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Reimagining key civic corridors symbolic of both the history and the future of Kabul, Afghanistan

Dar ul-Aman and Massoud Corridor Districts

Client
Office of the President of Afghanistan, Ministry of Urban Development and Housing
Location
Kabul, Afghanistan
Size
10 linear kilometers
Services
Planning and Urban Design
Additional Services
Architecture
Landscape Architecture
Status
Completed August 2018
Awards
American Institute of Architects, Regional and Urban Design Award
Boston Society of Landscape Architects, Honor Award – Analysis & Planning
The PLAN Awards, Honorable Mention, Urban Planning Category

Under the leadership of President Ashraf Ghani and the Afghan Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, Dar ul-Aman and Massoud Boulevards are envisioned as a demonstration to the world of what is possible in Kabul, becoming engines of urban and social regeneration.

As part of a robust Bus Rapid Transit Network, these boulevards will play a critical role in delivering infrastructure to the city while coordinating new development opportunities with 21st urban mobility. The corridor districts plan was developed in conjunction with a Citywide Framework for Kabul. Together, they establish a vision and a roadmap for transforming the city into a model of sustainable, equitable, and resilient development, covering a range of issues that are shaping Kabul’s form today: infrastructure, housing, mobility, and sustainability. It also reaches beyond traditional themes of physical design to cover topics particularly relevant to the physical and social fabric of the city today: women in Kabul, higher education, and cultural conservation.

Dar ul-Aman Corridor will become a civic corridor symbolic of both the history and the future of Kabul. It builds on assets like Dar ul-Aman Palace (currently under renovation) and the Mughal gardens of Bagh-e Babur, while also reflecting the active street life that defines the city’s public realm. At the same time, it also looks to the future in which development and new open spaces restore the grandeur and promise originally envisioned for this part of Southern Kabul.

Massoud Corridor is the other focus of this effort, serving as the gateway to Kabul and Afghanistan. In this role, it shows what the emerging economies of Kabul will become, from medical sciences and entrepreneurship to markets and trade. It also serves as a model for how these economies can regenerate the informally developed neighborhoods of the city.

For more information contact Dennis Pieprz.

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