Pietro's Kabul Trip Summary

First of all I need to thank several groups of people who overlap: those who contributed to Afghan Friends Network and made the trip possible; those who responded to my requests for current information on the state of planning across the United States; and those who advised me about the current situation in Kabul. All of you made it possible for me to be successful and productive while I was in Kabul.

On the first day Malik Mortaza, founder of the Society of Afghan Engineers, introduced me to Engineer Yousaf Pashtun, the Minister of Urban Development and Housing. The Minister assigned me to four tasks: first, to help an Afghan-American team with an overall study of Kabul; second, to work on building codes; third, to work on land use regulation; and fourth, to begin work on a site-upgrade project.

The overall study of Kabul was being done by two SAE members: Alia Hokuki and Timor Rafiq, together with the president of PADCO, Duane Kissick. They had been in Kabul for a week and would leave three days after my arrival, so I worked with them and learned their methods and objectives. The study included two parts: categorizing the types and overall areas of different settlement patterns, and then surveying sites within each area to find out their demographics. I oversaw and coordinated the demographic survey, working with a team of eight engineers in the Ministry.

Building codes and land use regulation are being studied and developed by two departments within the Ministry: Research and Construction. I worked together with Malik Mortaza to select passages of the International Building Code for translation, and introduced ideas about mixed-use land regulation based on the San Francisco General Plan and Planning Code, and New Urbanist principles which I have discussed with planners across the US and UK over the last six months.

However these three tasks took up my entire five weeks in Kabul, so I was not able to begin the site-upgrading task. I have discussed the project with Cooperazione Italiana, and they are interested in carrying forward the work; but Minister Pashtun would also like me to work on this larger project. So it looks as though I will return to Kabul in late August and work for the MUDH for a year!

It was best to go with few preconceptions of what would happen during my visit. As it turned out I never taught in a classroom setting, and I am glad no-one tried to set up such a class because I found language to be a serious
barrier. Fortunately I was put into a situation where I could be very useful even as I picked up the rudiments of Dari.

Now I must pack and make preparations for bringing my family over to Kabul, as well as continue the Dari lessons. Thanks again to all of the people who made this work possible.

Pietro

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