Improving Urban Quality Through Land Titling? Considerations from the Bamiyan Case

The article discusses the Afghan land titling policies based on the case of Bamiyan Valley. It first presents the terms and conditions of the land titling policy in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan since 2017, and then it illustrates its impact on the informal settlement of Zargaran (Bamiyan) based on the results of two surveys conducted in 2017 and 2021. As is the case elsewhere around the world, the assignment of formal property titles is generally welcomed by the majority of the population. Moreover, doing so has proven to encourage investments in the improvement of private establishments, and even in facilities for community purposes, thanks to the remarkable social bond that exists between the settlers. However, the denial of the entitlement in the parcels of Zargaran located inside and next to the UNESCO buffer zone has prevented the titling policy from reaching its full potential in terms of improvement of the social fabric and urban quality. Moreover, the increase in real estate values observed in the area calls for social policy measures to accompany the titling policy, so as to avoid the eviction of poorer segments of the population.