The United Nations is looking to develop blockchain-based tools to help with the problems regarding sustainable urban development in Afghanistan, as reported by The Sociable on July 2nd.

Stephane Dujarric – Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General – has revealed that the United Nations Office of Communication and Information Technologies (UN-OICT) will be utilizing blockchain technology, in an attempt to come up with proper solutions to keep record of plants, and help services more transparent. This is one of the objectives in “City for All” – a new project rolled out by the UN.

The “City for All” initiative – started 3 years ago (2016) and was planned to run through 2020 – specifically aims to bring development to 12 cities located throughout Afghanistan, including its capital city Kabul. The program has made predictions that within a 15-year span, most of the population in Afghanistan will become urban. The initiative has also publicized its 3 prioritized objectives, which are effective land management, strategic urban planning, and improved municipal finance.

This new effort to combat issues regarding Afghan infrastructures by utilized blockchain tech, was accounted by the memorandum of understanding, recently agreed upon by the UN-OICT together with the UN-Habitat – the organization in charge of technical support for the “City for All” project.

According to the memorandum, the 2 above-mentioned UN offices are putting in extensive efforts to form partnerships in the South Asia region, to jointly collaborate on “the development of emerging technology tools and digital platforms for urban design and planning.”