This paper provides an overview of the significant urbanisation transition facing Afghanistan. It shows that while urbanisation presents considerable challenges, it also offers immense opportunities to harness urban development as a driver of economic growth, poverty reduction and peace-building.

Herat, 5 February 2015: A participatory City Workshop was held on 4 February 2015 in the Municipality of Herat. It was attended by over 80 local stakeholders, including government officials, including Mayor Ghulam Ghaws Nikbin, Municipal staff, line departments, municipal district heads, and local communities.

KABUL, Afghanistan, 4 November 2014 – UN-Habitat Afghanistan today launched the State of Afghan Cities (SoAC) Programme, co-organized by the Independent Directorate of Local Governance/General Directorate of Municipal Affairs. SoAC is a one-year initiative, generously funded by the Government of Australia, to be implemented by the Government of Afghanistan with technical support from UN-Habitat.

Kabul, 23 July 2014 – UN-Habitat has launched an innovative online monitoring tool employing Google Maps to document the progress of community and municipal-led development projects in Afghanistan. The initiative has been undertaken as part of programming funded by the Government of Japan in the country.