pect or-General
E n g i n e e r i n g Af f a i r s D i v i s i o n
W elfare D ivis ion
Local Affairs Division
Bu dg et and Acc ount s Di v is ion
Public Relations Division
General Affairs Division
Personnel Division
Deputy Director-General for Engineering Affairs (2)
R e a l E s t a t e M ar k et D i v i s i o n
C o n s t r u c t i o n In d u s t r y D i v i s i o n
Director for Planning (2)
D i r e ct or f or Sp e c i a l A r e a s D e v e l o p m e n t
Director for Comprehe nsive T r a n s p o r t P o l i c y
P u b l i c T r a n s p o r t S u p p o r t D i v i s i o n
T ransport Planning Division
L a n d C o n se r va t i on D i v i s i o n
Sabo (Eros ion an d Sedi ment Contro l) Plan ni ng Div is ion
D i re c to r - G e ne r a l
Sabo (Erosion and Sediment Control) D e p a r t m e n t
D i r e c t o r f o r W a t e rs h e d M a n a g e me nt
Ai r N a vig at io n S erv i ces Engineering Division
Operations and Flight Inspection Division
A i r T r af f i c C o nt r o l D i v i s i o n
Ai r N a vig at io n S erv i ces P l a n n i n g D i v i s i o n
D i re c to r - G e ne r a l
Air Navigation Services Department
Airworthiness Division
F l i g h t Sta n d ar ds D i v is i o n
Di r ect o r- G en e ra l
Public Transport Policy Department
S e w e r ag e W or ks D i v is i o n
E n v i r o n me n t a n d R e g i o n a l Development Division
Capital Area Airports Division
Ai r p or t Fa c i l it i es D ivi s ion
Av i a t i o n In d u s tr i e s D i v i s i o n
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Annex 7: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Janpan
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Urban Planning Functional Review for Ministry of Urban Development and Housing
Recommendations and Action Plan
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 4 Seminar, Discussion and Feedback 6 Introduction 7 Part I: National Vision and Road Map 9 I.1. A National Vision for Land and Urban Development 10 I.1.1. Background 10 I.1.2. Land 11 I.1.3. Built Environment 12 I.1.4. Building the Vision 12 I.1.5. The Vision Environment 13 I.1.6. A National Vision Element Development Example 13 I.1.7. The Case for Functional Analysis 14 I.2. Recommendations 14 I.2.1. Vision Workshop 14 I.2.2. Functional Analysis Workshop 15 I.2.3. Organization and Implementation Workshop 15 Part II: Recommendations 16 Summary of Recommendations 17 II.1. Legal 18 II.1.1. Key Findings 18 II.1.2. Preface 18 II.1.3. Recommendations 21 II.2. Institutional 22 II.2.1. Restructure Urban Planning Management 22 II.2.2. Revise Technical Guidelines/Develop Glossary 26 II.2.3. Develop Urban Planning Plans Process/Regulations 27 II.2.4. Develop Land-use and Zoning Ordinances 33 II.2.5. Develop Professional Licensing Process and Enforcement 36 1. School of Urban Planning 36 2. Afghanistan Institute of A/E - Licensing Authority 39 II.3. Orgnizational 42 II.3.1. Restructure MUDL Internal Organization 42 II.3.2. Restructure of MUDLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Current Urban Affairs Deputy 45 II.4. Functional 48 II.4.1. Develop an Effective Human Resources Department 48 II.4.2. Development of Training Programs for Capacity Improvement 49 II.4.3. Development of a Technology and Resource Center 52 II.4.4. Development of an Information Technology Assessment and Upgrade Program 54 Part III. Priority Tasks and Action Plan 57 III.1. Priority Projects 58 III.2. Action Plan for Implementation of Priority Tasks 61 Annexes
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Abbreviation AFN Symbol of Afghan National Currency AGCHO Geodetic & Cartographic Head Office ANDS Afghanistan National Development Strategy ALA Afghanistan Land Authority ARAZI Land Authority (Afghanistan Land Authority) ASP Afghanistan Stabilization Program CDC Community Development Council CRIDA Capital Region Independent Authority GoIRA Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan HCLW High Council for Land and Water HCUD High Council for Urban Development IDLG Independent Directorate of Local Governance IDLG-DMM Deputy Minister for Municipalities KM Kabul Municipality KP Kabul Province LML Land Management Law LAL Land Acquisition Law MoF Ministry of Finance ML Municipal Law MUDH Ministry of Urban Development and Housing MUDL Ministry of Urban Development and Land MRRD Ministry of Rehabilitation and Rural Development NHP National Housing Program NLP National Land Policy N-UPP National Urban Priority Program NUP National Urban Policy PAMA Central Institute of Projects (former semi government enterprise) PCC Provincial Capital City PGBCP Public and Government Buildings Construction Program RDA Regional Development Authority SDP Strategic Development Plans TDR Traditional Dispute Resolution ToR Terms of Reference UDSP Urban Development Support Project UPHL Urban Planning and Housing Law WB World Bank USAID United States Agency for International Development Afghan Language Terminologies Jirga Elderly Council Shahrak Township (satellite town) Shahr City / Town Shahrsazi City Planning / Town Planning Sharwali Municipality Shura Council Tashkeel Internal Organization/vacancy 3
Executive Summary & Introduction
Executive Summary Afghanistan lacks a National Vision and Road Map in land and urban development needed to develop the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS); the National Peace, Development Framework (ANPDF) goals; and a number of specific pillars identified in the Urban National Priority Program (U-NPP). A National Vision for developing a Road Map is the key to achieve the long-term goals. The National Vision should be owned by the citizens of Afghanistan; not by those influencers who are funding projects. This is also crucial for developing any national law and policy. A series of workshops is provided as an overarching recommendation to develop the “National Vision,” to develop the functions that any government must do within the framework of a “Functional Analysis,” and to develop a plan for “Organization and Implementation.” Detailed findings and recommendations are organized into legal, institutional, organizational and functional areas of concern. 1. Legal: The laws reviewed suffer from lack of coherence and significant missing guidance. Many articles conflict with each other, containing the same relevant topics. Ministry of Urban Development and Housing- MUDH’s responsibilities for implementation of urban strategies and policies are confusing. Urban development plans implemented by local municipalities are not clear enough. At the city level, there are too many layers of responsibilities by different stakeholders. The existing laws are comprehensive and sufficient enough to allow the implementation; however, amendments to these laws may be needed over time. It needs to reduce the significant confusion in the texts and establish a regulatory process for implementation of each law. Particularly, the Urban Planning and Housing Law (HPL) needs to be rewritten according to Municipal law; and the Expropriation Law needs to be revised to make expropriation easier to administer and fairer to the property owners. Therefore, there is a need for deeper review of the three key laws, UPHL, ML and LML simultaneously focusing on urban planning as priority task by MUDL leadership. 2. Institutional: The Government of Afghanistan needs an institute for research and study of land, urban planning and policies, and infrastructure as well as implementation, to strengthen the capacity of MUDH and other relevant government agencies. Such an Institute can be established within a current or any future new ministry with consolidated functions. Creation of a “School of Urban Planning” at an institution of higher learning is recommended. The school would focus on urban planning education, professional development, and interdisciplinary approaches to problem solving.
Presentation and Meetings with H.E Mr. Jawad Paikar, MUDL Acting Minister, February, 2019.
3. Organizational: MUDH has too many overlapping layers of government structures -tashkeel. A number of current directorates and development projects have the same agenda and terms of references. In most cases their activities overlap. It is recommended the restructuring of current MUDL
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Recommendations and Action Plan
Executive Summary internal organization. A multi-functional urban planning and housing deputyship is recommended to integrate land management and built environment- related responsibilities, including GIS mapping, land-use and zoning codes. The ToRs and organizational details of such multi-functional deputyministry require further research and workshops with participation of HR directorate and technical experts. 4. Functional: Currently, MUDH has a mandate to implement the majority of policies relevant to urban development and housing. It is unlikely that MUDH has the capacity and resources to successfully execute such a huge mandate, particularly, when its ToR has been confusing for many years. Efforts should be focused on human resources development (HRD) and upgrading of ICT and creation of a “Resource Center”.
“A
Comprehensive Assessment of MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and Level of ICT was conducted in Task 1, in August 2018.”
Task 1: MUDH Overlapping of Urban Planning Activities Analysis, MUDH, August 2018.
Task 1: MUDH Employees Background and Professional Skills Analysis, August 2018.
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Executive Summary & Introduction
Seminar, Discussion and Feedback on Task 3 A seminar and presentation on Task 1 (MUDH internal organization), Task 2 (Legal and regulatory review of urban planning framework) and Task 3 (Recommendations and Action Plan) with participation of current MUDL Town Planning and Housing directorate leadership, technical staff and advisers was conducted on February 12, 2019 at MUDL. The seminar was organized by L & Z International and UDSP leadership. Key outcomes of Task 1 and Task 2 as well as expected recommendations on legal, institutional, organizational, and urban planning functional reforms were discussed in details. Majority of comments were related to building capacity and human resources development at the government level before making any changes in the structure of urban planning framework. The key inputs and suggestions include: 1. Consolidation of parallel organizations under one umbrella should be part of reform in human resources development and transparency in recruitment of high ranked management staff. 2. Efforts should be toward creating of a decentralized urban planning hierarchy and management in the country. 3. Urban land management should be part of new MUDL internal organization but not other land types used to be under ARAZI authority. Non-urban land management is suggested to be within the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (MAIL) terms of references. The seminarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; participants suggest that Task 2 and Task 3 reports to be translated into national languages for better understanding of deliverables and key findings by MUDL technical staff management and as well as other relevant organizations.
Seminar, discussion and feedback on Task 3 deliverable, MUDL, UDSP Office, February 12, 2019.
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Recommendations and Action Plan
INTRODUCTION Task 1 and 2 reports provided significant information on the state of Land and Urban Development in Afghanistan. Those reports also contained important findings that provide challenges for the government and people of Afghanistan. The findings are far-reaching and significant. The Task 3 report that follows assembles the findings into four broad categories; legal, institutional, organizational and functional. During the Task 3 work, the study team became aware of the need to consider the findings and any recommendations that may be provided in a more comprehensive way. Taken one finding/recommendation at a time is valid. However, the very problem that appears to plague land and urban development in Afghanistan, that is, fractured, inconsistent, missing and out of date guidance, flawed approaches and organizations, coupled with the dire need of the people for solutions cannot be solved by piecemeal treatment. What follows this brief introduction is an “overarching” recommendation that, if implemented, can lead to a coherent program the study team refers to as “A National Vision for Land and Urban Development.”
“By 2024, Afghanistan has a network
of safe, livable urban centers that are hubs of economic and arenas of culture and social inclusion through decentralized urban planning and participatory urban governance.” Urban National Priority Program (U-NPP), Overall Outcome (Vision), 2016.
An Example of Plan Types Confusion: Charikar City Strategic Plan, SDP, MUDH, 2018.
The proposed “National Vision for Land and Urban Development” does not reject or replace the Urban National Priority Program (U-NPP) adapted by the Afghan Government in 2015. It is expected to improve the functionality of the program. The program will be reviewed once again in details and identified the gaps and key outputs are anchored with the proposed National Vision and Road Map. There would be a wide difference what the consultants propose the “National Vision” versus what is in the U-NPP. UNPP does not have full detailed vision and road map specifically for land development which is one of the most current issues in the Afghan urban planning sector. In the other hand, almost 5 years have passed since creation of U-NPP. For some different reasons such as generality and confusion in functionality of the program itself most of key expected outputs outlined in the program have not been achieved up-to-date or some outputs are not clear, for example: • The development of essential information systems; • Improved institutional capacity to execute essential urban management functions; • The formulation of technical urban plans for strategic urban centers; • Formulation of a joint Land and Housing corporation between MUDA and ARAZI As recently, MUDH has been meld with ARAZI many new questions regarding urban land development coordination have raised to be addressed properly by the Afghan Government. Therefore, there is a need for developing of such national vision for urban development in details. (see official documents: 00 U-NPP Results Framework and Final U-NPP-urban documents and Review of national priority programs including U-NPP in Subtask 2 of Task 1, page 38) The findings and recommendations organized by legal, institutional, organizational and functional, on which this overarching recommendation is based, follow.
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MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review Project Recommendations and Action Plan پیشنهادات و پالن تطبیقی
Part I: Overarching Recommendations National Vision and Road Map دیدگاه ملی و نقشه راهبوردی:بخش اول
Part I: National Vision and Road Map
I.1. A National Vision for Land and Urban Development for Afghanistan
Preamble: Afghanistan has a long history and strong culture that has been interrupted by conflict and other challenges. The National government has recognized the need for organizing more effectively to serve the people’s need for use of the land and development of the built environment. The challenge is to continue to use the land and provide for the people, while migrating to a more considered vision. Part of this study was to compare and contrast other models of urban development, including the US model and find the best fit. It is the opinion of the study team, that due to the uniqueness of Afghanistan and the pressures of national modernization, no other models will provide an exact fit. However, this study has provided a background and frame of reference that is believed to be a useful approach in preparing the vision. In earlier portions of the Task 3 report, findings and recommendations were provided in the general categories of legal, institutional, organizational and functional. Without a larger vision of what is needed for Afghanistan in land and urban development, there is danger of creating more confusion and lack of coordination. The goal of this study and many others is to provide a “road map” to a vision that will respect the unique aspects of Afghan history and culture and serve the people. A “road map” is of no use unless the destination is known. Only the Urban Development and Housing Law (UDHL) references the word “vision,” however, within the document there are no specifics for that vision, how it is documented, developed or definition of whom should create it. The National Vision proposed in this paper provides that destination not in terms of organization definition nor in complete detail, but rather in terms of the functions that logically must be performed. The notion presented is that an organization to accomplish the vision should be built around the functions that any government would have to provide. One can consider this building up from the basics (or the bottom) and then implementing from the top down. The proposed National Vision will be anchored with the key expected outputs of U-NPP through deeper review of the existing program.
I.1.1. Background
An urban development project is essentially a conversion process for a piece of land. It is useful to consider the life cycle of that conversion process. A simplified description of the life cycle is presented here. i. An idea is conceived as to how a piece of virgin or reused land can host a project to satisfy some need. ii. The idea must go through a feasibility and site study analysis (allowable uses, governing regulations, finance, constraints, etc). iii. Assuming the piece of land is suitable, conceptual and detailed design follows. iv. Once the entity promoting the idea (private or public owner) is satisfied with the project design, it is submitted to the authority who has the responsibility to permit the project to proceed to construction.
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Recommendations and Action Plan
I.1. A National Vision for Land and Urban Development for Afghanistan v. The owner solicits contracts to implement the design. vi. The project is built and commissioned, meaning it is tested and initiated and ready for occupancy or use. vii. Over time the project might be modified for reuse until a total razing of the project (demolition/decommissioning) is permitted, freeing up the land parcel for a new idea. The government has the obligation to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens during the project life cycle. The vision described below dissects the elements of this life cycle process to inform any government what functions must be provided in their organization for land and urban development.
I.1.2. Land
The basic resource for a project is a parcel of land. Land is controlled (owned) by either a public or private entity. An inventory of the land is essential. Although the details vary from country to country, the type, location, boundary and ownership of the land must be known and recorded/ registered. Ownership is a legal activity, often subject to dispute, so it must be carefully identified and documented. Land use is a determination by the governing authority as to the suitability of a parcel for the proposed project. Categorization of the land is essential. These categories, often referred to as zones, are determined by a planning function conducted by the governing authority, usually with input by the citizens and professionals in a locality affected. Once determined, the categories define how a particular parcel of land may be used. A variety of fundamental functions surround registering and categorizing the land properly, so project approval (permitting) can be given by the governing authority. Violation of the land use permitted becomes a matter of enforcement. If Land Suitable (YES)
Virgin or Reused Land Development
2‐ Design (Detailed) Owner Satisfaction (Private or Public)
6‐ Demolish: End of Project Life
1‐ Feasibility & Site Study Analysis (allowable uses, governing regulations, finance, constraints, etc)
3‐ Submit Design to Authority for Permitting 4‐ Owner Solicit Contract
Over Time it May be Reuse Tested and Initiated
Design Implementation (Construction)
5‐ Ready for Occupancy Project is Built, Commissioned
Fig I.1: Proposed Land Development Life Cycle
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Part I: National Vision and Road Map
I.1. A National Vision for Land and Urban Development for Afghanistan
I.1.3. Built Environment
Any conversion of the natural land can be considered the “built environment.” Example components are: i. Infrastructure: Infrastructure networks are those that provide services (transportation, communication, water, sewerage, power). No project is feasible without adequate and appropriate provision of infrastructure services. Thus, the governing authority must assume the general functions of planning, providing, approving and maintaining infrastructure services to the project. ii. Projects: Projects, promoted by either public or private entities, are typically categorized into residential (housing), commercial (business), governmental (public and military entities) and industrial (manufacturing, natural resource processing, etc.). No matter the type of project nor the owner, the governing authority assumes many functional requirements that may vary by application. Examples of these functions include governing laws, policies and regulations, planning (strategic down to detailed), finance, approvals, dispute resolution, compliance, etc.)
“The National Vision should be owned by the citizens of Afghanistan not by those influencers who are funding projects no matter how well-meaning they may be. Neither outside influences nor consultants can possibly fully understand the Afghan culture. “
Land Conversion Built Environment Types of Land: 1. Infrastructure Services Project Promoted
Residential (Housing) Commercial (Business) Governmental (Public, Military entities)
2. Governing Authority Functional Requirement: Governing Law, Policies, Regulations, Planning (strategic down to Detailed), Finance, Approval, Dispute Resolution, Compliance, etc.
Industrial
Fig I.2: Land Conversion and Built Environment Process Requirement
I.1.4. Building the Vision The three major laws plus other documents reviewed extensively in this study, the Land Management Law (LML), the Urban Development and Housing Law (UDHL) and the Municipal Law (ML) define what the National Government considers are the responsibilities and authorities that govern the land and urban development arena. The study team concludes that, for now, these laws are sufficient to authorize implementation, however, amendments to those laws may be found necessary over time. Laws typically describe “what” needs to be done (responsibility) and sometimes the “who” is to do it (authority). However, in this portion of the study report, the organizational implications in these laws has been ignored for purposes of functional analysis. Perhaps an example will best explain this last statement. Article 7:21 of the Urban Planning and Housing Law compels the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MUDH) to regulate aspects of the water supply.
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Recommendations and Action Plan
I.1. A National Vision for Land and Urban Development for Afghanistan In a vision description, no notion is taken as to whom the functions are assigned nor by whom they are managed (the “how”). Those decisions are appropriate (if the vision is adopted) for the implementation phase with timing to be described in the development of the “road map.” In the vision description, functions are gathered by functional areas called “clumping” and then ordered within those areas as logic dictates. An example of this “clumping” process follows the next paragraph.
I.1.5. The Vision Environment:
During the literature review, an understanding, perhaps incomplete, of the cultural, historical and practical aspects of the vision environment has been gained, mostly by inference. The National Vision should be owned by the citizens of Afghanistan not by those influences who are funding projects no matter how well-meaning they may be. Neither outside influences nor consultants can possibly fully understand the Afghan culture. It is vital to develop the National Vision using the input from those who will ultimately have to live with the results, the citizens. There are many references to devolution in the readings done for this study. In simplest terms, it is vital to include citizens closest to where development is to take place in the “what” is wanted portion of the vision. Part of devolution (referenced in the ML) is the importance of local government (municipalities) who must be encouraged to represent their citizen’s input as well as the government desires on the citizen’s behalf. The professions (survey, architecture, engineering, etc.) represent considerable education, experience and responsibility that can be invaluable to producing the National Vision and implementing it.
I.1.6. A National Vision Element Development Examples: i. Land: Consider the most valuable resource a country has, land. If one simply “brainstorms” what functions might be necessary to determine what that land resource really is, these functions come to mind: Survey, categorization, leasing, buying, ownership, current use, natural resource presence, registry, use enforcement, boundaries, etc. Just in this exercise, some observations can be made such as there is an implied order in which the functions must be done (survey prior to categorization), there are legal implications (enforcement), etc. ii. Project Development: A second “brainstorming” example is provided (although incomplete) here to illustrate the importance of function identification. The question that needs to be answered could be, “As a developer, how can I get my apartment complex built?” Again, a number of functions can be identified in no particular order: plan approval, land use approval, finance, construction inspection, compliance with local and national visions, affordability, quality, site engineering, architectural design, etc. Without considering “who” should do these activities, some logical “clumping” is suggested. The owner (government or private) is responsible for identifying the site, assuming financing for the project, developing the design concept, seeking permission, construction and use over the project life.
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Part I: National Vision and Road Map
I.1. A National Vision for Land and Urban Development for Afghanistan The government at the local level must provide permission by considering who owns the land, does the land parcel support the project use, does the project design comply with established master plans, codes and standards, etc. By implication, national government then must provide land inventory, clear rights of ownership, allowable use definitions (zoning), national codes and standards, regulations to establish clear procedures and requirements, etc., tying the site, assuming financing for the project, developing the design concept, seeking permission, construction and use over the project life. The government at the local level must provide permission by considering who owns the land, does the land parcel support the project use, does the project design comply with established codes and standards, etc. By implication, national government then must provide land inventory, clear rights of ownership, allowable use definitions (zoning), national codes and standards, regulations to establish clear procedures and requirements, etc.
I.1.7. The Case for Functional Analysis to Develop National Vision Functional “brainstorming,” as briefly presented above, can be done in a collegial fashion by involved stakeholders. It should be a non-political effort. For this paper, several “clumps” of functions (functional areas) were identified: Strategy and Policy, Land, Planning, Housing, Infrastructure, Enforcement, Coordination (outreach), Standards and Codes, Regulatory, Administration/Logistics/Finance/Information Technology. If one were defining a corporation (the “how”) to administer the National Vision (the “what”), these functional areas might be thought of as “business lines.” The development of the organization would take place from the general to the specific, with strategy, policy, programs, master plans, regulations taking place in an overarching organization such as MUDH and detailed functions such as plan permits, construction inspections, deed issuance, etc. being distributed to the municipalities.
I.2. Recommendations I.2.1. Vision Workshop No roadmap is of use if the destination is not known. A clear National Vision of Land and Urban Development should be developed by convening a facilitated workshop of stakeholders who are involved with policy from national to local levels, leaders who represent the interest of the people, business leaders, professionals from the scientific, education and technical disciplines. The study team should not, at this juncture, presume specific vision elements. Those elements should be identified during the workshop. The results of the workshop should be published and distributed with a reasonable amount of time to receive and respond to public comment.
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Recommendations and Action Plan
I.2. Recommendations The workshop should take the “what is authorized” and develop it into the “how.” This requires stake holders and can be done in an intensive workshop. Voids in the current laws will be identified to guide the need for rewriting some aspects of the laws. I.2.2. Functional Analysis Workshop A second workshop, involving both stakeholders from the Vision Workshop as well as other stakeholders with land and urban development experience, should convene to develop a clear set of functions that would be required to be provided to implement ANY land and urban development vision. This workshop, in the interest of time, could be conducted at the same time as the Vision Workshop. The resulting Functional Framework from this workshop should also be published and provided for public input.
“It is strongly recommended that, as part of this study or as a followon task, a two-phase workshop be convened, of appropriate stake holders, to complete the National Vision and obtain its approval (L & Z International LLC, 2019.)
I.2.3. Organization and Implementation Workshop Once the National Vision and Functional Framework documents are formalized, a third stakeholder workshop could be convened to develop the Implementation Roadmap to guide and lead full implementation of the goals and objectives developed in the previous two workshops. The findings and recommendations of this study will be invaluable in formulating how organizations will need to be built and/or modified to achieve success. This study will also provide insight into areas of concern such as coherent laws and regulations, public “buy-in,” professional development, including a center in an academic institution to provide education, professional licensure, research and other important aspects of implementation. Finally, a detailed, specific action plan approach should be a result of this workshop. Again, that action plan should be published, and a method of oversight and monitoring should be developed to insure the actions are taken and properly coordinated. The action plan must take into account, that while the Nation Vision, Functional Framework and Implementation plans are in progress, the current processes must continue. The analogy here is how an upgrade to a very busy road must consider a “maintenance of traffic” plan. The provision of services and facilities for the citizens cannot be stopped while the Land and Urban Development Process is improved.
15
Part II: Task 3 Recommendations پیشنهادات:۲ بخش
: Recommendations and Action Plan
II. Summary of Recommendations This part’s focus: Strengthen implementation of urban planning at the city level with corresponding and appropriate national level oversight/guidance. The analysis recommendations are include in four areas as the scope of work identified: 1. Legal: 2. Institutional: 3. Organizational: 4. Functional: Implementation guide: Ideally the implementation guide will be an outcome from the workshop recommended as part of Task 3. The National Vision statement should be instrumental in the formation of the “destination” of this study - i.e. the goal of implementation. The Road Map then would be developed as the set of steps (via action plans) necessary in order to achieve the vision. The workshop would provide an opportunity for the stake holders to buy into not only the vision (modifying as need be) but also in the road map. Ownership of that process will be vital.
“No body is above the Law in Afghanistan.”
(Afghan Constitution, 2004)
Task 3: Key Recommendations
Legal Key Findings:
(1) Confusing and conflicting laws (2) Lack of a regulatory process (3) Lack of clear plan type definitions (4) Ambiguous terminology (5) Lack of a National Land and Urban Development Vision
Recommendations (1) Deeper Review of 3 Key Laws: UPHL, ML and LML (2) Develop National Vision (UP) (3) Prepare detailed road map/ action plan
Institutional Key Findings:
(1) Poor stakeholder coordination (2) Duplication of Urban Development planning activities (3) Lack of research and study institutions (4) Poor UD plans process (5) Poor "devolution" of UP Management (overly centralized)
Recommendations (4) Restructure UP management sys (5) Revise technical guidelines/ develop “Global Glossary” (6) Develop UP plans process/ regulations (7) Develop land use and zoning ordinances based on land inventory and local input (8) Develop professional licensing process and enforcement Authority
Organizational Key Findings:
(1) Ineffective MUDH organization (2) Overlapping responsibilities/ mismatched with ToR (3) Lack of capacity relative to ToR (4) Construction vs urban policy focus (70% vs 30%) (5) Confusion of responsibilities
Recommendations (9) Restructure MUDL Org Chart (10) Restructure UP & Housing Deputy Internal Org Chart and Revise the Terms of References
Functional Key Findings:
(1) Shortage of high skill and experienced professionals (2) Lack of modern management approaches (3) Excessive administrative personnel (40 to 50%) (4) Inadequate transparency in recruiting‐ positions are not awarded on professionalism (5) Lack of HRD vision (6) Shortage of facilities + resources (facility and ICT)
Recommendations (11) Develop an effective Human Resources Department for UD (12) Develop training programs for capacity improvement (13) Develop UP technology and resource center (14) Develop an Information Technology assessment and upgrade program
Fig II: Summary of Task 3 Recommendations
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Part II: Recommendations
II.1. LEGAL During the conduct of this study, ARAZI was melded into the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MUDH) (name changed from Ministry of Urban Development and Land). That organizational change does not affect the recommendations made here.
II.1.1. Key Findings: A. a. b. c. d. e.
Legal and Regulatory Framework (1) Confusing and conflicting laws (2) Lack of a regulatory process (3) Lack of clear plan type definitions (4) Ambiguous terminology (5) Lack of a National Land and Urban Development Vision
II.1.2. Preface
“Some of the inexact nature
of the text may be a product of translation from native languages to English, however, it is recommended that an effort be taken to clarify and organize the three laws so it is clear how they work together to provide a unambiguous legal environment within which Ministries and Municipalities can effectively operate.”
a. The multiple laws reviewed suffer from lack of coherence and significant missing guidance. The Urban Planning and Housing Law (UPHL) introduces in Article 3, a long list of terms that define “plan types.” Cross referencing these terms with other references finds very little coordination and is likely to lead to difficulty of both the government to manage the development process as well as the professionals and citizens to use the development process effectively. One example is sufficient for this summary: The UPHL documents the purpose of the “Country-wide Master Plan.” The Municipal Law (ML) refers in some detail to a “Masterplan” but does not explicitly connect the two plan types as one in the same. One can infer they are the same but lack of this type of coordination within policy as set by law is confusing, leads to ineffective communication, inefficient implementation, redundancies, and omissions. The ML also leads one to infer that “Masterplan” is the “Strategic Plan” for Municipalities. The conclusion appears to be that the term Masterplan is intended to be the Strategic Plan referred to in the UPHL. The purpose here is to highlight the importance of consistently defining terms and the confusion created when consistency is not maintained. On a side note, in the urban planning process in the US, the term “Comprehensive Plan” is commonly used and appears to be one and the same with the intent of the Afghan references. b. Planning documents (plans) in both text and graphic forms are the backbone of communicating a coherent development process. Over 30 types of plans are listed in the various references for this study. Careful definition of each plan type with clearly articulated guides to responsibility, preparation, tenure, etc. is vital to the planning process. The large number of plan types leads to chaos during the review and permitting of projects. The references provide, in various locations, critical information relative to the following: Definition, responsibility, scope, enactment, design, preparation/development, consultation, implementation, management and approval. Administrative actions such as establishing formats, publishing, frequency, etc. are also mentioned but inconsistently. The number of play types should be reduced to a minimum and carefully defined such that authority, responsibility, purpose and scope are clear.
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: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.1. LEGAL c. Land is a vital resource that must be able to be converted for use by the citizens of Afghanistan in a disciplined, legal and approvable manner. Urban development should be involved with the conversion of the land to an approved use. The Urban Development Process (hereinafter referred to as the Process) typically proceeds from the general to the very specific beginning with rather subjective policy setting and moving to greater and greater objective detail. From the reading of the references, it can be inferred that Afghanistan intends to move in the traditional direction by establishing a “Country-wide Master Plan” to guide overall development. The defined “Regional Plan” (assumed to align with Provinces) would logically be next considered in the process as part of the desired devolution. “City Master Plans” and “Strategic Plans” are not clearly delineated and provide confusion. “Strategic Plans” are clearly articulated and apply to municipalities. “Guiding Plans” are intended to provide short term solutions it appears but also seem to perform some functions redundant to “Country-wide,” “Regional” and “Strategic” plans. “Detailed Plans” are clearly intended to be the first series of plans that lead to detailed implementation of designs. “Reform,” “Amendment,” and “Improvement” plans seem to have some redundancy but are clearly aimed at altering previous plans and addressing developmental problems that occur as time goes on. What appears to be missing is a top to bottom National Land and Urban Development Vision. Paragraph 4 below outlines, as an overarching recommendation, an approach to developing the “National Vision” and implementing it.
“The
Definitions and Terminologies Used in the Laws are Ambiguous and Confused.”
Legal (Reviewed Laws)
Category
Reason
Recommendation
Confusion
General Guidance and Very Detailed Directives + Translation
Reduce Confusion in the Text
Regulation
Lack of Regulations (Zoning Ordinances..) and Procedures
Be Developed A Regulatory Review Process
Fig 1.1: Recommendations on Legal Part of the Urban Planning Relvant Laws.
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Part II: Recommendations
II.1. LEGAL d. It is apparent that the various references reviewed were likely written at different times, by different groups of people, perhaps with even conflicting guidance. Adding to the confusion is the challenge of accurate translation from native languages to English. The laws reviewed are littered with terminology that is vague, conflicting and in some cases seemingly misleading. The obvious problem these lack of definitions leads to is confusion, duplication of responsibility, inefficient use of capacity (more time spent on understanding what needs to be done than doing it), frustration to those attempting to use the process, etc. A comprehensive glossary of terms should be developed. e. It is typical for a regulatory process to be engaged when a law is enacted. Regulations such as zoning ordinances, public facility manuals, subdivision ordinances etc, are developed that provide the specifics about how an enacted law is to be implemented. Processes, assignment of responsibility, detailed procedures are detailed so those who want to use the authority of the laws, such as citizens and/or developers, can carry out the business expected by organizations such MUDH and the Municipalities. If such regulations exist, they were not available for review. Regulations derived from the law also have the advantage of clarifying the law, simplifying the law, and making the laws shorter and more easily enacted and amended. Regulations are best developed by a “stake holder group,” often including members of the public so clarity of direction is achieved.
Objectives: “List of Plans Identified in UrbanPlanning and Housing Law (UPHL), September 2017, Article 3 and Article 7: 1. Country-wide Master Plan 2. Regional Plan 3. City Master Plan 4. Strategic Plan 5. Guiding Plan 6. Detailed Plan 7. Reform Plan 8. Amendment and Infrastructure Plan 9. Improvement Plan 10. Reconstruction Plan 11. Renovation Plan 12. Land Re-arrangement Plan 13. Cultural-historic Plan”
a. To develop a comprehensive National Land and Urban Development Vision b. To revise, simplify and clarify the laws governing land and urban development that provide appropriate authority and responsibility to enable achievement of the vision c. To develop a regulatory process that provides the guidance, capacity and organization to serve the people in implementing the vision.
Note: Plans number 7 through 13 have not been Practiced by MUDH. Fig 1.2: Reviewed Laws Have Serious Shortcomings and Consequences
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: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.1. LEGAL Recommendations a. It is understood that some of the inexact nature of the laws may be a product of translation from native languages to English, as a service to all who must use and depend upon the laws, it is recommended that an effort be taken to clarify, coordinate and organize the three laws so it is clear how they work together to provide a clear legal environment within which Ministries and Municipalities can effectively operate. b. The laws contain both general guidance as well as very detailed specifics. Examples: The UPHL Article 2:1 speaks of an objective to “implement Afghanistan’s urban development vision . . . “ This is the only place found that refers to a “vision.” It is recommended that a series of intense workshops with appropriate stakeholders be conducted in conjunction with interdisciplinary professionals to develop a comprehensive “vision” to guide Land and Urban Development into Afghanistan’s future. The process by which the “vision” can be developed and implemented is provided later. c. It is recommended that a regulatory review process with input from the operating government elements such as Provinces, Districts and Municipalities be established by MUDH. Including private citizens, developers, professional organizations (engineers and architects), whom are the ultimate users of the procedures is also recommended. As a specific example of a regulation that is needed, one can look through the UPHL about business licensing as a responsibility of MUDH. A businessman would find it difficult to determine how to obtain the license and comply with the licensing requirement by simply referring to the UPHL.
“The
UPHL as currently written, provides little allowance for a life cycle of the plans. Further, it is not clear as to who is has responsibility for the plan at each stage of the life cycle. For example, references to the definition of the Strategic, Detailed, and Improvement Plans read very similar to one another..”
Review of three key laws: 1) Urban Planning and Housing Law (UPHL), 2) Municipal Law (ML), and3) Land Management Law (LML) shows that they have no consistency and coherent with each other in articles relevant to urban planning and land development. There is confusion in text and terminologies. Therefore, it is highly recommended to review deeper the three key UPHL, Municipal (ML) and Land Management (LML) laws focusing on urban development and planning issues. A deep analysis on legal framework definitely is required as next step followed by converting those laws into a functional analysis. There is a need for wisdom of coordinating all these three laws. The strategy is on focusing only on urban development and urban planning articles in the law and inclusive discussion with participation of different stake holders. Role of local municipalities should be decisive and obvious.
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Part II: Recommendations
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL II.2.1 Restructure Urban Planning Management Key findings: A. Hierarchy of Urban Planning (UP) Management (1) Lack of approved urban planning hierarchy and management system, types and classification of cities, and urban development and construction regionalization (2) Centralized system of UP management: MUDH plays key role in preparation and implementation of urban development plans at the city level (3) Poor coordination between MUDH and municipalities relevant to local urban development projects (4) Insignificant role of local governance and communities in preparation and implementation of urban development plans (5) Bureaucratic long process of plans preparation and implementation Preface Afghanistan lacks an effective hierarchy of urban planning and management. An approved official classification of cities in terms of population size, climate zoning and functions does not exist. The Afghan Government in general, MUDH in particular, has no clear vision and strategy for future development of cities and urban growth. Afghan cities have not been classified by size (territory and population), strategic location, or level of urbanization. Lack of such demographic data and categorization prevents any type of land development in cities. Master planning design takes place without exact data on population, type of city and level of urbanization. As a result, most cities are growing chaotically without a road map and status. Accordingly, the municipal authorities and MUDH have not been able to clearly identify the type of plans needed for the future development of each city. Such classifications should be part of MUDL new terms of reference to identify cities by types and size of territory and population. In the latest version of Municipal Law, 34 existing municipalities are classified in ranks. The major large Afghan cities - Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, Mazari-Sharif and Jelalaad are Rank 1 and the rest of municipalities are either Rank 2 or Rank 3. There is no clear explanation for these rankings. The role of municipalities in implementation of urban development projects, including master plans, is not clear enough in the three key laws: LML, Municipal Law and Town Planning and Housing Law (see legal and regulatory recommendations). In general, municipalities, except Kabul Municipality, face serious problems from acute shortage of human capacity and resources to functionality. Their terms of references are confusing, particularly, between MUDH and Kabul Municipality. The Mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s post is by appointment, mostly, by the President. Most projects are planned and designed either at the center, MUDH HQ in Kabul, or by donor-funded projects individually without enough consultation with local authorities and municipalities. Due to lack of capacity and resources, need assessment is not conducted by
22
: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL municipalities in the early planning stages of the project. Poor coordination between municipalities and center is the reason for unsuccessfully completion of the projecta and unwised use of the budget. It opens door for corruption also. International urban planning management practices and models have been analyzed to determine relevance to Afghan urban planning practices. One cannot recommend a specific model for Afghanistan without consideration of local conditions. However, the Indonesian and Turkish decentralized policies of urban planning management are relevant enough to be studied further. Objectives:
1. To systematize the urban planning activities and management considering specific socioeconomic, cultural and geopolitical conditions in Afghanistan. 2. To decentralize urban planning management by giving more authority to local municipalities 3. To strengthen the capacities of municipalities. Recommendations
A. Hierarchy of Urban Planning Mangement 1. It is not wise to recommend a specific model from any other country for Afghanistan without considering local conditions. Afghanistan is unique enough that to try to emulate ANY other model would be problematic. The laws, regulations and procedures relevant to land development must be in accordance with specific parameters of Afghan society, culture, socioeconomic status, historic development and local communitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; structure and governance. 2. The development of the Afghan process should be bottom up for the functional view and top down for organizational. This is a different approach to find all of the common functions that must be accomplished with Land AND Urban Development, then build the organization from the bottom up. Although needed for an emerging nation, too much control and leadership from the top can lead to citizen distrust and frustration. Too little control may foster chaos. Finding the balance is critical for a Land and Urban Development process vital to serving the people. 3. To systematize the urban planning management, considering the reality of Afghanistanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current socioeconomic, cultural and geopolitical situation, a 5-level hierarchy is proposed for further discussion at national and local governance levels:
23
Part II: Recommendations
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL Proposed Hierarchy of Urban Planning Management for Afghanistan Level 1: National Level Fifteen‐year National Vision of the country Ten‐year Road Map Five‐year economic, Social and Cultural Development Sectoral National Plans, such as national housing plans, educations, agriculture, etc. Level 2: Provincial/Regional Ten‐year Provincial Vision Sub‐national and Regional Spatial Plan Regional and Provincial Plans Level 3: Metropolitan Area /Sub‐regional Level Development Plans of Metropolitan Areas Level 4: City Level 10‐year City Development Plans (for Large and Medium Cities) Detailed Plans (follow development plan for the large and medium cities) Urban and Rural Guide Plans New Town Plans‐shahrak plans Provision of Site Service Programs Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Plans for Old Cities and informal settlements upgrading Fig 2.1: Proposed Hierarchy of Urban Planning Management
4. To sustain growth of Afghan cities, the government or high urban authorities, such as MUDH or HCUD, need to mandate classification of cities in terms of population size and types. The categories for classification by size of population should be metropolitan, large, medium and small cities. Functional categories should be administrative-provincial capital, industrial, historic-tourist and cross-border and commercial. Type of plans necessary for the cities should be based on these classifications.
24
: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL B. Local Governance and Municipalities Structure: Preface There should be a new vision for the Role of Municipalities for major cities. Needed are new bylaws that define the roles of the municipalities and clearly strengthen their authority. It is important that the relationships of MUDH with local municipalities, including Kabul Municipality, be clarified. Just because the Ministry is in Kabul does not mean that it should have control of Kabul Municipality and other local municipalities. Formation of a new Ministry must ensure the relationships between Center and local municipalities are improved and given equal authority. Kabul Municipality and other municipalities must have the authority to conduct their own affairs. Some of the failures and corruption associated with Kabul Municipality are well known, but the solution is not to diffuse their authority, instead bring accountability and responsibility. The roles of the municipalities also need to be further strengthened. Their relationships and with law enforcement, land authorities, infrastructure and energy (electricity and gas), need to be reinforced. Key findings: (1) Confusion in responsibilities among urban development stakeholders, particularly, MUDH and municipalities (2) Lack of proper mechanism for monitoring and implementation of land development projects (3) Poor capacity in local municipalities and MUDH provincial directorates Objectives To concentrate on decentralizing urban planning management by giving more authority to local municipalities and strengthening of their capacity. Recommendations 1. Pursue â&#x20AC;&#x153;decentralizationâ&#x20AC;? of authority at the city level to establish an autonomous and accountable municipal government, that brings the government closer to the local citizens, emphasizing community participation through elected representatives, mayors and or councils in the applicable governance structure. Under the decentralized administration, the goal would be to increase representation from diverse political, ethnic, religious and cultural groups in the decision-making process. The local provincial governments are given fiscal and administrative responsibility and accountability to monitor and implement their own urban development programs and improve the urban and economic resources in equitable and peaceful ways. The mechanism, resources, and process for achieving this goal should be defined clearly in the Municipal Law, as well as relevant regulations and procedures for implementation of Municipal Law. Decentralization will allow local governments to implement the urban policies more creatively, and experiment with innovative urban solutions. It also should relieve top managers in central ministries of these tasks, and allow them to concentrate on general policies and preparation of regulations.
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Part II: Recommendations
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL 2. To increase the capacity of local governance and municipalities, establish a public education and information unit in the administration structure to increase the education capacity of the public, such as each citizen’s civic responsibilities and rights and the importance of citizen participation and contributing to their cities and communities.
II.2.2. Revise Technical Guidelines/Develop Glossary Preface Review of multiple laws, priority national programs and MUDH’s prepared guidelines and directives revealed many confusing terminologies and wordings. Some of terminologies have been translated from English (or vice versa) or other languages and have no exact corresponding technical meaning or definitions. For example, in multiple documents the term “urban plan”پــان شــهریis referenced but has no technical meaning in other countries’ urban planning practices and terminologies. Some terms have no legal definition, such as ‘shahrak’شــهرک. In most translated legal documents, the term ‘shahrak’ is translated as “township’ or ‘satellite town’, while shahrak is a term that appeared in recent years for construction of housing complexes by private individuals or in some cases by the Afghan Government. The definition of Master Plan or “masterplan”, Comprehenisve Master Plan, Strategic Plan are not enough clear. Terminologies in national languages such as ‘kalbody ’ کالبــدی, ‘ farayend ’فراینــدare not familiar for technical readers. (See Annex 4 for list of teminologies) In the existing guidelines, land use is extensively discussed and detailed guidance provided, but there is no sufficient and/or clear guidance about land use development standards and codes. Recommendations a. Thoroughly review the existing technical guidelines for preparation of urban development plans developed by MUDH and the Town Planning directorate. b. Research and study the glossaries of technical terminologies and definitions. A comprehensive glossary with exact translation and definitions should be included in each guidelines and legal document relevant to urban planning and land development. c. Go beyond the limits of the subjects covered in the existing documents and the details that are proposed in this undertaking, and consult with a broader audience including public and private sector experts of various backgrounds and the planners, architects and engineers outside of the MUDH, to convert the Guidelines produced under the current exercise into a regulation with a wider scope and beneficiaries. d. It is important to make a sincere effort to solicit more diverse technical expertise and public opinion for incorporation into the document before it becomes a rule. Perhaps a zoning regulation should also be developed,
26
: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL without which implementation of this Guideline alone would not produce desirable results. e. The produced documents should be approved by the MUDL council of urban planning and the HCUD as legal documents for the use of stakeholders involved in preparation of urban development plans and detailed plans. The preparation of such technical documents should be on the list of MUDL priority projects.
II.2.3. Develop Urban Planning Plans Process/Regulations Key Findings (1) Overlapping activities in urban development plans including master planning (2) Confusing plan types, definitions and terminologies (3) Poor planning and design of urban development plans, particularly master and detailed plans, alternative designs and data analysis (4) Lack of required land use and zoning codes at the city level (master and detailed plans) (5) Missing key planning requirements relevant to Afghan conditions, such as strategies to: a) improve existing informal settlements in the cities and increase affordable shelters, b) revitalize and repair historic cities and heritage areas, and c) promote sustainable planning. Objectives: 1. Avoid overlapping urban planning activities and preparation of plans 2. Make plans implementation process effective and complete 3. Standardize and improve plan preparation, process and design i. Plan Types: Five plan types should be implemented: 1. National. Regional Division Plans including land development and construction zoning of Afghanistan 2. Provincial Regional Plan. Regional Plans for 35 provinces in the country 3. Cities Development Plan. Metropolitan areas with satellite towns 4. Cities Zoning Plan. Plans for cities with 500,00 to 1 million population. City urban boundaries should be divided into urban zones or MantaqueRehishi. Each zone should have its own local sub-municipality and governance administration and be divided into smaller urban districts or Karta. 5. Detailed Plan. Required for smallest urban units, such as Gozar, with up to 5,000 populations.
1. Afghanistan Regional Divisions Map 2. Provincial Development Plans
3. Cities Development Plans
4. Cities Zoning Plans
5. Development of Detailed Plans/Urban Design
The above recommended plan types are conceptual to be finalized in a functional workshop with particiaption of urban planners experts. Visa Process by MUDH The strategic and master plan types should be considered in the 2 and 3 categories plan types. Fig 2.2: Proposed Plan Types
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Part II: Recommendations
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL ii. Urban Development Plans Preparation Stages: Preface: A master plan or any other type of urban development plan should be an overarching planning document and spatial layout used to structure land use and development at the large-scale city level or a smaller piece of land. Generally, most urban development plans have four phases: Phase I - plan preparation, Phase II - design process, Phase III - plan adoption and implementation schedule, and Phase IV - monitoring results and impact. “Master plan” is an all-encompassing term. Usually, most of Afghan cities’ master plans cover a period of 20 or even 25 years. In Afghanistan, master plans and strategic plans have failed for different reasons: poor planning, budget, lack of land availability and the acquisition process. Today, with the dynamic growth of cities, the scope of a master plan cannot cover such a long timeframe of 20 or more years. A city development plan or master plan shall range from 10 years at the regional level to an illustrative plan of small scale for groups of buildings, such as Gozar. There should not be a formal process for master planning. Every design team may have their own individual approach based on capacity, resources and conditions. Most of the existing master and detailed plans have been prepared following nonstandard processes and stages. Objective: To standardize the process of urban development plans and quality of design. Recommendations At least these 5 key stages of master planning process should be implemented: Stage I should be the preparation and the other four stages the design process. Stages 2 – 5 move from strategic land use arrangements to a concept design of streets and buildings (urban design). Broadly speaking, there are three key land use components is recommended to consider in the master planning process: 1) buildings and built form, 2) the street network, and 3) open space and landscaping area. Stage 1 and 5 should be organized to obtain feedback and awareness of public opinion from different stakeholders, including local governance and communities. For detailed stages for Urban Development Plans preparation see Annex 2.
28
: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL Phase 1: Preparation Stage 1: Preplanning/ Programing/Site Investigation Step 1: Set Program for the Plan Step 2: Structure and Schedule the Process Step 3: Gather and Analyze Data Step 4: Identify Problems, Issues, and Concerns (PIC's) Step 5: Develop a "Vision" for the Plan Step 6: Develop Plan Goals and Objectives
Phase 4: Monitoring for Results & Impacts
Phase3: Plan Adoption & Implementation Schedule
Phase 2: Design Process Stage 4: Documentations and Presentation
Stage 2: Preliminary Design/ Options
Option 1 Option 2 Option 3
Evaluation of Options
Hybrid Option: Best Option
Public Discussion and Inputs
Stage 4: Detailed Plans
Stage 3: Design Development
Fig 2.3: Proposed Stages for Preparation of Urban Development Plans
iii. Urban Development Plans Contents and Improvement of Plans Preparation Preface Afghanistan is experiencing historically significant movement toward rebuilding its cities and war-stricken built environment. In coming decades, it is hoped that the country’s built environment will be transformed into predominantly urban economies as the process of urbanization takes hold and the potential for growth and social progress will bring improved livelihood to the majority of its citizens. Managing planning and growth is a powerful tool to improve the economic and social wellbeing of the cities and towns. Productive urbanization can be achieved by putting in place measurable planning policies and regulatory tools
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Part II: Recommendations
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL to boost economic and social conditions of the cities and towns by providing its citizens secure shelter, improved public services and efficient infrastructure. In Task 1 and Task 2 a detailed functional, legal and regulatory review of urban planning framework was conducted to adopt a normative approach, taking other relevant international models or examples as a basis for a gap analysis and identification of specific deficiencies concerning the available technical guidelines. As a result, the following recommendations and realistic measures should delete the deficiencies and improve planning. Recommendations The strategies suggested below are the result of careful gap analysis of the MUDH Technical Guidelines to Master Planning for the cities of Afghanistan and Technical Guidelines for preparation of urban development plans. The recommendations are organized into three critical areas of planning found deficient. These strategies will significantly improve the content and intended goals of the document and help develop comprehensive, sustainable urban programming and action plans. Specific policies and strategies will vary with local conditions, collaboration with government and civic organizations and grass root participation. All planning decisions should be democratically discussed with community leaders and negotiated with the inhabitants. Clear definitions and realistic measures by the planners and policy makers will determine the effectiveness of the planning process. The process should be enhanced by grass root efforts, demonstration projects, and negotiation with government and community leaders. 1. Informal Settlements Unplanned and informal settlements occupy the majority of the urban areas in the cities, with conservative estimates of 70 -80 percent of the urban population living in these settlements. The proliferation of informal settlements in the cities of Afghanistan was significantly accelerated due to the migration of the citizens from remote and unsafe areas of the country during the years of war and conflict. The major urban centers provided relative security and livelihood.
Kabul Unplanned Settlements Views, 2018.
In the official gazette published by the Ministry of Justice of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, laws for urban development and housing (article 3, section 9, ISSUE NO 1278) clearly recommend the formulation of planning policies to improve the housing situation and infrastructure in the informal areas of the cities and bring these settlements under the jurisdiction of municipal master plans. The deterioration of physical and environmental conditions in these neighborhoods calls for urgent upgrading solutions to improve the housing and livelihood of people in these settlements. These policy areas should be considered during the preparation of plans and technical guidelines: public participation, legalization of land and properties in the informal areas, progressive development, construction of necessary infrastructure and municipal services, affordable finance, self-help and
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: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL participatory method. Government authorities must finally recognize the self-help labor force and resources and the site and service projects to be considered. The upgrading efforts of informal settlements should be considered in the light of existing government laws and regulations. 2. Saving historic cities and heritage Afghan historic cities represent centuries of collective societal values that have direct bearing on the cultural life and emotions of the population. Due to the periods of conflict that inflicted much destruction to the physical, social and economic environment of historic cities, they are in need of urgent repair and rehabilitation in order to regain their rich economic and cultural vibrancy. Designers should make careful analysis of the historic localities with important heritage and architectural values to integrate them into the overall planning programs for development and regeneration. Fortunately, some positive steps and reconstruction activities have been executed in recent years by the Afghan government and international donor organizations. The AKTC Agha Khan Trust foundation for Culture, the Emerald Point Mountain and the efforts of many NGOs’ organizations under the auspices of the Afghan government ministries have taken effective steps to rehabilitate and restore some of the surviving historic heritage and communities in the country.
Recommendations for upgrading and revitalization: a. The areas to be considered: Public participation, socio-economic vitality, strengthening commerce, capacity building, progressive development, affordable shelters, movement systems and green spaces b. Conduct a feasibility study of existing residential neighborhoods of one of large cities, such as Kabul or any other large city, to propose an upgrading or revitalized model applicable for all cities. (see Part III: Priority Projects) 3. Sustainable planning An integrated ecological approach is critical for a sustainable course of development in rebuilding cities and human settlements where years of conflict inflicted heavy toll on the natural and ecological elements. Critical ecological and environmental resources are useful ‘indicators’ or measurements by which sustainability can be achieved. The basic ecological and biological indicators, such as water resources, the green infrastructure in balancing the air exchange (Co2-O critical exchange agent), energy, land resources and biodiversity, should be exploited to ensure that their supply is never exhausted and they continue to be available for future generations. These interchanges are essential in developing critical ‘input-output’ modeling techniques to program, measure and achieve sustainability as well as monitor regenerative processes of the human settlements. Recommendations 1. A comprehensive environmental protection program should be a national goal for all regions and cities of Afghanistan to set standards and protect the natural habitat. Sound planning and design policies should involve communities that are the real stakeholders and users of the environment. Managing educational programs and leadership groups at the village,
Brainstorming Session with Senior Advisers on Institutional Reform at MUDL,
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Part II: Recommendations
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL town and city levels to create awareness of safeguarding their natural habitat and setting a sustainable vision for lifelong aspiration . 2. Land-use planning. Urban land is always in demand and its planning, availability and management are critical to the functionality and environmental stability. Sustainable land-use strategies should consider the regional and local ecological properties in relation to critical human and environmental interchanges in the land-use planning process.
Recommendations For Preparation of Urban Development Plans
1. Informal Settlements A. Advantages of improving the informal settlements: 1. Process Will Raise the Total Housing Stock 2. Traditional Construction Method and Local Materials Suitable for Inhabitant Economy. 3. Shape of Dwellings ‐ Traditional Court‐yard Concurrent with Culture Norms B. Disadvantage: 1. Can Pose Complications in the Implementation Process of Municipal Planning. 2. Financial limitations to provide municipal services and infrastructure 3. The Absence and Deficiencies of Basic Municipal Services – Unhealthy Environment
Public Participation Legalization Progressive Development Affordable Finance Self‐help and Participatory Method Site and Service Projects
A. Advantage of Upgrading: 1. Upgrading Neighborhood Improves the Affordable Housing Market and its Availability 2. Will Promise a Tangible Economic and Social Stability 3. Using Traditional norms of Building Solutions Provide Valuable Lessons for the Future Urban Developments B. Disadvantage: 1. Lack of Public Facility, Open Spaces: Led the Neighborhoods to a Condition of Squalor and Unpleasant Environments. 2. Due to Compact Structure, Implementation of Infrastructure Services Create Difficulties 3. Due to Pedestrian Conditions‐ Movement of Emergency Vehicles and Fire Create Difficulties 4. Lack of Drainage Storms
2. Historic cities and Heritage Saving
3. Sustainable Planning
Public participation
Land‐use planning
Socio‐economic Vitality
A comprehensive environmental protection program should be a national goal for all regions and cities of Afghanistan
Strengthening Commerce Capacity Building Progressive Development Affordable Shelter Movement Systems Green Spaces
A. Advantage of Sustainable Planning: 1. Provide Strategies for Combating the Deterioration of Land and Environment. 2. Promote the Role of Communities, Businesses, and Government Agencies in the Decision Making Process. 3. Reduce Poverty and Over Consumption, while Improves Health and Education. B. Disadvantage of Sustainable Planning: 1.May be not Complementary with Economic Goals 2. High Cost of Technologies Associated with.
Fig 2.4: Summary of contents and improvent of urban development plans preparation
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: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL II.2.4. Develop Land-use and Zoning Ordinances Based on Land Inventory and Local Input Preface The contemporary Afghan city is faced with a complex set of issues such as globalization (economic, political and socio-cultural), imposition of perpetual wars, influx of refugees and climate change with wide ranging consequences. Afghan cities need an effective city administration, an elaborate set of laws and regulations to deal with the complex emerging challenges they are encountering. Modern municipal jurisdictions elsewhere have multitude of codes they enforce, such as building code, plumbing code, electric code, mechanical code, land use code, energy code, environmental and historic preservation code. Furthermore, they have detail plans and design guidelines for specific areas of the city, such as a downtown plan and plans for each neighborhood that regulate the built environment. At minimum, a municipality should have a building code and a land use code. The Afghanistan Building Code (ABC) based on the International Building Code (IBC) was approved in 2012. But currently Afghan cities do not have a land use and zoning code, essential for enforcement of urban planning regulations. Building code, Land-use Code and Permitting Process The permitting process for land use and construction projects in Afghanistan is ad hoc and, at best, vague, leaving interpretation and enforcement at the mercy of building officials. Afghanistan only issues a building permit that covers a land use permit without distinguishing differences between the two. Such lack of clear legal framework feeds corruption of municipal officials. This has led to various means of public land grabbing, abuse of environment, destruction of historic heritage and degradation of quality of living environments. Walking through the major cities of Afghanistan, one encounters a variety of code violations: building encroachment on sidewalks and public right of way, building in public parks, invading air rights and many more. High government officials have often issued illegal decrees granting public property for private use. To cite one example among many in Kabul, in 2002, public land in Kabul’s Shairpur district was allocated to government officials and their friends who used it for speculative purposes, not their own need of housing as they claimed. This was prime land in a historic site and part of town that badly needed public schools, health facilities, and recreational parks. Elsewhere at the periphery of the city, public land is taken for building private satellite subdivisions without provision of public amenities. In the narrow congested ‘Flower’ and ‘Chicken Sellers’ Streets, new buildings with no setbacks encroach on narrow sidewalks and air rights. Both in Zarnegar Park and Shahr-e Naw park, buildings with inappropriate use has been built in a city already lacking in green space. In neighborhoods such as Wazir Khan, land dedicated to a city park was given for other uses. New housing in the city disregards setback requirements, leaving no open green space. Sustainable development strategies and environmental stewardship measures are often ignored, contributing to air pollution, water contamination, disappearance of green space, creation of heat islands, loss of cultural heritage and others.
Building encroachment on sidewalks and public right of way, Kabul
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Part II: Recommendations
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL There are two intertwining aspects to the issue of codes and regulations; legislation and enforcement. The two are interactive and necessary for each other. When there is absence of appropriate and effective legislation that would regulate urban development, environmental safety and quality are violated. At the same time when there are laws and regulations, but there is failure to enforce them, as is often the case, again safety and quality are compromised. This dual problem is the prime source of corruption that allows profiteering at the expense of public good. Deficiency in effective laws, inability to enforce the laws and corruption are interrelated. They need to be dealt with at all three levels. Development of an Appropriate and Effective Land- use Code: There are parts of building codes that are universal and should be applied everywhere, but from another perspective, codes are constrained by context. The socio-economic level of development in a country determines the types of code that are appropriate, affordable and enforceable for that country. The land-use code and construction codes in the United States are the most stringent and conservative and therefore also costly which in a wealthy society is affordable and worth the extra assurance. At the socioeconomic level in Afghanistan, the risks are widespread in all aspects of life. People die from diseases that can be prevented, from the wars that are imposed on them, from reckless driving that is preventable. Dangers from unsafe buildings or living in unhealthy environment do not always register as high priorities, and not everyone is willing to pay to fix them given their other needs. If the laws are remote from other aspects of daily life and impractical to apply and enforce, they will be ignored altogether; thus, it is important to develop codes that are realistic, affordable and enforceable. Most of developmental projects in Afghanistan for the last fifty years have depended on foreign aid. It has been customary for the donor countries to apply their own codes to their projects in Afghanistan. That does not solve the overall problem. In the 1960â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and 70â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when the East Europeans, Soviets, Bulgarians, Polish and Czechoslovakians were the dominant expert force working in Afghanistanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban planning, design, and construction departments, they mostly applied the norms they were familiar with. USAID mostly used US codes in their projects. This caused a lack of uniformity across the board. The development of International Building Code, on which Afghanistan has modeled its code, has to some extent brought uniformity to the regulations affecting building construction. But it still needs to go a long way before it becomes effective in terms of enforcement. The building codes and zoning ordinances also relate to other laws that are part of the larger problem of the judicial system in Afghanistan. Since 2002, the international community, mainly the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, has spent billions of dollars on judicial reform. But effectiveness and the results have been mixed. The education link providing legal professionals is also missing.
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: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL The same way that absence of a department of urban planning at Kabul University negatively impacts provision of competent professionals entering the urban planning field, lack of an appropriate School of Law has affected the training of lawyers and enforcement of Afghan laws. The faculty of Huquq that has been given this task has not been the right place because it has primarily been a faculty of political science and government. In the modern sense of college of law, there has been a gap in the educational system. The perpetual existence of war has not helped the legal situation either. With weak enforcement of safety codes in Kabul in the last fifteen years, there are worries about what will happen to the hastily executed construction of buildings if a severe earthquake hits the city. Other considerations: 1. Efforts to identify and protect public land in Afghan cities should be continued by the Afghan Government. Afghanistan has lost some of its prime public lands in cities that needed the land for developmental projects. 2. Illegal occupation of public land by powerful speculators and uncontrolled expansion of squatter settlements will continue to require attention and legal action. 3. With the rising demand for public welfare projects that need land in critical locations, the law of expropriation of private land for public use (eminent domain) should be refined and developed to make it easy and just to serve its purpose. 4. Kabul University Department of Architecture should be expanded and transformed into a School of Architecture and Urban Planning that will provide education and research strengthening urban planning cadre. 5.The MUDH should have an active department of research and development of its own that conducts research related to urban planning and building construction. Such research, as mentioned above, will provide material for development of regulations. Such a department should also have connections with Kabul University for coordinating and funding critical areas of needed research. 6. It is important for MUDH and Kabul Municipality to develop a land use code for Kabul City that will become a model for other cities. As a first step, this code should be simple and user-friendly, enriched with graphics to make it understandable for Afghan enforcement officials. The often-mentioned master planning process should be one among many other subjects included in this code. This should be given the highest priority for funding and should be the next project by the Afghan government in the area of urban planning. 7. Building Code and Land-use Code should have a one-page guide, which some jurisdictions call “tip”. Tips should be designed to provide user-friendly information on the city’s permitting and code compliance policies and procedures that a customer may encounter while conducting business with the city.
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Part II: Recommendations
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL 8. In critical zones of the city, every project should go through a two-step permitting process: first a land use permit followed by a construction permit. For projects of significance, the neighbors of the project should be informed of the permitting process and seek their input to prevent potential harm to neighbors and stakeholders. 9. MUDH and Kabul Municipality should have a public awareness program that educates and informs citizens about developments in their city, alerts them to potential hazards in their living environment and seeks their participation. They can be a source for bringing violations of labor laws, city codes and ordinances to the attention of enforcement officials. This program should have a fruitful relationship with the media to become an informational and educational outlet for the public.
II.2.5. Develop Professional Licensing Process and Enforcement Research, Study and Education 1. School of Urban Planning - Vision and Strategy Background Any restructuring of the current Ministry of Urban Planning should include a holistic view that connects the practice of urban planning and environmental stewardship to research, education and capacity- building in governmental agencies and the private sector in an interactive way. This would mean that the offerings of higher education institutions in Afghanistan be coordinated with the governmental agencies in charge of urban planning, public works and protection of the environment. This would also require the establishment of an independent Faculty of Built Environment at one of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s major higher education institutions whether Kabul University, Kabul Polytechnic University or American University of Afghanistan. Although the Faculty of Engineering at Kabul University has had some experience in this regard, the choice should be made based on funding possibilities, potential for future growth and international affiliations. New faculty should embrace the broader concept of built environment that would include the fields of Urban Planning, Urban Design, Environmental Science/Ecology, Architecture, and Construction Management. As a longterm vision, below are some of the fields that as a can be included in new faculty in the university. Support for such programs in higher education should be a part of the research and education activities in a restructured Ministry of Urban Planning and Environment. Other organizations that could support such endeavors include UN Habitat, The Aga Khan Trust for Culture, UNESCO, USAID, the World Bank and the European Union.
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: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL Architecture: Architecture exists but with a limited capacity as a department in the Faculty of Engineering at Kabul University. In the past, graduates of this program have made significant contributions in providing professionals to the Ministry of Urban Planning and Housing, Kabul and other municipalities. But years of war, problem of brain drain, lack of sufficient funding and faculty resources have reduced their contributions. An expanded vision of architecture that would include the sub-disciplines of housing design and historic preservation will be important. Construction Management: Construction Management has not existed as a field of study in higher education in Afghanistan. In other countries, it has also been a relatively new field. It is a field which closely relates to architecture, engineering and business. In the past, a few of skilled artisans, whether carpenters or masons, developed management skills to become contractors. However, complexity of modern construction industry and emergence of powerful construction companies have demanded highly educated professionals to run such companies. In Afghanistan, this has been a serious shortage of these highly skilled professionals, particularly after 2001 with establishment of the new government and lots of international aid to rebuild the country after many years of war. Unfortunately, the result has been catastrophic, leading to waste of resources and construction of defective schools, clinics, institutional buildings, roads and other infrastructure projects that were awarded to companies with incompetent employees. It is time to develop a curriculum that brings this field into higher education in Afghanistan to address the needs and challenges of a modern construction industry. Landscape Architecture: There is also an absence of professional landscape architecture and architects. This is a field that combines the knowhow of horticulture, the talent of architectural design and the sensibilities of an ecologist. It could bring broad contributions from the design of an urban park or a garden to landscaping around new buildings and designing green roofs, all the way to the planning of ecological reserves. Urban Design: Urban design is a field that falls between architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning. With demand for master planning for cities, satellite towns and universities and the needs to redesign sections of cities, design of urban squares and public spaces, design of housing complexes and mixed-use developments, professionals with such specialization will be valuable. A specialization program within the new Faculty will be important.
Research, Professional Education & Capacity Building Kabul University Urban Planning Curriculums Architecture
Construction Management
Urban Planning: This is an essential field of study that is lacking in AfUrban Design Urban Planning ghanistan’s higher education. Healthy urbanization is critical to sound social and economic development. Increasing uncontrolled urbanization and rising Environment Landscaping unhealthy cities have become an impediment to socio-economic developScience & Architecture Ecology ment of the country. These issues can only be dealt with by an educated cadre working in governmental agencies and private sector. A well-devel- Fig 2.5: Key fields to be included in oped curriculum in the university can address such needs and introduce the Urban Planning Curiculums
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Part II: Recommendations
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL professionals to concepts of physical planning, urban economics, urban sociology and others necessary for building healthy cities that will become an engine for economic and social growth. Environment Science and Ecology: At the end, all activities should be environmentally sustainable. Resource-conserving cities, green architecture, recycling and reduction of waste, energy efficient buildings, solar energy utilization, wind power use are all concepts that a new age professional dealing with the built environment should consider in every act from building a house, a school, a road, or a factory to enacting legislative and administrative measures. This needs to be instilled through education and in the work place. Therefore, a higher education program with a welldeveloped curriculum will be critical for contributing to a sustainable future for the environment and the country. The UDSP is intended to support a project for Curriculum Development for Urban Planning and Design as first step toward establishing of a Urban Planning Faculty or college within Kabul University academic program. The current activities at MUDH are a welcome development which, among other pressing needs of cities in Afghanistan, address the need for educating local professionals who can provide the knowledge to deal with ever increasing challenges of urbanization in Afghanistan. Problem Statement Until now the field of urban planning or specifically, city planning, has not been addressed academically in the country. A research and scientific public institute for urban planning or any other similar research center is missing in the country. The urban planning authorities, including the higher education institutions and the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) have paid less attention to such important shortcomings. Therefore, the field of town planning has always been ignored and the whole field has been limited to developing master plans for cities rather than a complex field for sustainable growth of Afghan cities and national economy. Today, while most of urban planning relevant laws and policies such as Land Management Law, Acquisition Law, Urban Planning Law, National Urban Policies and National Land Policy have been ratified and are in place, there is acute need for systematic knowledge of Urban Planning field by having a strong academic center at the school or college level. As sole state university in the country, Kabul University can play a crucial role in teaching the field of urban planning and architecture as part. Later on, an independent Faculty or School or College can find its affiliation with sister schools abroad. Kabul University affiliation was common at one time, where specific universities were picked and their respected governments supported them. Examples are: Faculty of Medicine with a university in France, Faculty of Economics with Germany, Agriculture, Education and Engineering with US. The universities in the specific countries were picked for their appropriateness for Afghanistan.
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: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL Main Objectives: The main objectives of creating Faculty of Urban Planning and Built Environment are: 1. Promote urban planning knowledge and mainstream urban planning and sustainable urban design in Afghanistan through teaching specific urban planning subjects 2. Professionalize the urban planning practice in Afghanistan 3. Promote the level of professionalism in urban planning design at MUDL and implementation of urban policies and strategies. Recommendations There should be a restructuring of higher education that goes hand-in-hand with development of national authorities for the built environment. Specifically: 1. Form an independent faculty (college) at Kabul University that provides research and education in this area. Such faculty should include the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, land development and infrastructure, urban and environmental design. Kabul University has relevant fields that can be prerequisites for obtaining the UP degree. 2. Select an international team of experts with extensive academic experience in the fields of architecture, urban planning and engineering in academic institutions in Afghanistan, in this case Kabul University, Faculty of Engineering and Kabul Polytechnics University. The selected team or Consulting firm must have extensive academic experience in known universities abroad, too. 3. Creating such a college or school should include two stages: a) developing applicable curricula and b) developing a full college program 4. Kabul University and Kabul Polytechnics University should be main counterparts for the entire duration of project completion 5. As a guiding principle, the consultant is to consider national urban development vision statements, employment and labor market policies and data, higher education policy and National Urban Priority Programs (N-UPP). The curriculum must be in line with UNESCO and international agency standards.
Establishing School of Urban Planning Stage I: Need Assessment for Urban Planning Education + Analysis Stage II: Building Curriculums & Syllabus Stage III: Preparation of Full Academic Program: Phase I: Short‐ term Program Certificate
Phase 2: 4‐year Academic Program
Stage IV: Physical Space Fig 2.6: Key Stages for Establishing of Urban Planning School
2. Afghanistan Institute of Architecture and Engineering (AIAE)Licensing Authority Preface As reflected in the government’s most recent strategic plan, “Poor designs (often done using Google maps) and weak contractor management have been equally challenging, resulting in very high costs for poor quality construction” [NPDF] Establishment of an Afghan Institute of Architecture and Engineering (AIAE) will provide a perfect opportunity to address these needs. The AIAE will carefully consider the evolving needs of the profession and develop the necessary regulations, training and capacity-building programs that are well‐aligned with the industry demands. Moreover, the Institute is aimed at facilitating networking among Afghan architects and engineers through
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Part II: Recommendations
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL interactive sharing and management of knowledge and skills. The current disconnect between the education curriculum and the needs of Afghanistan’s job market means that nearly two-thirds of recent college graduates are unemployed. The AIAE will strengthen links between academic institutions and industry professionals working for the government and the private sector. The education system in general and the applied sciences education and practice in particular have been disrupted in Afghanistan over the past 40 years. During this period, Afghans lived abroad and received education in a variety of fields and educational institutions with different objectives and educational standards, including engineering education. With socio-economic opportunities in Afghanistan slowly developing in the past several years, however, lack of an authoritative body to regulate and control the practice of architecture and engineering by setting legal structure and minimum standards presents a significant shortcoming. Engineering practice must be a privilege to be earned, recognized, and practiced in the pursuit of public welfare, safety, wellbeing and interest of the general public. There is an indisputable need to establish laws that govern the practice of architectural design and engineering to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people in Afghanistan. The laws and the rules and regulations to implement them must define engineering practice and establish requirements for an individual to become a licensed, practicing architect and engineer. Recommendation and Scope Needed is a study of current engineering practices in Afghanistan to lead to development of a licensing program for the safeguard of health, safety, and welfare of the public. The scope of this study as a minimum should include these activities: • Review of current laws governing the education and practice of engineering in Afghanistan • Review of current organizations overseeing the practice of engineering service-providers • Review of capacities and practices of up to 15 major Afghan consulting engineering and construction companies and five international companies • Review of current educational curriculums of the various higher education institutions • Review of current and future needs of both public and private sectors for engineering services • Preparation of an assessment report on the current status of providing engineering services in Afghanistan • Close coordination with appropriate Afghan educational authorities, including Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, as well as sectoral ministries who are recipients of engineering services, and organizations that are or may oversee legal
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: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.2. INSTITUTIONAL disputes, including the Ministry of Justice, for developing minimum standards for licensure that would gradually improve to an internationally acceptable standard:
Institute of Architecture and Engineering‐Licensing Authority
a. Minimum laws, rules and regulations for the practice of engineering to be promulgated by the Parliament or decreed by the President as allowed by the Afghanistan Constitution. (The relevant Afghan State agencies shall provide most of the input for drafting the governing laws.)
Phase I: Preparation of Legal Basis
b. Minimum educational requirements that would gradually (between five to ten years) become equivalent to internationally accredited educational programs in the region c. An organizational structure for implementing the licensing program with a vision, mission, goals, objectives and a strategy that would meet current and future needs of regulating engineering practices in the country with a goal to become an internationally acceptable agency . Creation of such Institute or Authority will have to phases: 1) Preparation of legal basis, and 2) Physical establishment of the Authority. The title and terms of references of such authority will be finalized in Phase 1 in series of workshops with participation different stake holders. Key Criteria:
Stage I: Pre‐ Planning, Investigation
Stage II: Workshops and Seminars
Stage III: Draft Bylaw + ToRs + Organization
Stage IV: Stakeholders Feedbacks
Stage V: Legal Documents Approval by Afghan Government + HCUD Phase II: Establishment of the Authority Stage: Establishment of PIU + Action Plan
Stage II: Professional Development Program
Operational Phase
Financial Sustainability: The agency will be created within the MUDL and initial staffing set-up will be funded in MUDL budget. To achieve financial Fig 2.7: Key Stage for Establishing a sustainability, MUDH has to levy reasonable and appropriate application Licensing Authority in Afghanistan fee structure. Credentialization: As MUDL continues to move forward with assuming a position of oversight on infrastructure developments – whether design or construction and whether undertaken by public or private enterprises – the need to ensure that such developments meet basic norms and standards of professional practice makes sound economic sense. This in turn would and should provide market for proper professional credentialization/certification. Enforcement: Just the same as MUDL moves forward to maintain a position of oversight on infrastructure developments, it cannot fail to institute provisions to assure conformance. Effectively, it has to legislate measures to prevent or mitigate lack of conformance.
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Part II: Recommendations
II.3. ORGANIZATIONAL II.3.1. Restructure MUDL Internal Organization Preface: There is a widespread view that the Ministry of Urban Planning and Housing has not been effective. Often the mission of the Ministry has been driven by those who filled the ministerial position rather than a clear mission with verifiable goals and objectives. This may have been due partially to a shortage of qualified personnel to run the bureaucracy of the Ministry or flaws in the administrative structure of the Ministry, hindering its effectiveness and productivity. Both issues are important and interrelated, yet need to be dealt with separately. Another issue is the change in time, the natures of challenges developing countries face and the ability of governments to deal with those challenges. This section of the report covers the multidimensional issue and makes its own assessment and recommendations. “Afghan Government faces with
crisis of overlapping many layers of government structures. Number of current ministries function ineffective with the same agenda and terms of references.” “The
number of Ministries within the Afghan government have more than doubled in recent years. This expansion has happened despite the fact that the government revenues has not increased accordingly. New ministries have sometimes been opened not based on needs, but more for political reasons bringing duplication, inefficiency and waste in the system.”
In recent years, there have been several changes in regards to organizational structure and human capacity at the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MUDH) in Afghanistan. A new Urban Planning and Housing Law (UPHL) was ratified in September 2017 where the MUDH’s terms of references are clearly defined for both urban development and housing. However, MUDH has not fully abided by its ToR as expected in an urban policy maker body. In 2014, the Ministry of Urban Development Affairs (MUDA) was renamed back to Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MUDH). Since its creation in 2002, the ministry has always been more involved in construction, particularly in design and construction of government projects, than development of urban policies and master planning. On the other hand, many independent authorities and programs involving urban development have complicated the legal and regulatory framework of urban planning in the country, in general, and MUDH in particular. Independent authorities and programs such ARAZI (Land Management Authority), Capital Region Independent Authority (CRIDA), Dar-ul Aman Administrative Complex and Provinces Program, Public and Government Buildings Program (PGBP) and Strategic Development Project (SDP) have created challenging issues when it comes to coordination of projects, Terms of References and top-down management. Independent authorities and some national programs directly report to the President or to the newly established High Commission for Urban Development (HCUD). Some development projects report only to the Minister of Urban Development and Housing without coordination with relevant directorates. The coordination takes place vertically, while coordination among departments and agencies is very weak or in most cases does not exist. This issue is a hot topic between the center and provinces. A comprehensive review of MUDH’s human capacity, resources, and level of technology has been conducted to identify the gaps and deficiencies in urban planning framework and to determine further direction of MUDH’s activities in Task 1. When the task 1 (MUDH Internal Organization) and Task 2 (Legal and Regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework) were completed, the Land Authority-
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: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.3. ORGANIZATIONAL ARAZI was merged with MUDH and renamed the Ministry of Urban Development and Land (MUDL) in late 2018. The MUDH’s organizational structure includes deputyships, directorates, departments, and sections. Four nationwide programs and a number of development projects have been structured around the MUDH system. In addition, sister systems, such as ARAZI, the land authority, IDLG-DMM, CRIDA, HCUD and Kabul Municipality are other key actors in urban planning sector. Key Findings: (1) Current MUDH Organizational Chart is overloaded and does not reflect MUDH ToRs and Urban Planning and Housing Law (UPHL). (2) There is significant overlapping and duplication of tashkeel- internal organization and positions. (3) Some of the positions and activities are miss-placed into non-relevant directorates. (4) Directorates and departments’ current activities do not match with their ToRs (5) The ToRs are huge compared to the current availability of appropriate skills and human capacity & management system. (6) MUDH has been involved up to 70% in design and implementation of construction projects rather than implementation of urban policies nationwide. (7) In most cases, extra positions are not based on needs but to reward individual persons. (8) Key professions, skills and activities are missing in relevant directorates. (9) Some of the programs and projects are not growing proportionately in terms of human capacity compared to the MUDH’s relevant deputyships and directorates’ organizational structures. (10) Some development projects’ scopes of work overlap or are identical with each other as well as with MUDH’s relevant directorates and department activities. Objectives: Simplify the existing MUDL internal organization into an efficient, integrated, urban planning policy-making government body with a strong urban planning deputyship. Recommendations Restructure current MUDH’s organizational top tiers and its urban affairs deputyship to match the terms of references and goals set by urban planning and housing law (UPHL) and national urban policies. To integrate the relevant activities, recommend three Deputies in consolidated form: Deputy for Land Affairs, 2) Deputy for Urban Planning and Housing , and 3) Deputy for Finance and Administration. Under Urban Planning and Housing deputyship all activities relevant to urban planning policy, design and implementation are consolidated.
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Part II: Recommendations
II.3. ORGANIZATIONAL Ministry of Urban Development and Land (MUDL) Land Affairs Council
Policy institute for Research and Study of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
Deputy Minister for Land Affairs
Deputy for Urban Planning & Housing
Bureau 1
Bureau 1
Bureau 1
Bureau 2
Bureau 2
Bureau 2
Bureau 3
Bureau 3
Bureau 3
Urban Planning Council
Deputy Minister for Finance and Admin
Fig 3.1: Proposed Restructuring of Current MUDL Internal Organization
It is proposed two councils in land affairs and urban planning. Land Affairs and Urban Planning councils should be high decision-making bodies such as approval of regional and development plans. The coucils will be a bridge between MUDL and High Council for Urban Development (HCUD). The following administrative structure is proposed: Tier 1: Office of the Minister of MUDL Tier 2: Office of the deputy ministers: Each one of these deputy ministers will supervise autonomous bureaus at the level of General Directorate or Riasat-e Omoumee. Tier 3: Office of Division or Bureau Chief: Each bureau consists of several directorates. Tier 4: Office of the Directorate: Each directorate consists of several departments with specialized terms of references and activities. Tier 5: Office of the General Manager. Each department will oversee number of units or Ameriat. Tier 6: Office of the Unit or Ameriat. Ameriat is the smallest office section within the internal organization of the ministry.
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: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.3. ORGANIZATIONAL Ministry of Urban Development and Land (MUDL) ﻣﻘﺎﻡ ﻭﺯﺍﺭﺕ
Tier 1:
Office of the Minister
Tier 2:
Office of the Deputy Ministers
ﺩﻓﺗﺭ ﻣﻌﻳﻥ ﻭﺯﺍﺭﺕ
ﻣﻘﺎﻡ ﻣﻌﻳﻧﻳﺕ
Tier 3:
Office of the Chief Bureaus
ﺩﻓﺗﺭ ﺭﻳﺱ ﻋﻣﻭﻣﯽ
ﻣﻘﺎﻡ ﺭﻳﺎﺳﺕ ﻋﻣﻭﻣﯽ
Tier 4:
Office of the Director
ﺩﻓﺗﺭ ﺭﻳﺱ
ﻣﻘﺎﻡ ﺭﻳﺎﺳﺕ
Tier 5:
General Manager (Department)
ﺩﻓﺗﺭ ﻣﻌﺎﻭﻥ ﺭﻳﺱ
ﻣﻘﺎﻡ ﻣﻌﺎﻭﻧﻳﺕ
Tier 6:
Manager (Unit)
ﺩﻓﺗﺭ ﺁﻣﺭ
ﻣﻘﺎﻡ ﺁﻣﺭﻳﺕ
ﺩﻓﺗﺭ ﻭﺯﻳﺭ
Fig 3.2: Administrative Structure of the Proposed Ministry According to Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC)
II.3.2. Restructure of MUDL’s Current Urban Affairs Deputy into Urban Planning and Housing Deputy Objectives: 1. Create a unified, strong, nationwide urban planning and built environment government body to be able to develop urban policies, oversee nationwide urban planning activities, ensure sustainable growth of Afghan cities and implement the rule of law. 2. Include multi-discipline, modern urban planning fields under one consolidated, multi-dimensional organization: sustainable urban design, built environment, land-use and zoning codes, urban infrastructure and utility, public transportation, construction and housing, planning and policy implementation. 3. Improve the mechanism of decision making at the top-down hierarchy. 4. Regulate urban planning activities, and ensure the accountability and transparency. Recommendations a. Rename the current Deputy for Urban Affairs to Deputy for Urban Planning and Housing. b. Proposed Deputy for Urban Planning and Housing administrative structure: Tier 1: Office of the Minister Tier 2: Office of the Deputy for Urban Planning and Housing: The deputy minister leads number of relevant bureaus at the level of ‘General Directorate’
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Part II: Recommendations
II.3. ORGANIZATIONAL fitting to Afghan Civil Services tashkeel. Tier 3: Bureaus or General Directorates: There are six bureaus or general directorates to cover all urban land development activities at national and city levels: 1) Bureau of Planning and Zoning, 2) Bureau of Architecture and Urban Design, 3) Bureau of Housing and Construction, 4) Bureau of Regional Planning and Studies, 5) Bureau of Projects Coordination and 6) Bureau of Institutional Strengthening. Tier 4: Office of the Directorate: Each bureau consists of several relevant specialized directorates. Tier 5: Departments or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Ameriatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;: four to six departments are recommended under each directorate. Note: The detailed structure and terms of references of bureaus, directorates and departments need to be refined in a separate taskforce of multidiscipline experts from different branches of MUDL.
46
Tier 4: Directorate
Tier 3: Bureau
Tier 2: Deputy
Tier 1: Minister
Regeneration /Upgrading
Codes Enforcement/ Supervising
Land Survey
Engineering and Urban Infrastructure
Sustainable Design Lab
Site Development
Zoning + Ordinances
GIS + UMIS Mapping
Strategic and Master Plans
Socio‐ economic Data+ survey
Housing Admin / Real Estate
Housing Research Center
Affordable Housing
Housing Policy/S‐D M/E of Construction Projects
Bureau of Regional Planning
Urban Policy + Law Implement Technology/ Resource Center
Donors Projects Affairs
Capacity Building Programs
Human Resources / Marketing
Bureau of Institutional Strengthening
Urban Planning Council
Municipal Affairs
Government Affairs
Planning and Budgeting
Bureau of Projects Coordination
Deputy Minister for Finance and Admin
Regional Studies and Plans UP + Construction Zoning
Bureau of Housing and Construction
Deputy for Urban Planning & Housing
Policy Research Institute for Land, Infrastructure, Transport
Fig 3.3. Conceptual Restructuring of MUDL’s Deputy Minister Office for Urban Planning and Housing
Gozar
Sub‐district/ Karta
District/Mina
Zone/ Mantaq‐e Rehishi
Bureau of Architecture, Planning and Engineering
Building Permit
Bureau of Planning and Zoning
Deputy Minister for Land Affairs
Land Affairs Council
Ministry of Urban Development and Land (MUDL)
: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.3. ORGANIZATIONAL
47
Part II: Recommendations
II.4. FUNCTIONAL II.4.1. Develop an Effective Human Resources Department Preface Review of MUDH’ Human Resource (HR) internal organization and terms of references in Task 1 revealed serious shortcomings in human resources development (HRD) and in organization of professional skills to be addressed by the current leadership of the ministry. For detailed information, see the Task 1 deliverable report. Key Findings: (1) Lack of educated and experienced professionals (2) Lack of modern management approaches (3) Excessive administrative personnel (4) Lack of transparency in recruiting (5) Lack of HRD vision (6) Shortage of work stations and tools
MUDL CB and CD Steps
Stage I
Stage II
MUDL Employee Skills Evaluation Need Assessment
Stage III
SWOT Analysis
Stage IV
Programming
Stage V
Training Types and Levels
Stage VI
Preparation of SoW
Stage VII
Implementation
Fig 4.1: Proposed CB and CD Program Development Stages
Objectives: 1. Create a transparent and effective HR branch 2. Strengthen the human capacity of MUDH, employee productivity and work environment, and build a healthy organization. Recommendations These areas need improvement: 1. Human Resources Development (HRD): a. Establish a taskforce to hire qualified HR professionals and revise the current HR terms of references and organizational chart. b. Modernize HR activities both technology-wise and administrative approaches. Transparency in recruitment and employee promotion based on need assessment should be the priority task of MUDL. c. Build an HR server and employee database with strict right-of-access only for HR employees. A backup system is necessary. The system needs physical server equipment, back up devices and specialized HR software. The MUDL directorate of ICT can conduct a detailed need assessment for required HR hardware and software. d. Conduct in-house seminars and workshops on HR activities and the role of HR in strengthening the ministry’s internal organization. e. Enforce strict requirement for employee annual work performance evaluation by each individual directorate and department; apply for annual promotion and salary grades. g. Search for ways to increase the salary of employees and include different types of employee benefits, including bonuses. h. Prepare a ‘Golden Shake’ retirement package for employees before retirement years (at least 2 to 3 years before retirement) in order to clear the way for promotion of younger, qualified employees.
48
: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.4. FUNCTIONAL 2. Capacity Building and Training Programs: a. Develop Capacity Building short-term and long-term programs coordinated with other government agencies. b. Develop a Capacity Development (CD) program. Organize in-house capacity development short-term programs, and mentor and coach new employees using professional and experienced employees. Such in-house training will be less costly and more easily implemented. c. Organize in-house lectures and seminars by inviting professionals from higher educational institutions, private companies and experts from international donor projects stationed in Afghanistan. Such seminars can take place on a monthly basis or at least every two weeks. d. Look at ways to fund training and professional courses for all employees. 3. Public awareness and community involvement: a. Conduct research for availability and recruitment of young professionals graduating from local, higher educational institutions. b. Establish long-term professional relationships with local universities and international professional centers for the purpose of organizing short-term in-house abroad training and professional development courses.
II.4.2. Development of Training Programs for Capacity Improvement Capacity Building and Capacity Development Programs Findings: These findings come from MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s internal organization, human capacity, facility and level of ICT review in Task 1: (1) Lack of short-term and long-term Capacity Building (CB) and Capacity Development (CD) vision and programs. (2) Slow process of training new engineers and technicians. (3) Shortage and transparent distribution of scholarships and specialized training abroad for eligible technical personnel of MUDH. (4) Shortage of qualified technical staff including technology-knowledgeable personnel. (5) Lack of resources and budget for recruitment of qualified professionals. (6) Shortage of latest technology hardware and software in different areas of administrative and technical fields. This impacts on quality of projects, productivity of employees and project completion deadlines. Recommendations Prepare a long-term and short-term capacity development program based on existing MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capacity. This is a complex and complicated task. Usually, CD is a continuation of institutional reform in an organization. Capacity development at current MUDL should take place, at least for now, in three levels: individual, organizational and societal levels. At the individual level, capacity development should take place through demand-driven processes
49
Part II: Recommendations
II.4. FUNCTIONAL of learning and knowledge acquisition and sharing, experiencing, participation in communities of practice, mentoring and coaching. The second layer of capacity is the organizational or institutional level. The sharing of skills, knowledge, experience and values among individuals belonging to the different MUDL directorates and MUDL organization as a whole. In the case of MUDL, developing organizationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; or institutionsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; capacity means fostering change within its complex system of policies, systems, procedures, regulations and organizational culture. Therefore, the efforts toward capacity development within MUDL in the near future should be focused on both organizational and individual staff levels. As a result of need assessments, strengthening of an individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capacity can be accomplished through a comprehensive capacity building program. MUDL should direct its efforts in capacity development in three major areas: 1. Human resource development (management skills, technical skills and attitude and motivation). 2. Organizational development (strategy and policy, learning capacity, structure, systems, staff, management style, networking, culture, financial management and technical skills). 3. Institutional development (strategic harmonization, operational harmonization, learning capacity, external influence). Development of such long-term programs need effort, resolve and investment by the MUDL leadership. MUDL should assign a taskforce to assist the leadership of different directorates to determine capacity building and development levels and types. Upgrading of a sustainable ICT system must be considered as part of overall capacity building of MUDL in short-term program. These areas and skills need to be trained: a. Human Resources b. Administration and management c. Procurement d. Finance and Accounting e. Technical and Professional Areas (urban planning, architecture, civil engineering and information technology f. Information Technology upgrading and capacity building. (For some detailed type of technology needed see Annex 3)
50
: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.4. FUNCTIONAL Proposed Capacity Building (CB) and Capacity Development (CD) Hierarchy
Stage I: Need/Capacity Assessment
Evaluation and Monitoring of CD + CB programs
Stage II: Institutional Reform
Improved Outcomes
Organizational Chart
Hiring Policy and ToR
Salary Requirement/ Benefits
Work Environment
Stage III: CD and CB Long‐term Program
CD
CB
Capacity Provider: Proposal+ Budget
Determination of Recipients/ Type of CB
Fig 4.2: Process for Preparing Capacity Building and Capacity Development Programas
Taskforce A taskforce should accomplish these tasks: a. Conduct a SWOT analysis to identify the gaps in resources, capacity and management as changes take place within current MUDL internal organization. b. Conduct a detailed assessment of new MUDL employees’ professional background, skill levels and knowledge, and check background documentations (Task 1 completed in August 2018 and new challenges have raised since then). c. Based on the above tasks a. and b., develop a comprehensive Capacity Building (CB) and Capacity Development (CD) Program. d. Prepare and plan in-house training, short-term training workshops and action plans including investment plan. e. Investigate and determine the source of funding and sponsors.
51
Part II: Recommendations
II.4. FUNCTIONAL II.4.3. Development of a Technology and Resource Center Key Findings: These deficiencies were identified in Task 1: (1) Acute shortage of facility and standard workstations (2) Lack of vision and business plan for ICT (3) Lack of GIS and Mapping Center (4) Lack of a UMIS (5) Lack of standard database and digital archive and resource center (6) Project documentations are kept in individual laptops and desktop with high chance of corruption and falsification of original drawings (7) Lack of a technology platform for storage government documentations (8) Lack of a high-tech support team and capacity (9) Shortage of budget and poor planning and investment in ICT
Fig 4.3 : Current Condition of MUDL Library, August 2018.
Fig 4.4: Current Condition of MUDL Arhive, August 2018.
Objectives: 1. Strengthen the capacity of MUDL employees, centralized mapping and project design documentations. 2. Reduce the level of corruption and miss-use of official project documentations and falsification of original plans (urban development plans) and drawings. Rational: A comprehensive assessment and analysis of ICT level and availability of resources at MUDH organization was conducted in Task 1 which shows high risk of disappearing and falsification of government propriety technical documents due to lack of a modern archiving framework and resource center (see page 80, Subtask 1). MUDL currently is the main authority in safeguarding of vital UP documentations including citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; master plans. Less attention and investment have been made in having a secure and modern centralized technology oriented archive in the organization. In order to reduce the risk of wrong doing and improve safeguarding of government proprieties the establishment of a Resource Center within MUDL budgetary resources and tashkeel is recommended. Some elements of such structure can be funded by MUDL development projects and some by international donors. Recommendations MUDH Technology and Resource Center (Library and ARCHIVE electronics) Restructure Resource Center as ministryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s service center under Urban Planning and Housing deputyship. The proposed MUDL Technology and Resource Center is expected to include MUDL Digital Archive and MUDL Library, MUDL ICT Center and Archive/Resource Center. A long-term strategic plan for use of GIS is necessary to develop the vision for MUDL to modernize urban planning hardware and software. It is strongly recommended that the new leadership address the structure and function of the MUDL Technology and Resource Center during the restructuring of MUDL internal organization. The proposed organizational structure of MUDL Technology and Resource Center: Tier 1: Office of the Technology and Resource Center General Directorate
52
: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.4. FUNCTIONAL Tier 2: Office of the Directorate A minimum 4 directorates are proposed: 1) Central Library, 2) GIS Center, 3) Digital Archive, and 4) Government Archive/Resource Center Tier 3: Office of the Units or Ameriat Requirement Establishment of the proposed Technology and Resource Center requires a short-term and long-term investment in: 1) Technology, 2) Capacity, and 3) Facility
MUDL Technology & Resource Center
Tier 1: General Directorate
Resource Center Secure Server
Tier 2: Directorate
MUDL Central Library
MUDL ICT Center
MUDL Digital Archive
MUDL Government Archive
Tier 3: Ameriat
Reference Center
UMIS and GIS Mapping
Digitizing Center
Receiving Center
Library Stock
Database
Tech Center/ Digital Center
Printing Center
Training Team
Archive
Hardware/ Software Help Desk Fig 4.5: Proposed Internal Organization of MUDL Technology and Resource Center
Taskforce: It is recommended to assign a taskforce to manage the establishment of MUDL Technology and Resource Center. The scope of such taskforce should be, but not be limited to: 1. Preparation of a program for the project 2. Selection of a consultant to help a. Prepare a technical and financial proposal for funding the establishment of a Resource Center b. Prepare a long-term strategy and vision for ICT c. Prepare an investment and action plan d. Prepare the terms of reference of the Resource Center e. Prepare operational manuals and plans
53
Part II: Recommendations
II.4. FUNCTIONAL II.4.4. Development of an Information Technology Assessment and Upgrade Program Preface Currently, the ICT department is under the Finance and Administration Deputyship. Until recent years, IT activities have been limited to the setup of email accounts for employees, installation of hardware and software, and design of MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s web site. From an organizational standpoint, ICT has been just a department under the Administration directorate. In the past, less attention has been paid to the role of ICT in communication between center and MUDH provincial offices, urban planning, productivity of employees and quality of projects by leadership of the MUDH. Some see the technology as the enemy of corruption and intentionally did not want computerization of the ministry because of their own interests. The shortage of capacity and resources has always been a reason for not paying attention to the computerization of MUDH in general. Although there has been some successe addressing the issue of technology, MUDH still needs more effort and investment to become a modern and standard technology-oriented organization. Some basic components of a modern organization such as a website and online activities are far from satisfactory. Solving urban planning tasks cannot be done without new technology and tools. To achieve this, investment is needed in the field of ICT in terms of capacity and resources. UDSP has significantly supported MUDH in the last 2 years, purchasing some technology equipment such as surveying tools, TotalStation, large format plotters and scanners, and other computer equipment. A high-resolution aerial photo of Afghanistan was purchased for use by different technical directorates of the ministry. This contribution is expected to be continued. Key Findings: (1) Lack of a vision and strategic plan for computerization of MUDH (2) Very low profile using GIS technology in analysis and preparation of urban development projects (3) Poor investment in ICT and less attention of MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leadership to the significant role of ICT in productivity of technical personnel and quality of projects (4) Lack of online customer services and poor MUDH web site. (5) Lack of reliable and secure communication mechanism between HQ and other branches of MUDH (6) A significant number of employees have no access to the government internet server and email accounts; thus, they are using private foreign commercial accounts such as Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo (7) Distribution of official government documents through private, non-government electronic communication system emails (8) Shortage of resources including appropriate IT software, hardware and equipment (9) Lack of a high-tech help desk in providing IT services to different branches
54
: Recommendations and Action Plan
II.4. FUNCTIONAL Recommendations 1. Organizational Chart: a. The ICT organizational chart should be restructured to satisfy the needs of MUDL HQ in the Center and affiliated branches in the provinces. Recommend promoting the ICT to the level of General Directorate or Riasat-e Omumee. b. A small IT section is recommended in each MUDL Provincial Directorates34 PCC offices 2. Technology Innovation: a. Increase the budget of the ICT Directorate b. Invest in computerization of employee workstations by purchasing legal hardware and software and installing new technology innovations. c. Build a centralized database and server (employee portal) for sharing, retrieving and saving data (official documents, design documentations and reports). Such server will need a fire wall for level of access by directorates and employees. d. Install a local server system connecting local regional MUDL offices with MUDL Center in Kabul. Such a server system should be built in all 34 PCC of MUDL Provincial Directorates e. Build internet connectivity using latest communication systems available in Afghanistan for all 34 PCC offices 3. Web Site: There is a need for design of a modern government-oriented web site. Each directorate should have its own site. Most of customer services can be provided through the web site. 4. Software Developer: The software developers such as MIS specialists or Visual Basic programmers must be recruited to develop helpful online interfaces and databases for HR, Finance, and administration and technical divisions’ routine activities such as employee records, timesheets, reporting systems, billing and other online customer services. A comprehensive system such as an online portal must be developed for all provincial offices to be able to connect to the system and update reports and data. 5. Database: MUDH and its provincial offices, in particular, don’t have databases and full internet access equipment. Improvement of provincial offices IT capability must be a priority within the MUDL ICT reform agenda. 6. Capacity Building on ICT: Employees at the Center and provincial staffs need capacity building sessions presented by the ICT training group, giving them instruction on the same software and hardware that is used at MUDH’s HQ.
55
Part II: Recommendations
II.4. FUNCTIONAL 7. Video Conferencing Equipment: There is a need for a reliable communication system such as a video conferencing system for services at the HQ and provinces. It is important to organize distance-learning sessions via video conference systems for MUDL provincial staffs. 8. GIS Department: GIS is a key technology tool for mapping and analysis and land development. Creation of a strong GIS department under the general directorate of ICT is a serious need for MUDL technical directoratesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; design activities. 9. ICT Equipment Inventory Database: Currently, the inventory of ICT equipment, including computers, printers, and digital cameras, is partially listed in the Administration division and IT department. There is a need to develop an inventory database. The inventory itself should be conducted by an ICT department database team. See: Recommended list of technology equipment and software see the Annex 3.
56
Part III: Priority Tasks and Action Plan بخش سوم :پروژه های دارای الویت و پالن تطبیقی
Part III: Proposed Priority Tasks and Action Plan (March 2019-December 2019)
III.1. MUDL Priority Projects A number of priority tasks were identified as a result of MUDH’s urban planning functional review in Task 1 and legal and regulatory review of urban planning framework in Task 2. The projects are combined tasks which can be prioritized in high, medium and low. A. High Priority for April 2019 – December 2019
1. National Vision and Road Map
a. Development of a National Vision on Land Development b. Development of a Road Map 2. Deeper Review of Key Laws a. Urban Planning and Housing Law (UPHL) b. Municipal Law (ML) c. Land Management Law (LML) 3. MUDL Urban Planning and Housing Deputy Restructuring a. MUDL’s Urban Planning and Housing Deputyship Internal Organization Restructuring b. Revision of ToRs
4. Capacity Building Programs
a. Capacity Building Program and Human Resources Development (HRD) (long-term and short-term Capacity Building and Development programs) b. Technical Assistance in Training of Municipal Staff of 5 PCC
5. Development of Urban Planning Guidelines & Technical Documents
a. Guidelines for preparation of master plans and detailed plans b. Global glossary (urban planning dictionary) and definition of terminologies c. Urban development plans user manuals for 5 PCC municipalities
6. School of Urban Planning
a. Research and need assessment for urban planning field-knowledge nationwide b. Development of Urban Planning Curriculums c. Preparation of Reference Manual for Local Administration Management d. Development of a Full Academic Program for School of Built Environment (Urban Planning) e. Research for seeking international sister university f. Training of professional educators abroad
7. MUDL’s Technology and Resource Center
a. Development of long-term technology vision and GIS Strategy in Urban Planning b. Restructuring of Resource Center internal organization and terms of references
58
Recommendations and Action Plan
III.1. MUDL Priority Projects c. Detailed need assessment for technologies hardware, software and system installation B. Medium Priority Projects 8. Legal Laws Revision a. Land Expropriation Law Revision 9. Land Use and Zoning Ordinances a. Land Use and Zoning Ordinances b. Building Codes c. Building Permit 10. Afghanistan Institute of Architects and Engineers-Licensing Authority a. Preparation of legal documents: bylaw, ToRs, internal organization structure b. Preparation of Professional Development curriculums for young architects and engineers c. Preparation of an action plan for physical establishment of the Licensing Authority 11. Kabul Municipality and 5 PCC Municipalities UP Functional Review a. Kabul Municipality Functional Review b. 5 PCC municipalities Functional Review 12. Informal Settlement Upgrading a. Feasibility study of prototype residential neighborhoods b. Conceptual Design of Affordable and Energy Efficient Housing Prototypes c. Local building codes C. Low Priority 13. Policy Institute for Study and Research of Land, Urban Planning, Infrastructure and Transportation a. Preparation of legal documents: bylaw, ToRs, Internal Organization Structure 14. Municipal Education Institute a. Preparation of legal document: bylaw, ToRs, Internal Organization Structure Remarks: Both Policy Institute and Municipal Education Institute are expected to be part of government structure (MUDL and local governance) development project budgetary system. Due to current constraints of budget such organizational structure should be considered as low priority projects concurrent with internal organizational reform.
59
Part III: Proposed Priority Tasks and Action Plan (March 2019-December 2019)
III.1. MUDL Priority Projects Phase I: High Priority Projects
Phase II: Medium Priority Projects
1. National Vision & Road Map 2. Deeper Review of 3 Key Laws: a. Urban Planning & Housing Law b. Municipal Law c. LML
1. Legal Laws Revision: a. Expropriation Law
2. Institutional Reform
3. Development of UP Guidelines and Tech Documents 4. Land Use and Zoning Codes + Ordinances
2. Afghanistan Institute of Architects and EngineersLicensing Authority
3. Organizational
5. MUDL Urban Planning & Housing Deputy Restructuring: a. Organizational Chart b. Revision of ToRs
4. Functional
6. Capacity Building Programs and Revision of ToRs 7. MUDL Technology & Resource Center
1. Legal
Phase III. Low Priority Projects
1. Policy Institute for Research and Study of Land, UP, Infrastructure and Transportation 2. Municipal Education Institute
3. PCC Municipalities Urban Planning Functional Review
3. Informal Settlement Upgrading
Feasibility Study 4. Conceptual Design of Affordable Housing
Fig III.1: Summary of Priority Projects
60
Recommendations and Action Plan
III.2. Action Plan for Implementation of Priority Tasks Recommendations It is recommended that current MUDL leadership assign a taskforce to review the final set of recommendations proposed as deliverables of MUDH urban planning functional review project. The Urban Development Support Project (UDSP) may play a significant role helping MUDL in implementation of priority tasks and projects. As the new leadership of MUDL is in the process of restructuring of new organization and reshuffling of directorates and departments management, the time frame to address the projects implementation is very crucial. It is encouraged that the leadership of MUDL takes action as soon as possible in implementation of priority tasks and recommendations outlined in this report. The following activities are expected to be accomplished by the assigned taskforce team members: 1. Review of recommendations and proposed Action Plan 2. Approval of Action Plan 3. Next step would be: a. Prioritizing the implementation of recommendations into Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3. b. Preparation of high priority projects terms of references and scope of work c. Prepare tender documents for projects to be implemented by third party consultant 4. Oversee the implementation process of Phase 1 priority projects
Task 1 and Task 2 Execution Approval of Action Plan
MUDH Functional Review Project Recommendations
MUDL
Taskforce Mobilization Output
High priority Tasks Planning Phase I: Preparation of Projects ToRs
Taskforce MUDL Phase 1 Projects Tender
Implementation International Consultant
Fig III.2: Taskforce for Implementation of Recommendations (Diagram)
61
Part III: Proposed Priority Tasks and Action Plan (March 2019-December 2019)
III.2. Action Plan for Implementation of Priority Tasks Tasks/ Month
Logistics
ToR
April 1-15
April 15-30
Expected Start Date 2019 May
June
July
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Translation of Task 3 into local languages Taskforce Selection Review of Recommendations + Action Plan Approval of Action Pan by MUDL Recruitment of Consultant Prioritization of Projects and Tasks
Phase I Priority
National Vision + Road Map a. Development of a National Vision on Land Development b. Development of a Road Map MUDL Urban Planning and Housing Deputy Restructuring and HRD a. MUDLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s UPH Deputyship Internal Organization Restructuring b. Revision of ToRs c. Capacity Building Program for MUDL HRD d. Technical Assistance in Training of Municipal Staff of 5 PCC Development of Urban Planning Guidelines and Technical Documents: a. Guidelines for preparation of master plans and detailed plans b. Global glossary (up dictionary) and terminologies c. Urban development plans user manuals for 5 PCC municipalities School of Urban Planning a. Research and need assessment b. Development of UP Curriculums for Built Environment c. Reference Manual for Local Administration Management d. Development of a Full Academic Program e. Research for international sister university f. Training of professional educators abroad MUDLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Technology and Resource Center Re-establishment a. Development of long-term technology vision and GIS Strategy b. Restructuring of Tech and Resource Center internal structure + ToRs c. Creation of Project Implementation Unit (PIU)-Recruitment and facility d. Need Assessment for Tech Hardware, Software + system installation
Medium Priority
Legal and Regulatory Documents Revision a. Land Expropriation Law Revision b. Urban Planning and Housing Law (UPHL) Revision c. Building Codes and Permitting for 5 PCC under UDSP Kabul Municipality and 5 PCC Municipalities UP Functional Review a. Kabul Municipality Functional Review b. 5 PCC municipalities Functional Review Afghanistan Institute of Architects and Engineers-Licensing Authority a. Preparation of legal documents: bylaw, ToRs b. Preparation of Professional Development Curriculums c. Preparation of an action plan Informal Settlement Upgrading a. Feasibility study of prototype residential neighborhoods b. Conceptual Design of Affordable Housing c. Local building codes
C. Low Priority
Policy Institute for Research and Study of Land, UP, Infrastructure a. Preparation of legal documents: bylaw, ToRs, internal structure Municipal Education Institute a. Preparation of legal document: bylaw, ToRs, Internal Structure School of Built Environment Building A/E Design a. Preparation of RFP b. Tender c. A/E design
62
Part IV: Annexes ضامیم:بخش چهارم
64
Weak coordination with Inter- Departmental + Projects
Coordination
Resources
1. Poor work environment 2. Low salaries Shortage of Technology Equipment
1. Shortage: in Finance, Accounting, Banking and Database Professionals
Human Capacity/ Professional/UP
Facility
Overlapping of Positions and tashkeel
1. Over staffed due to lack of systems + administrative reform 2. Bureaucratic paperwork
1. Finance/Admin
Internal Organization
ToR
Key Matrix
Budget + Low Salary
Poor facilities + Workstations + Equipment
1. Poor: activities between MUDH and local municipalities in implementation of projects 2. Poor inter-departments and development project 3. Coordination are vertically rather than to be laterally.
1. Shortage: Professional Urban Planner + Urban Infrastructure + Environment + Urban Designers
1. Org Chart does not reflect the mandated ToR defined by the town planning law. 2. Missing: GIS Mapping + Urban Codes and Zoning + Urban Infrastructure Departments 3. Missing: Research and Study of UP + Infrastructure + Transport
1. ToRs have not been officially approved. 2. Activities do not match with ToRs
1. Inadequate Facility and Equipment 1. Lack of Technical Guidelines
1. Weak Coordination with Inter-Department 2. Weak Coordination with PGCBP
1.Shortage of Professional Designers 2. Shortage of civil engineers
1. The ToRs and Org charts of Directorates are confusing. 2. The ToRs of Some Directorates Duplicate or Not Relevant
1. Activities do not match with ToRs 2. Duplicate of ToR with PGCP
MUDH Deputyship and Directorates 2. Urban Affairs 3. Construction Affairs
Shortage of Facilities
Poor coordination with other housing stakeholders and urban development agencies
1. Does not Match with Diverse Housing ToRs 2. Shortage of professional and qualified staff in Housing Policies, banking (mortgages), and real estate.
1. Missing: Housing policy and plans department 2. Missing: Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate or department within the current organizational chart for housing projects
1. ToR is Confused 2 Overlap of Responsibilities with Other Directorates
4. Housing Affairs
Annex 1: Summary of MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity and Facility Assessment
Lack of budget
Low Level- No digital communication
1. Poor coordination with local Gov and Stakeholder 2. Poor coordination with MUDH Center 3. Poor quality of project implementation
1. Shortage of Qualified Technical Staff 2. Unbalanced gender personnel
with real ToRs
1. Org Charts do not match
ToRs
1. No Official Approved
MUDH Provincial Directorates
MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable
Phase I: Preparation
Annex 2: Urban Development Preparation Stages
Stage I: Preplanning/Programming/Site Investigation This stage should include different activities from assembling design team to set the objectives and aims. Generally, this stage should be the preparation steps of the process, where the brief for the plan is developed and the baseline analysis is conducted. It is recommended to consider the following steps: Step 1: Set the program for the planning. The first step in the comprehensive planning process must be a plan for planning. Key factors associated with this step include the allocation of time, human resources, money, and energy to the effort. Step 2: Structure and schedule the process Step 3: Gather and analyze data Step 4: Identify constraints, problems, and Concerns Step 5: Develop a "Vision" for the Plan Step Six: Develop plan goals and objectives Activities: Data Collection through research and site investigation should be performed. Interviews and brainstorming sessions with key local governance and municipalities officials, stakeholders and local communities should be conducted for the purpose of necessary data collection. Collaborative work with the local municipality planning and design departments and others who could potentially be dealing with project implementation issues must be established in order to set a proper communication channel as well as getting them engaged in the planning process. A context map using GIS technology as a result of full engineering investigation must be developed for further analysis. The Base lines for zoning and preliminary urban design will be determined with the help of available latest satellite imagery and topographic survey map.
Phase II: Design Process Stage II: Preliminary Designs/Alternative Designs Activities: In this stage, at least two or three preliminary alternative designs is recommended to develop for review and consideration by client. Tasks should include developing alternative plans, analyzing options, assessing alternatives, and making presentations. The concepts will provide two or three different approaches of zoning and land use development, and other issues of future development of the site. Local architecture, environment and climate conditions, and cost analysis are part of each preliminary design alternative. A choice must be made between the three or a hybrid option will be developed. The selected option is required to be approved by the client. Stage III: Plans/Design Development
Annex: Proposed Stages of Urban Development Plans
Internal Organization Review
1 65
Part X: Annexes Activities: In this stage the approved option of the plan from the preliminary group of designs/plans will be developed further. This stage shall include but not limited to 1) Zoning Plan, 2) Land Use Plan, 3) Circulation Plan, and landscaping Plan. Stage IV: Detailed Plans Activities: In this stage specific detailed plans is necessary to be developed for the critical areas of the plan. Consideration of living environment improvement and sustainability must be part of urban and landscaping design in this stage. Stage V: Documentation and Presentation Activities: In this stage all the work will be documented and presented in various forms that will become part of the legal package for the client to adopt for implementation. Before final adoption of the plan a public discussion should be organized to get final feedbacks and inputs from different stakeholders. Edit and summarize all the work produced during the course of the project and add the necessary text and produce publications to be used by various entities. Products: A brochure that includes the graphic plans, various policy guidelines and other relevant details that facilitates the implementation of the must be produced. There will be complementary large scale drawings as well as 3D drawings. The products produced in this stage will be critical for attracting donors for funding specific projects that would be part of the plan. Note: The work may not necessarily develop linearly from one stage to the next, but may be overlapping to keep the work on schedule.
Phase III: Plan adoption and Set implementation Schedule The local municipality design team should set an implementation schedule in coordination with the plan developer and other local stakeholders. Local community and stakeholders must be involved in the process of implementation.
Phase IV: Monitoring for results and impacts The client is required to set up a taskforce to monitor the project implementation for results and impacts through a workable mechanism of monitoring and evaluation. Note: The timeframe for each stage of project design shall be estimated at Stage 1 based on size and volume of the project by the design team.
Annex: Proposed Stages of Urban Development Plans
2 66
MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable
Annex 3: List of Technology Hardware and Software Technology 1. Technology Equipment a. Networking PowerEdge T640 Tower Server: Advanced High Speed 8TB External USB 3.0 Hard Drive Dell Storage MD1420, PowerEdge server b. Surveying Equipment: Survey Drone (basic with camera) or with advanced technology TruPoint™ 300 Total Station Kit, Laser Futtura 2" Reflectorless Total Station TS-100 Magnet™ Field Software, with Robatics GIS instrument and GPS
Manufacturing
Estimated Cost in USD
Dell Inc., USA WD Inc., USA
1,500 210
Dell Inc., USA
7,200
Yuneec Tonado H920+ (PLUS) PRO BUNDLE Laser Technology TruePoint Futura Tools & Technologies
2,500 1,650 2,650
Magnet Technology
1,545
CST/berger RL25HCK - Rotary Laser Level Complete Package CST/berger Digital Theodolite with Optical Plummet 680T Handheld GPS with 100K Topo Mapping Underground utility network detectors for utility maintenance and installation: RIDGID MR-10 Magnetic Utility Locator Metal Detector 53068 5. High resolution digital cameras c. Video Conferencing: Video screening device Projector Voice Recorder 2. Recommended Software a. Administrtion MS Office Professional edition, 2015 and higher version HR Use: Zenefits HR Information System standard and advanced software, Kronos Workforce Ready b. Finance and Accounting QuickBooks Pro Desktop 2019. c. GIS and Mapping ArcGIS 10, Esri, ArcView 9, ArcInfo 10, AutoCAD Map d. Architure/Engineering AutoCAD 2015 and higher, ArchiCAD, Catch-up e. Project management MS Project Professional 2015 and Higher, CoConstruct software
Internal Organization Review
640
CST/berger Garmin Montana
1,240 490
Ridgid Utility Line Locating Inc. Any
800 800-1000
Any Any Any
Microsoft, USA
650
Kronos Intuit, USA
300
ESRI Inc., USA AutoDesk Inc., USA Microsoft, USA CoConstruct, USA
4,500 450
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Part X: Annexes Annex 4: Key Findings in Terminologies Ambiguity and Confusion Key Findings Using Terminologies in legal documents I. Key Laws: LML, ML and UPHL Conflicting Concept and Consistency Dari Original References
English Translation
ﺷﻬﺮکShahrak ﺷﻬﺮک ﻫﺎ و ﻣﺠﺘﻤﻊ ﻫﺎیShahrak and Residential � ��رﻫﺎ Complexes �ﻼن ﺷﻬﺮیUrban Plan ( ﻣﻨﻄﻘﻪ )زونZone ﻣﻨﻄﻘﻪ �ﻨ�یZoning � �ﻼنStrategic Plan � � �ﺳ ����ا �ﻼن ﺟﺎﻣﻊMaster Plan (masterplan) دورﻧﻤﺎ � ��ﺣ ﻣﺎﺳ� �ﻼن ���ﺎ� ﻣ ��و�ﻦ و ﻃ�ح �ﻼن � ﮐﺸﻮر � � � �ﺳ ���ﺎ� ﻣ ا��ی � ��� رﺳ � �ﻬﺴﺎزی ﺳﺎﺣﺎت ﺷﻬﺮی � �� �ﻬﺴﺎزی ﺳﺎﺣﺎت ��ﻼ � ﺷﻬﺮی �ﻬﺴﺎزی� اﺣ�ﺎ ﺳﺎزی و ﻧﻮ ﺳﺎزی ﺳﺎﺣﺖ ﺷﻬﺮی
2. UPHL: Ambiguity in Plan Types' Terminologies Definitions and Translation Dari Original References
L & Z International Suggested Translation
� ﺷﻬﺮ ﺳﺎزیown Planning Ministry of Urban وزارت ﺷﻬﺮﺳﺎزی و ﻣﺴﮑﻦ Planning and Housing �ﺎﻧﻮن ﺷﻬﺮ ﺳﺎزی و ﻣﺴﮑﻦ
Urban Planning and Housing Law
� رﻫﺎ�� ﻣﺸﺎر � �ﮐ ا�ﺎر�ﻤﺎن ﻫﺎیNot Clear
Sustainable Development اﻧﮑﺸﺎ� ﺷﻬﺮیUrban Development اﻧﮑﺸﺎ� �ﺎ��ار
اﻧﮑﺸﺎ� ﻣﺘﻮازنBalanced Development
�ision Master Plan Boundary
� �ﻼن ا�ﻼImprovement Plan � � �ﻼن اﻧﮑﺸﺎDevelopment Plan
Not Clear
�ﻼن �ﻬﺴﺎزیUpgrading Plan
Not Clear
����� � �ﻼنmendment Plan
Not Clear
����� �ﻼنDetailed Plan
Upgrading of unplanned � ()ﻣﺎﺳ� �ﻼن �ﻼن ﺟﺎﻣﻊ ﺷﻬﺮیMaster Plan urban areas Country‐wide Master Urban Regeneration �ﻼن ﺟﺎﻣﻊ ﮐﺸﻮر Plan
اﻧﮑﺸﺎ� ﺷﻬﺮ ﻫﺎی �ﺎ��ارSustainable Development Gozar (smallest urban unit) ﻣﺠﻮز ﺳﺎﺧﺘﻤﺎنBuilding Permit ﮔﺬر
� زون �ﻨ�ی ﺷﺎرواNot Clear � �ﻼنMunicipal Strategic Plan � � �ﺳ �ا���� ﺷﺎروا � � ��� �ﻨLand Management �زﻣ Public Housing and ﻣﺴﮑﻦ ﻋﺎﻣﻪ وﺷﻬﺮک ﻫﺎ Shahrak
�ﻼن ﺳﺎزی ﺷﻬﺮیUrban planning � �ﻼنStrategic Plan � � �ﺳ ����ا �� �ﻼن ﻣﻨﻄﻘﻪRegional Plan �ﻼن ﻫﺎدیGuiding Plan �ﺴﻬ�ﻼت ﻋﺎﻣﻪ ﺷﻬﺮیPublic Urban �acilities � � �ﻨ��� ﻣﺠ�دLand Conversion�� �زﻣ �ﻬ�ﻪ ﻣﺴﮑﻦHousing Provision �ﻮﺳ�ﻪ ﺷﻬﺮی ﺟﻮاز ﺟﻮاز ��ﺎ��ﺖ ﺳ�ﻨ�رد ﻫﺎ ﺷﻬﺮ ﺷﻬﺮک
Urban Development Permit License Standard City Shahrak
��ﺎ��ﺖ ﻫﺎی اﻣﻮر ﺷﻬﺮﺳﺎزیUrban Planning �ctivities ﮐﻮد ﻫﺎCodes ﮐﻮد ﻫﺎی ﺷﻬﺮیUrban Codes � �ﻣﺴﮑﻮ ﻣﺠﺘﻤﻊHousing Complex ﻣ��� ز�ﺴﺖLiving �nvironment � �ز�ﺴ ��� ﻣNot Clear ﻣﺴﮑﻦHousing � ﻣﺴﮑﻦ �ﺎ�� اﺳﺘﻄﺎﻋﺖffordable Housing � � ﻣﺸ��ﺎتechnical Specification �� ﻣ��ﺎر ﻫﺎStandards ﻣ��ﺎر ﻫﺎی ﺷﻬﺮیUrban Standards ﻧﻮ ﺳﺎزیRenovation ﻧﻮرم ﻫﺎNorms �� و�ﺰisa
3. MUDH Legal and Technical Guideines Ambiguity in Wording (non‐national languages) Dari Original References
Official English References
L & Z International Suggested Translation
�ﺎ���ی
Physical
�ﺎر�ﺮی
Land‐use
��ﺎ � ﻣ�ﺎن وا��ﺎن
Spacing Not Clear
� ﻣﺎﺳ� �ﻼن ﻫﺎی ﺷﻬﺮی
Urban Master Plan
� ���ﺎ ﻣﺎﺳ� �ﻼن ﻫﺎی �
Spatial Master Plan
�ﻼن ﮐﺬاری ﺷﻬﺮیUrban Planning ﻃﺮا� ﺷﻬﺮیUrban Design ��ﺎی �ﺎ���یPhysical Space ﻣﻨ�ﺮ ﺳﺎزی
Not Clear
���� �ﻼن ﺳ�ﺴﺘ� �ﺮاraffic Structure Plan � � �ﻼن ﺳﺎﺧﺘﺎری اﺳﺘ�ﺎد� ازLand Use Structure �زﻣ Plan ﻧ�ﺎم �ﻘﺴ�ﻤﺎت واﺣ� ﺷﻬﺮی
Not Clear
� � � اﺳﺘ�ﺎدLand‐use �زﻣ ��ﻮت �ﻼن
Not Clear
�ﺎ��� دﯾﺰاﯾﻦ ﺷﻬﺮی
Not Clear
� �ﺸ� اﻧ�ازisionning � � ��ﻮاﻧ� اﺳﺘ�ﺎد � � ا�ﻼح �زﻣ ��ﻫﺎی ﻣ اﻃﻼﻋﺎتData �ﻼن و ﻃ�ح ��ﺸﻨﻬﺎدی �ﺎ در�ﺖ �ﻼن � � اﺳﺘ�ﺎد� ا�ﺘ�ا� از �زﻣ � �ﺮﻧﺎﻣﻪ ر�ﺰ ﺷﻬﺮی ﻃﺮاح ﺷﻬﺮ �ﺮﻧﺎﻣﻪ ر�ﺰ ﻣﻨﻄﻘﻪ �اﻧﺠﻨ� ﺳ�ﻮ � اﻧﺠﻨ� ﺷﻬﺮداری � ���ﻮی ��ﺸﻨﻬﺎدی
Not Clear Information Not Clear Not Clear Urban Planner Urban Designer Regional Planner Civil �ngineer Municipal �ngineer Proposed Model
� �ﺎر�ﺮی ار �اLand uses اﻧﻮا� �ﺎر�ﺮی ﻫﺎLand use types �� زﻣ� �� �ﺎ� اﺳﺖ �� زﻣ� �ﻪ ﻋﻨﻮان �ﺎ�ی ﻣ��ود و �ﺠ��� ﻧﺎ�ﺬﯾﺮ � � ﻣ�ﺎن �ﺎ� �ﺎر�ﺮی �زﻣ � �ﺎر �ﺮد ﻫﺎی ﺷﻬﺮیUrban �unctions �ﺎر�ﺮی ﻣﺴﮑﻦHousing Land‐use ��ﺎ� ﻣﺘﻤﺮﮐﺰ �ﻮز� ��ﻊ � ����ﺎ� �ﺮا�ﻨ �ﻮز� ��ﻊ � ﮐ���ﺖ ��ی �ﺎر�ﺮی ﻫﺎ ی ﮐﻪ در ���اﻣﻮن ﺳﺎ�ﺖ �ﺮاردارد �� �ﺎر�ﺮد ﻣ�ﺘMixed‐use � �ﻼن ﻫﺎیUrban design in detail ﻣ�ح دﯾﺰاﯾﻦ ﺷﻬﺮی ﺷﻬﺮﺳﺎزیUrbanism ﻋﻮاﻣ� ﻣ�ﺘ�� �ﺎ���ی �ﺎر�����ﻬﺎ و ��ﺎ��ﺖ ﻫﺎی ﻣﺠﺎز
Not Clear Not Clear Not Clear
Not Clear Not Clear Not Clear
Urban Planning Not Clear
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MUDH Internal Organization, Human Capacity, Facility and ICT Level Assessment Deliverable
واژه های استفاده شده در این طرزالعمل و معادل آن به انگلیسی به شرح ذیل است:ب مفهوم شهر
شهرسازی مهندسی طراحی شهری (پالن جامع (ماسترپالن پالن پالن گذاری پالن گذاری شهری
8
زمین کاربری زمین فضا فرایند فضایی زمینه یا محتوا
Cityافرادیکه برایشان خدمات ارایه میشود
Urbanismکالبد Architectureسیستم معلومات جغرافیایی Urban Designتحلیل Master planناحیه تجارتی مرکزی Planکود رنگها Planningمحله (مجاورت)د Urban Planningاطالعات
Clients
Physics GIS Analysis Central bussiniss Business Disrect )i (CBD Color Code Neighborhood DATA
Landنقشه ها
Maps
Land Useتوافقنامه
Memorandum of )agreement (MOA
Spaceتراکم Spatial Processسرحدات Contextشبکه حمل و نقل و عبور و مرور
Density Boundries Network of movement
افراد ذیدخل
Stakeholdersترافیک ،حمل ونقل
Traffic
استفاده مختلط
Mixed Useمحدوده و دامنه کار
Scope of Work
اطالعات پایه ایی و اساسی
69
معادل آن به انگلیسی
مفهوم
معادل آن به انگلیسی
Baseline informationتعین مشخصات
Characterization
Internal Organization Review
Land Authority-ARAZI has been melded with MUDH and become Ministry of Urban Development and Land (MUDL). The merger of two large organizations does not impact on the outcomes and recommendations of the current assessment. MUDH HR Capacity, Organizational Chart, Facility and Level of ICT Assessment: Data for this assessment was collected from different sources: MUDH Directorate of Human resources, Directorate of Finance, office of deputies, departments, programs and projects databases through series of brainstorming sessions with leadership, meetings and interviews with individual technical employees and administrative staff. Questionnaires and surveys have been conducted to identify the gaps and deficiencies in physical spaces, tools and technology. MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review: This Assessment is a detailed review of the urban planning, master planning cities documents in Afghanistan that are prepared by the Ministry of Urban development & Housing. This assessment focuses on MUDHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban planning functional review to identify gaps and deficiencies in ToRs and overlaps of responsibilities. In the second part, examples of urban planning projects, regional plans, citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; master plans, strategic plans and detailed plans were reviewed to look at deficiencies in design concepts, technical approaches in solving urban planning issues and quality of projects in general. In the third part covers international urban planning practices relevant to Afghanistan. The last part of the assessment summarizes the MUDH internal organization review, Level of ICT and Facility Assessment & MUDH Urban Planning Functional Review. Legal and regulatory Review of Urban Planning Framework: Studies show that both formal and informal mechanism for land dispute resolution have been weak. Informal mechanisms have deteriorated especially since regime change in 1978, which weakened community social structure. Geopolitical instability and security in the last three decades have caused significant problems on migration of population from rural to urban areas. Particularly, in large cities. Ongoing displacement, resettlement, population growth and urbanization have severely increased pressures on land, and this in turn has further destabilized traditional systems. Recommendations and Action Plan: Afghanistan lacks a National Vision and Road Map in land and urban development needed to develop the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS), The Afghanistan National Peace, Development Framework (ANPDF) goals, and a number of specific pillars identified in the Urban National Priority Program (U-NPP). Detailed findings and recommendations are organized into legal, institutional, organizational and functional areas of concern.
Cover photo:
View from Sher Darwaza Mountain
Source:
KUDF Citywide Framework