Middle Class Downward Mobility in the Socio-Physical Space in Tehran

Social mobility takes shape of a physical aspect which makes it possible to translate downward mobility in the physical space. Huge inflation and decrease of purchasing power during the recent years have led to downward mobility of middle class in Iran. Various facets of decrease in physical and social space have to be studied. For this purpose, 20 cases who had experienced such situation have been interviewed. Making use of the most famous coding family of grounded theory, this research categorizes the interviews into contexts, causes, turning points, consequences of involuntary exit from city or neighborhood, and strategies of the outcasts. The research shows that people long after move to new place assume that residence in the new place is temporary. They are ashamed of ascribing themselves to that place trying to actively keep distance from the inhabitants. This along with exclusion from family-friend network of relations and the isolation resulted from this exclusion diminishes any possibility for their political agency in order to make a change in the state of affairs.