A STUDY ON NEIGHBORHOOD FUNCTIONS OF GOZARS IN KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

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1 カテゴリー Ⅰ 日本建築学会計画系論文集第 80 巻第 716 号, ,2015 年 10 月 J. Archit. Plann., AIJ, Vol. 80 No. 716, , Oct., 2015 DOI A STUDY ON NEIGHBORHOOD FUNCTIONS OF GOZARS IN KABUL, AFGHANISTAN アフガニスタン国 カブール市における ゴザール の近隣機能に関する研究 Sofia SAHAB * and Toshiyuki KANEDA ** サハブソフィア, 兼田敏之 Gozars are a centuries old spatial and social urban unit found in Kabul City. To date the neighborhood functions of contemporary Gozars have not yet been subject to any academic research. This paper identifies the neighborhood functions and the activities of the Gozars, and seeks to determine factors affecting the neighborhood functions and activeness of the Gozars. First, we explored the concepts underlying traditional and contemporary Gozars in the existing literature, and then prepared a questionnaire exploring the neighborhood functions which was presented to 82 Gozar representatives, and finally the results were analyzed by applying statistical tests. Keywords: Urban Neighborhood, Gozar, Neighborhood Functions, activeness of Gozar, Kabul 1 Research Background and Objectives Kabul, the capital and largest city of Afghanistan, is facing chaotic urban expansion, mainly triggered by the migration of refugees from outside the city in the aftermath of the civil war with its widespread disruption and destruction ( ). This situation is quite different from the typical urbanization process found in other developing countries. In 1992, Kabul s population was 1.5 million, and today only 22 years later, it is estimated to be nearly 5 million, a 3.3 increase 1). When grasping the reconstruction of Kabul, located as it is in a Least Developed Country (LDC), not only the physical aspects such as housing supply and infrastructure development, but also the social aspects, such as civic engagement and establishment of social solidarity need to be examined. Both issues, especially the social aspects, have a close relationship to the urban lifestyle being developed by the citizens of Kabul in their own way. From such a perspective, our research interest focusses on community planning and design in a particular Afghan way. Thus, we focused on the neighborhood functions of the Gozars. The Gozar is a traditional district unit spatially organized around one or more mosques, which stand at important locations; a popular pattern found in the surrounding Islamic countries. No academic research has addressed the current neighborhood functions of the Gozars, except for the preparatory surveys of international institutions. Nevertheless, in the planning context, it is important that we identify the neighborhood functions and activities in a Gozar, assess how well they work, and seek to determine the factors affecting them. In this paper, we will (a) specify the main characteristics of both traditional and contemporary Gozars, mainly by reviewing literature and overviewing city planning legislation in Kabul; (b) examine the existing neighborhood functions of the Gozars through a questionnaire survey conducted among 82 Gozar representatives and; (c) analyze the factors affecting neighborhood functions by conducting statistical tests. 2 The Traditional Concepts of Gozars in the Existing Studies and the Definition of Contemporary Gozars Traditionally, Gozars are known as Mahalleh in Iran, Mahalla in Uzbekistan, and Mahalle in Turkey and have existed for many centuries 2, 3). Despite their different names, these neighborhoods were all organized around one or more mosques, and included schools, local shops, and open space and community gathering areas. In such community gathering areas, not only do the Gozar representatives representing their neighborhood often * ** Doctor Course Student, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology Assist. Lect., Architecture Department, Kabul University Prof., Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Dr. Eng. 名古屋工業大学大学院工学研究科博士後期課程アフガニスタン国 カブール大学建築学科助講師 名古屋工業大学大学院工学研究科教授 工博 2253

2 meet with the local community to discuss daily matters and problems 4), but such areas also play a self-political/juridical role as places for decision-making. They also represent a cultural/spatial and educational place, where women can also meet together 5, 6). With the addition of a new feature to the contemporary Gozars, the traditional Gozar functions have faced transformation in Kabul as they are now playing the role of institutionalized municipal urban units. This raises the question, does the centuries old system of Gozars, really have the potential to act as planning units in a modern Kabul? To answer this question, we became interested in conducting a Fig.1 Kabul City District Map: Distribution of Formal and Informal Settlements and Survey Districts (3, questionnaire survey among Gozar 9, 15, & 16) representatives. But, before explaining the survey details, we will show the current features and characteristics of Gozars as To provide an overview of today s Gozar spatial size and found through investigating the literature, reports, and features, we have measured and showed the Gozar sizes in four interviews. districts (n=124) on aerial maps *2) (Table 1) which indicate a wide Contemporary Gozars can be characterized by (a) having at least one mosque; (b) represented by an elected representative range of Gozar sizes that is to be mentioned later as a part of our survey. and; (c) having set or customary boundaries. The mosque is still an important gathering place for Gozar residents. The Gozar representative is elected by residents and approved by the district level municipality. Representatives have meetings at district level municipal offices and act as a conduit of information between Gozar residents and the municipality 7). They are also responsible for certifying documents such as births, marriages and deeds, and mediating on land and building disputes *1). Gozar boundaries have changed due to the extension of built-up areas, the migration of people, and road improvements or developments that sub-divide the Gozars. Such changes take place through negotiation of the representatives with the residents and adjacent representatives 2). 3 Informal Urban Expansion in Kabul and the Neighborhood Functions of Current Gozars To guide the urban growth of Kabul, four master plans have been approved: 1962, 1970, 1978, and The third master plan was a revision of the two previous master plans 8) and formed the base for the fourth master plan. The implementation of this third master plan had been constrained by unstable political conditions and the flow of rural-urban migrants taking up residence in the city as informal settlers. In fact, from this point on, the urban growth in Kabul is addressed either as formal or informal, however, the emergence of informal settlements dates back to the early history of the city 9). Not surprisingly, the informal settlements currently accommodate Table1 Measured Sizes of Gozars in the Surveyed Districts *2 (n=124) about 74% of the Kabul city population and cover 76% of the city s residential land (Fig. 1) 1). Area Number of Density by Currently, the formal settlements refer to those that are (a) Basic (Gross Housing Population Persons per ha Statistics planned and built in accordance to the Kabul City Third Master ha) Units (Gross) Average , Plan, zoning regulations and construction codes and standards; Max ,145 15, (b) constructed on legally procured land (inherited, purchased, Min leased or officially granted by the government) and; (c) have ownership of both land and construction certified by legal deeds 2254

3 Fig.2 Gozars in District Nine (Revised 8) ) (and in some cases by customary documents) 10). In contrast, informal settlements are those that meet one or more of the following conditions: (a) constructed in violation of the Kabul City Third Master Plan and zoning codes and regulations, including illegal land subdivisions and construction on legally owned private land classified by the Third Master Plan as agricultural land or land not zoned for construction or residential use and expansion; (b) illegally occupied publicly owned land, without having a rightful title to that land and; (c) illegally occupied land that belongs to another party, and the occupier has no legal right to the land 10). The main focus of section 6 is devoted to answering the question: do the neighborhood functions and activeness differ in Gozars with formal and informal settlements? In Fig. 2 we show the distribution of formal and informal settlements and the Gozar features in District 9. It can be seen that the whole area of the Gozar is either formal or informal and there is no Gozar that consist of both formal and informal settlements. It is the same in all sampled Gozars and has similar tendency for all the Gozars in Kabul. 4 The Questionnaire Survey of Gozars To examine the neighborhood functions of Gozars, during June and July 2013, we conducted a survey in 82 Gozars located in 4 districts within Kabul s municipal boundaries (Fig. 1). The data collection was based on questionnaires answered by representatives of the Gozars. Districts 3, 9, 15 and 16 were chosen as the field area for the survey research, in order to include variations in Gozar establishment period, settlement type (formal or informal) and population density. Among the 92 representatives interviewed, 82 representatives completed the questionnaire, giving an effective response rate of 89.1% (Table 2). Although the sampling was not strict, we checked the bias for the number of Gozars with formal and informal settlements, in the existing and sampled Gozars (Table 3), we could not find any biases with a p<0.1 of chi-square significant level test. The questionnaire has six sections: demographic, areal characteristics, neighborhood functions, activeness, relation between the Gozar and municipal bodies, the role of Gozar representatives. In our survey, the results showed the representatives were all male with an average age of 55 years, and the majority were unemployed. Table2 Sampling Feature of Gozar Survey in Kabul (Representatives) Districts Area (km 2 ) *1 Populatio n *2 Gozar (n) Household /Gozar (n) Sampled Gozars Sampling Percentag District , % District , , % District , , % District , % Total , , % *1 JICA ), *2 CSO ) 5 Gozar Features Ascertained through the Questionnaire Survey 2255

4 5.1 Areal Characteristics of Gozars According to the representatives answers and based on the aggregations of our survey results, firstly, we show the areal characteristics of the surveyed Gozars (Fig. 3). However, in order to examine the difference between formal and informal settlements with more detail, we skip (III) here and follow it in the next subsection. (I) Population size: The Gozar population size varies from 500 to 15,000, which coincides with the previously mentioned, wide range of population levels in Gozars. (II) Gozar establishment period: As can be seen in Fig. 3, we set four periods in our questionnaire according to the periods of time when Kabul City has faced considerable urban expansion *3). A wide-range distribution of Gozar establishment ages was indicated too. (III) Formal/informal settlements: To be described in 5.2. (IV) Majority of employment status: There are many more Gozars with a majority of self-employed (51.9%) than Gozars with a majority of unemployed (28.9%) or Government employed (19.2%). Survey questions on residents income levels were in the main avoided by the respondents. (V) Majority of property types: Many more Gozars have a majority of owner inhabitants (81.2%), which is about four times the number of Gozars with a majority of rental inhabitants (18.8%). (VI) Targeted by international aid: To improve infrastructure and access to services, a number of Gozars are supported by international aid. Thirteen were supported by implementation of the Kabul Solidarity Program (KSP) *4). Our research focus includes the comparison between Gozars with/without international aid. 5.2 Gozar characteristics by Settlement Type In our sampled Gozars, 76.8% of the Gozars are informal settlements (Fig. 3, Table 3), which shows a similar trend to the previously mentioned residential land covered by informal settlements in Kabul. In order to examine the difference of Gozar characteristics between formal and informal settlements, we created a summary of Gozar characteristics by settlement type and tested the relations with statistical tests (ANOVA and Fisher s exact test). (Table 4). We did not find any significant relation between Gozar characteristics and settlement type, except the majority of property type and the target of international aid. In the formal Gozar settlements, 50.0% of them have a majority of owner inhabitants. In contrast, in the informal Gozar settlements, 92.2% of them have a majority of owner inhabitants which suggests that informal settlers are more active in asserting their newly acquired ownership rights. Even though not significant, but it can be seen that the area and population size have a wider range in the informal Gozar Table3 The Distribution of Formal and Informal Settlements in the Sampled Districts Districts Existing Gozars Sampled Gozars Formal Informal Formal Informal District District District District Total (I) Population size (person), n=68 (II) Gozar establishment period, n= 44 (III) Formal/informal settlements, n=82 (IV) Majority of employment status, n= 52 (V) Majority of property types, n=69 (VI) Targeted by international aid, n=82 ) Frequency of Gozar gatherings, n= 71 Number of participants in Gozar gatherings n=53 Gozar dues paid by residents, n= % 33.8% 32.4% 500-3,500 3,501-5,500 5,501-15, % 20.4% 36.4% 27.3% Bfr 1900s 1910s 1960s 1970s to 1980s 1990s to Now 23.2% 76.8% Formal Informal 19.2% 51.9% 28.9% Govt-emplyd Self-employed unemployed 81.2% 18.8% Owner Rental 16.0% 84.0% Yes No 23.9% 40.9% 35.2% Weekly Monthly In Necessary Cases 52.8% 47.2% % 23.4% Being Paid Not Being Paid Fig.3 Areal Characteristics in Gozars and Activeness of Gozars According to the Responses Table4 Characteristics of Formal and Informal Settlements in the Sampled Gozars Gozar Characteristics by Settlement Type Formal Informal Area ( Gross ha), n=82 Population Size, n=68 Gozar Establishment Period, n=44 Majority of Employment Status, 52 Majority of Property Types, n=69 Targeted by International Aids, n=82 Average Max Min Average 6, , Max 13,000 15,000 Min 3,000 1,200 Before 1900s 9.1% 18.2% 1910s to 1960s 18.2% 21.2% 1970s to 1980s 54.5% 30.3% 1990s to Now 18.2% 30.3% Govt. Employed 31.3% 13.9% Self-employed 50.0% 52.8% Unemployed 18.8% 33.3% Owner 50.0% 92.2% Rental 50.0% 7.8% 0.0% 20.6% Test Results N.E A N.E A N.E N.E N.E No Effect,*** p<0.01, p probability, A result found by analysis of variance (ANOVA), others are found by Fisher's exact test *** *** 2256

5 settlements. This suggests that formal Gozar settlements are more likely to have a standard size. The establishment period of Gozar is various in the informal Gozar settlements, while most of the formal Gozar settlements were established during 1970s and 1980s, when the master plans of Kabul were developed. In addition, only informal Gozar settlements are the main focus of international aid. 5.3 Neighborhood Functions of Gozars We listed 18 questionnaire items to define the neighborhood functions of a Gozar. Representatives were asked for a simple yes/no answer to distinguish items that worked/did not work in their Gozar. For analysis, we categorized the items in to the following four groups (Fig. 4). (A) Governance functions: we set three items in this group: (Aa) representing Gozars to the upper body; (Ab) information transmission from the upper body; and (Ac) joining inter-gozar committees. While more than 60% of the representatives answers were positive for all the three items in this group, the difference in the number of positive answers in (Aa) representing Gozars to the upper body (87.5%) and (Ab) information transmission from upper body (63.8%) indicates that institutionalized contemporary Gozars function as top down, rather than bottom up. (B) Social functions: we set six items in this group: (Ba) mutual aid within a Gozar; (Bb) dispute resolution; (Bc) recreational activities; (Bd) traditional events; (Be) community market events; and (Bf) elder care and child education. If we further subdivide the social functions into non-recreational and recreational items, the number of positive answers was more than 50% for non-recreational social activities, which are: (Ba) mutual aid within a Gozar; (Bb) dispute resolution; and (Bf) elder care and child education. (C) Physical functions: They are (Ca) improvement of the Gozar environment classified as any type of effort to improve the physical environment, e.g. places, streets, and pedestrian facilities; (Cb) maintenance of the Gozar facilities; (Cc) contribution to garbage collection; (Cd) tree planting and beautification; and (Ce) contribution to public health matters such as vaccination campaigns. As shown in Fig. 4, more than 60% of the answers were positive for the (C) physical function items except (Ce) contribution to public health matters (46.2%). This suggests that Gozar representatives recognized that Gozar activities contributed to maintaining a good physical environment. (D) Safety Functions: We defined this group by four items: (Da) accident prevention; (Db) fire prevention; (Dc) disaster prevention and (Dd) anti-crime activities. In this group, the only item, which received positive answers from 65.0% of the representatives was: (Dd) anti-crime activities. (A) Governance (B) Social (C) Physical (D) Safety (Aa) Representing Gozars to the upper body 87.5% 12.5% (Ab) Info. transmission from the upper body (Ac) Joining inter-gozar committees (Ba) Mutual aid within a Gozar (Bb) Dispute resolution 63.8% 82.5% 78.8% 56.2% 36.2% 17.5% 21.2% 43.8% (Bc) Recreational activities (Bd) Traditional events (Be) Community market events (Bf) Elder care and child education (Ca) Improvement of the Gozar environment (Cb) Maintenance of the Gozar facilities (Cc) Contribution to garbage collection (Cd) Tree planting and beautification (Ce) Contribution to public health matters (Da) Accident prevention (Db) Fire prevention (Dc) Disaster prevention (Dd) Anti-crime activities 22.5% 38.8% 20.0% 51.2% 68.8% 60.0% 66.2% 73.8% 46.2% 46.2% 46.2% 43.8% 65.0% 77.5% 61.2% 80.0% 48.8% 31.2% 40.0% 33.8% 26.2% 53.8% 53.8% 53.8% 56.2% 35.0% n = 80 for all the functions Yes Answers, No answers Fig.4 Performance Percentage of Neighborhood Functions in Gozars According to the Responses While more than 50.0% of the representatives answers were negative for: (Da) accident prevention, (Db) fire prevention and (Dc) disaster prevention; it suggests a tendency that representatives do not recognize that Gozars should provide any safety measures except crime prevention. 5.4 Activeness of Gozars For assessing the activeness of Gozars, we asked questions about Gozar gatherings, participants and dues, which are discussed with the results as follows: ( ) Frequency of Gozar gatherings: Representatives explained whether the gatherings in their Gozar were periodic (taking place weekly or monthly) or non-periodic (taking place only as needed). The answers indicate that nearly two thirds (64.8%) of the Gozars are holding periodic gatherings. ( ) Number of participants in Gozar gatherings: Representatives stated the number of participants in Gozar gatherings as between 5 to 500 participants. ( ) Gozar dues paid by residents: The dues are collected from the residents in the Gozar and used for purchasing materials or services to improve the Gozar. Representatives replied that dues are imposed periodically at 76.6% of Gozars, and the remainder replied dues were imposed as needed. 6 Analysis on Factors Affecting Neighborhood Functions and the Activities of Gozars To investigate the factors that affect neighborhood functions 2257

6 and the activeness of Gozars, we show a hypothetical causal events are positively related to (VI) receiving international aid. scheme (Fig. 5) that: (1) the neighborhood functions of a Gozar In (C) physical functions, (Ca) improvement of the Gozar are affected by the areal characteristics of a Gozar; (2) the environment and (Cc) tree planting and beautification are activeness of a Gozar is affected by the areal characteristics of a negatively related to (V) the majority of property type. This Gozar; and (3) the activeness of a Gozar and the neighborhood seems to indicate that voluntary activity for improvement of the functions of a Gozar are affected by each other. Assuming this physical environment is greater in Gozars with a majority of scheme, we interpret the degree of correlation as a factor in this rental inhabitants, in other words formal settlements. section. In (D) the safety functions group, (Da) accident prevention and First, we converted all the data into categorical data and then (Db) fire prevention are related to (IV) employment status, which conducted statistical significance tests. We conducted the seems to show that the unemployed are more cautious chi-square test in those cases where all of the cells were filled concerning hazards. (Dd) anti-crime activities are positively with over 5 samples; otherwise Fisher's exact test was applied. affected by (III) settlement type and (VI) receiving international All the results were examined within a 10% significance level. aid. These suggest that Gozars with formal settlements and Based on the results of the statistical tests, we focused on the Gozars receiving international aid tend to be more mindful of areal characteristics of Gozars and their effect on the crime prevention. neighborhood functions and the activeness of Gozars. When we focus on areal characteristics from (I) to (VI) we can 6.1 Factors of Areal characteristics of Gozars Affecting the find a trend that: (1) none of the neighborhood functions in a Neighborhood Functions of Gozars Gozar is affected by population size or the Gozar establishment The statistical test results for the framework supposing that neighborhood functions are affected by areal characteristics are shown in Fig. 6, and are described according to their groups as follows: In (A) governance functions, (Aa) representing Gozars to the upper body is negatively related to (VI) receiving international aid. (Ab) information transmission from the upper body and (Ac) joining inter-gozar councils are positively affected by (III) settlement type. This suggests that formal Gozar settlements have more internal and external connections. In (B) the social functions group, (Bb) dispute resolution is positively affected by (III) settlement type, which suggests that social relations are more developed in formal Gozar settlements. (Bc) recreational activities are positively related to (V) majority of property type, which suggest that there are more recreational activities in Gozars with a Neighborhood Functions of Gozars (A) Governance Areal Characteristics of Gozars (Aa) Representing Gozar to the upper body (I) Population size (II) Gozar establishment period (Ab) Info. transmission from the upper body (Ac) Joining inter-gozar committees (III) Formal/informal settlements (B) Social (IV) Majority of employment status (Ba) Mutual aid within a Gozar (V) Majority of property types (Bb) Dispute resolution (VI) Targeted by international aid (Bc) Recreational activities (Bd) Traditional events (Be) Community market events 2 Activeness of Gozar ( ) Frequency of Gozar gatherings ( ) Number of participants in Gozar gatherings ( ) Gozar dues paid by residents 1 3 (Bf) Elder care and child education (C) Physical (Ca) Improvement of the Gozar environment (Cb) Maintenance of the Gozar facilities (Cc) Contribution to garbage collection (Cd) Tree planting and beautification (Ce) Contribution to public health matters (D) Safety (Da) Accident prevention (Db) Fire prevention (Dc) Disaster prevention (Dd) Anti-crime activities majority of owner inhabitants. (Bd) traditional Fig.5 A Causal Diagram for Testing Factors for Gozar Activities (Aa) (Ab) (Ac) (Ba) (Bb) (Bc) (Bd) (Be) (Bf) (Ca) (Cb) (Cc) (Cd) (Ce) (Da) (Db) (Dc) (Dd) ( ) ( ) ( ) (I) (II) (±)* (±)** (III) (+)** (+)*** (+)*** (+)* (+)** (IV) (±)** (±)* (V) (+)* ( )* ( )* (+)* P (VI) ( )** (+)** (+)* ( ) (±)* *** p<=0.01, ** p<=0.05, ( ) ( )* (+)* P * p<=0.1 ( ) p probability (+) positive correlation, ( ) negative correlation, (±) independency is not rejected between two variables, but particular tendencies are found (mentioned in the text), P the probability result found by Pearson's chi-square test, others are found by Fisher's exact test Fig.6 Summary of the Relations between the Neighborhood Functions, Areal Characteristics and Activeness of a Gozar 2258

7 period; (2) information transmission from the upper body, joining inter Gozar councils, dispute resolution and anti-crime activities all tend to work well in Gozars with formal settlements. 6.2 Factors of Areal characteristics of Gozars Affecting the Activeness of Gozars The statistical test results for the framework that the activeness of Gozars is affected by areal characteristics are shown in Fig.6, and are described according to the order of activities as follows: ( ) The frequency of Gozar gatherings are affected by (II) the Gozar establishment period and (III) the settlement type. Younger Gozars (established from the 1990s to date) have more frequent weekly and monthly gatherings. Furthermore, weekly gatherings and gatherings as needed are more frequently held in those Gozars with formal settlements. ( ) The number of participants in Gozar gatherings are related to (II) the Gozar establishment period, the number of participants is higher in Gozars established from the 1990s and later. ( ) Payable dues are related to (V) property type, more dues are paid in Gozars with a majority of owner inhabitants. When we focus on areal characteristics from (I) to (VI) we can find a trend that: (1) the activeness of a Gozar is not affected by the population size, majority of employment status or receiving international aid; however (2) the frequency of gatherings is related to the settlement type, which suggest that formal Gozar settlements tend to hold more frequent gatherings. 7 Conclusion We can summarize the findings as follows: By the literature survey we identified the main characteristics of traditional and contemporary Gozars and confirmed that an institutional characteristic has been added to the contemporary Gozars. Moreover, we defined the three major characteristics of contemporary Gozars. From the Gozar representative survey, we specified that the governance and physical functions (except contribution to public health) are neighborhood functions that worked well. In addition, the mutual aid in social functions and anti-crime activities in safety functions are among those neighborhood functions that worked well. By conducting statistical tests, we found that none of the neighborhood functions of a Gozar is affected by population size or the Gozar establishment period, but is affected by the settlement type which suggest that Gozars with formal settlements score more positively in all the following functions: (a) information transmission from the upper body and joining inter-gozar committees; (b) more social relations; (c) more crime prevention measures; and (d) more frequent Gozar gatherings. The above findings provide evidence for the Kabul municipality and other related organs to (1) recognize and consider the potential of Gozars as a planning and design unit, (2) devise social as well as physical/spatial policies for development of informal settlements. In addition, our findings may very well serve as a good starting point for studies on planning and designing urban communities in a particular Afghan way. Our further work includes physical studies on Gozars to help the planning of these urban communities in a way which satisfies their social, institutional and service requirements. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Mr. Toshiyuki Iwama (Former Project Leader, JICA Technical Cooperation Project on Kabul Metropolitan Area Development) and the KSP-PIU team for their contribution during the survey in Kabul. Notes *1) Based on interviews in our questionnaire survey. *2) We found the Gozar areas and the number of dwelling units by measuring aerial maps such as Google earth maps. *3) Urbanization periods according to urban expansion in Kabul: Before 1900s: All urbanization before the 20th century From 1910s to 1960s: Urbanization attempts made during the reign of Amir Habibullah Khan ( ) and his successors resulting in the extension of the city to the north side of the Kabul river, and the creation of a new capital to the southwest of Kabul city 1970s to 1980s: The extension of the city, according to the new Master Plan of Kabul City 1990s up to now: The age of massive informal urban growth1, 10) *4) KSP is an initiative of the Kabul Municipality with collaboration from UN HABITAT which aims to improve the infrastructure and access to services through empowering communities. 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