Urban Resilience Assessment of Kandahar City, Afghanistan

Abstract

Due to the behavior of complex systems such as cities in the face of stresses, strengthening resilience to mass displacement is becoming a more pressing concern. The main objective of this study is to assess the resilience for Kandahar City. The study utilized a mixed approach, consisting of both primary and secondary information obtained through surveyed questionnaire with households and interviews with stakeholders in the study field. DPSIR was utilized as a tool for understanding the overall conditions as well as Stakeholders Analysis was also used in order to identify the views of authorities and stakeholders. After that, resilience to disasters was assessed through UNDISR framework with specific scores from zero to three chosen for each of different aspects. The results show that Kandahar City is not highly resilient to disasters such as flooding and drought. Some aspects such as poor urban governance, lack of institutional, capacity and financial capacity are the weakest and most concerned areas. On the other hand, urban issues identified are highly critical and have significant impact on the performance of urban resilience. The study proposed strategies covering different aspects of low resilience and current condition that would potentially enhance the urban resilience. The research findings can be used by planners and policymakers as well as other cities having the similar characteristics. In addition, the study could be taken as a source to start assessing urban resilience and for developing associated enhancing measures.