An evaluation of the city concil in citi management (case of pishva)

Considering the natural and historical evolution of city management in Iranian cities which started as Baladieh (Municipalities) and societies throughout the years prior to the victory of the Islamic revolution, one can mention the significant role city management and city societies, or what is now called city councils, play in the improvement of urban spaces. Islamic city and village councils were established around the end of 1977 and began its practice soon after in Ordibehesht 1378; this way, a new institution was introduced into the exiting institutions and organizations dealing with city management. Though one may think about city council and municipality as enjoying similar roles within the structure of city management- and of course, this is the case with them in developed countries- city councils in Iran do not have such a position. So, what is the position of Islamic city council in city management? So as to answer the above research question, the researcher employed descriptive and interpretive methodologies; here, city management and Islamic city councils in general and Islamic city council of Pishva city in particular were studied. In the review of literature, the researcher investigates three parts: first, various concepts such as city, management, and city management were studied; second, different theories like political economics, city neighborhood, city bureaucracy, and alike were reviewed; and third, various perspectives about city councils were studied. In the experimental stage, two hypotheses were examined: the first was related to the laws proposed by city council as to the management of the cities; and the second was about the degree to which city council appreciates people’s cooperation in planning city management. The results revealed that: Today, the place of city council within the structure of city and village management is to a great extent ambiguous; in other words, in case no change is done in the present structures of city council, realization of a single city management and increasing people’s cooperation in planning city management issues will be far from reality.