ay in The world that we live in consists of both developed and developing cities. When one hears the term developed city they may imagine a complex city such as New York or Los Angeles that is filled with busy streets buildings. Countries with higher GDP and more industrial establishments are often thought of as developed. On the other hand developing cities are those that have lower than average GDP, lower then average income per family, and less developed streets and towns. Countries with these “Developing Cities” may sometimes be referred to as “Third World Countries”. This paper will focus on the developing city of Kabul. Kabul will be analyzed from an urban perspective through several subtopics. First the historical urban evolution of Kabul will be examined. This will involve covering how Kabul originated through its history of various invasions and settlements of various ethnic groups. Next the special features of this city will be described. This includes topics such as the geography of Kabul and strategic points of attraction. The third subtopic that will be discussed are the urban challenge and issues that Kabul currently faces. Lastly, recommendations for a means to solve those issues will be addressed.
Kabul is located in South Asia in the country of Afghanistan. The city is also the capital of Afghanistan. Historians are not fully sure who founded or built the city of Kabul. However, the city as been mentioned in the Hindu scripture known as the Rig Veda. The Rig Veda dates back to about 3,500 years and thus makes it certain to believe that Kabul most definitely existed as an ancient urban city. Approximately 3,500 years before the current era, Afghanistan was not a untied country but rather part of empires that would come and go. Kabul and what would now be known as Afghanistan held peoples from various ethnic groups including but not limited to Indians, Persians, Greek, and Oriental decent. (Sawe) In these ancient times, Kabul was most likely nomadic with people living in huts and tents along the Hindu Kush and in mud made homes on the more flat areas. The presence of the Kabul river throughout the city served as useful location for urban dwellers to have a source of water. The river was a prime location for urban dwellers to live near and settle. he of urban evolutions begins with its first settlers in ancient times. Many remaining statues of the Buddha indicate that before the current era Buddhism was a widespread belief throughout not only Kabul but Afghanistan as well. Furthermore, nomadic tribes that existed near the Mountain ranges of Kabul still have urban dwellers till this day. The urban development history of Kabul has been associated with several invasions from various empires. Alexander the Great, the Moguls, Mongols, British, and Soviet Russia have all attempted to capture Kabul and the entire country. In 1747 Ahmad Shah, leader of the Durrani dynasty succeeding in recognizing Afghanistan as a country. His son would go on to transfer the capital from Kandahar to Kabul in 1776. Kabul as a city has developed from being ruled as monarchy system to currently being ruled by a president.
Present day Kabul consists of ethnic diversity. A person living in Kabul is often referred to as “Kabli” but this could mean that individual is actually of Tajik, Uzbek, Persian, Hazara, or Pashtun ethnicity. The special features of the city of Kabul are the unique geographic attributes. One of these characteristics is that Kabul has a very high elevation above sea level and virtually the entire city is surrounded by mountains. The city also has a river called Kabul River. This river is approximately 400 miles and flows into Pakistan. The river today has been at the center of numerous dam projects. Europe has contracted these dams as a means of providing hydro electrical power for the city. The city’s climate is often cold in the winter and warm in the summer. Snow and rain also do occur in Kabul.
Kabul’s urban growth as a city has been tremendous. In the past century, the city has grown to closer match over cities in the developing world. Marketplaces and bazars on the streets are more widespread. Modern real estate developments and numerous housing projects have been created. Hotels to attract tourists also exist. The amount of cars in the city and the overall population of Kabul has also increased at a staggering rate. Despite decades of war, the capital has still managed to stay prospective in expanding in population and slowly progressing to becoming more modern like.
For decades one of the biggest problems for people living in Kabul is the tragedy of war. War has brought an extreme difficulty on the people living in Kabul. Homes and schools have been destroyed leaving many people homeless and with no work. The Taliban have often held and claimed responsibility for many of the more recent attacks on Kabul in the past decade. (Washington Post) In the more immediate current period of time such as 2017 and 2018 the violence has been particularly disturbing. Suicide bombers have killed scores of innocent civilians in places such as schools, voting districts, and nearby hotels. Because of this attacks it is difficult for Kabul to be able to fully blossom to its true potentials. The attackers leave developed places destroyed, only leading to the need for more reconstruction. Violence from war is thus, arguably one of the biggest challenges that Kabul faces. Not only for its urban development but more humane safety among its inhabitants.
Yet another issue for Kabul is the ever expanding population. The amount of individuals in Kabul living in urban environments is gradually increasing. The increase of population makes it difficult for everyone to be able to have housing. An example of this issue is how some individuals homes made of stone mud brick are not legally recognized by the government. Many of the newer homes that were built in Kabul were large mansions in the mountain ranges built for the wealthy. Having housing with necessary utilities such as water and electricity proves to be a pressing issue in areas surrounding urban Kabul.
The third issue that Kabul faces is incredibly important. In simple terms this issue is the government and this plays a critical role in the urban well being and development of Kabul. Unfortunately for the people of Kabul and Afghanistan as a whole, the government has failed in utilizing cooperation between the citizens of Kabul to maintain and control the violence. Sadly, instead of the poor and needy being a priority of the government political corruption has been a widespread act. The lack of government reform and attempting new efforts to prevent violent acts has made Kabul a very unsafe place as it can be prone to an act at any time.
A fourth pressing issue for Kabul is the lack of education. A recent survey has shown that almost half of all children in Afghanistan do not attend school regularly. This is often due to many schooling establishments being destroyed by Taliban. Woman have often been critical victims in Kabul. Many have been prevented from being able to obtain an education and are instead forced to be married at a young age. Despite an urban environment that is continuing to develop, for the most part the rights of woman are still limited compared to men.
It is difficult to determine solutions to the issues of Taliban violence and suicide bombers. Perhaps if the government becomes more opened minded towards reform and even the possibility of negotiating peace talks with violent groups to determine their motives for such attacks. Another solution could be for the government of Kabul to cooperate further with other intelligence agencies to help create safety for the people. The Afghan Army could also serve a hope of means of defense for the citizens of Kabul. If the army trains hard and perhaps through cooperation with United States forces, they will be able to track violent groups and prevent attacks from happening.
The difficulty for Kabul is the fact that overpopulation and lack of housing is also associated with an issue of violence. If the government decides to build more homes and suitable living conditions, those newly built places may be at risk of attack. Yet there have been continual efforts to resolve the urban housing crises. One of these efforts was the Kabul Area Shelter and and Settlements project. (Setchell & Luther) This project was launched in 2006 to create more places for people to be able to live in. The project also had the aim of improving current living areas for citizens of the city. (World Bank)
Another one of the more recent urban projects in the city of Kabul is the Kabul Municipalities decision to start painting homes by the Mountain areas. (Fahim & Mashal) These beautiful painted homes offer some happiness into a city that has been heavily devastated by constant war and attacks. Another effort that the Kabul municipality is focusing on is providing more affordable water to the residents in these homes. Special private piping networks allow for water to be as low as $10 dollar a month ( roughly 500 Afghanis Currency, i.e 1 USD = 50 Afghanis). Although the city still faces danger of attacks to the general urbane public, at least these are some efforts in public policy from the municipality of Kabul to provide a better living quality. Kabul’s single biggest issue is attacks, if potential solutions are brought to improve government political efforts on creating better responses to safety then the overall situations may improve. Many countries have well established intelligence agencies that help with safety. Kabul needs to utilize the goal of having the best intelligence with due diligence, honest cooperation, and ethical standards. Perhaps then, the dangerous attacks that have unfortunately occurred too frequently will be stopped before they occur in the first place. If politicians have one ideal on what is right or should be done, the Afghan army and police have another, and the citizens have another ideal on what should be done, how then; can there be any hope of establishing safety against the Taliban? If there is constant disagreement between these groups of people, the city may always be prone to danger. A nationalist approach should occur, where all resident of Kabul regardless of whether they be rich, poor, politician, police, or army member unite against the violent acts of any terror organization.
To conclude, the analysis on Kabul has brought insight on Kabul’s far ancient history and urban development. The analysis also reflected on more recent urban developments in the city of Kabul and brought to light the current issues related to said development. Those issues being overpopulation, poverty. And furthermore the issue of violence. Kabul arguably is an inspiring example of persistent. Regardless of violent situations many of the citizens are still prospective towards the goal of achieving a peaceful, productive, and sustainable living urban setting for this generation, and the generations to come….