UrbanplanninganddevelopmentinTehranAliMadanipourDepartmentofArchitecture,PlanningandLandscape,NewcastleUniversity,Newcastle,UnitedKingdomAvailableonline25September2006Withapopulationofaround7millioninametropolitanregionof12millioninhabitants,Tehranisoneofthelargercitiesoftheworld.Thispaperchartsitsplanninganddevelopmentthroughtheages,particularlysincethemid-20thcentury,aperiodinwhichthecityhasgainedmostofitsphenomenalgrowth.Threephasesareidentifiedinthishistoricalprocess,withdifferenttypesofurbanplanningexercisedthroughinfrastructuredesignanddevelopment,landuseregulation,andpolicydevelopment._2006ElsevierLtd.Allrightsreserved.Keywords:Planning,Urbangrowth,IraniancitiesPlanningthroughinfrastructuredesignanddevelopment:foundationsforgrowthThefirstphaseofTehran’splanningreferstotheperiodbeforetheSecondWorldWar,wherebyatleastthreemajoreffortssettheframeworkforthecity’sgrowthanddevelopment:wallingthecity(1550s),expandingthewalledcity(1870s)andbuildinganewurbaninfrastructure(1930s).Theywereallledbythegovernment’sabilityanddesiretoinstigatechangeandshapethecitythroughundertakinglarge-scaleinfrastructureprojects.TehranwasavillageoutsidetheancientcityofRay,whichlayatthefootofmountDamavand,thehighestpeakinthecountry,andattheintersectionoftwomajortradehighways:theeast–westSilkRoadalongthesouthernedgeofAlburzmountainsandthenorth–southroutethatconnectedtheCaspianSeatothePersianGulf.RayhadbeeninhabitedforthousandsofyearsandwasthecapitaloftheSeljukdynastyinthe11thcentury;however,itdeclinedattheendofthemedievalperiod,whenTehranstartedtogrow(Lockhart,1960).Thefirstlarge-scaletownplanningexerciseinTehranwasundertakenin1553,withtheconstructionofabazaarandcitywalls,whichweresquareandhadgatesonfoursides,inaccordancewiththepatternofancientPersiancities(Barthold,1984).Thissettheframeworkforotherdevelopmentsthatfollowed,andthecitygrewinsignificance,eventuallytobeselectedin1785asthecapitaloftheQajardynasty(1779–1925).Onbecomingthecapital,thecityswelledbycourtiersandsoldiers,whowerefollowedbytradesandservices.Fromapopulationof15,000attheendofthe18thcentury,Tehrangrewtenfoldbythe1860s,witha10thofitsinhabitantsnowlivingoutsidetheoldwalls(Ettehadieh,1983).Thecountry’smilitarydefeatsinitsencounterswithBritainandRussiahadengenderedaprocessofreform,whichwasnowbeingextendedtothecapitalcity.Thesecondlarge-scaletownplanningexerciseinTehran,therefore,wasconductedforaccommodatinggrowthandintroducingmodernizationandreform.Startingin1868andlastingfor12years,newcitywalls,intheformofaperfectoctagonwith12gates,wereconstructed,whichweremoreusefulforgrowthmanagementandtaxcollectionthanfortheirdefensivevalue.Selectionasthecapitalcityandthesetransformations,whichincludedanewcentralsquare,newstreets,abank,aninstituteoftechnology,ahospital,atelegraphhouse,hotelsandEuropean-styleshops,were,accordingtoaBritishobserver,a‘‘twofoldrenaissance’’forTehran(Curzon,1892,p.300).Thecitycontinuedtogrowandpressureformodernizationintensified,whichwasmanifestedintheConstitutionalRevolutionof1906.Amodernmunicipalitywasestablishedin1910,transformingtheoldsystemofurbangovernance.AftertheFirstWorldWar,thePahlavidynastycametopowerandthislastedfrom1925to1979.Thenewregime’semphasiswasonsecularismandnationalism,whichwerereflectedinadministrativecentralization,modernizationofthearmy,expansionofbureaucracy,developmentofatransportn...
