jailcd2015040: Urban Redevelopment of Kabul City towards Sustainability and Livability

Abstract

The quality of air in Kabul City (capital of Afghanistan) is severely affected by the different types of pollutant sources, which causes various types of health problems, especially among the old people, who also suffer from poor health. The major sources of Kabul’s air pollution come from the old vehicular traffic and their traffic jams, dust of unpaved streets, domestic heaters, and old generators. In order to have a developed and well-managed air quality approaches, following steps should be adopted. Firstly a specific institution with a clear mandate and sufficient technical resources is to be made to be responsible for air quality management in the city. Secondly, to realize a standard transportation system in Kabul avoiding the air pollution, BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) is one of the beneficial and immediate methods. This paper is focusing on two aspects in realizing BRT system for the sustainability and livability of Kabul City. One is to increase BRT passengers through the utilization of social media for the information of bus location, and the other is the improvement of BRT system for the deduction of air pollution for a sustainable development in Kabul city. The above-mentioned ways of consideration would improve not only environmental and economic sustainability but also citizen’s quality of life in developing country.