Analysis of Historical Evolution of the Concept of Social Justice in Urban Development Plans in Iran (1340-1390)

The main questions considered in this paper are: What definition(s) of justice is considered by urban planners in Iran? And how this theory has been transformed throughout the history? In this article, examples of the concept of justice—as employed by the Iranian urban planners—and three exemplary comprehensive urban plans will be taken into consideration. The research findings show that in these plans justice has been mainly contemplated by Iranian urban planners in two definitions of “justice as equality and elimination of classes” and “justice as provision of the minimums for all”, and generally in the economic and technical (physical) dimensions. In view of that, justice is mainly mentioned as providing access to critical land use and reducing spatial inequalities by Iranian planners. This analysis shows that the dominant approach of urban planners has been mainly influenced by the modernist definitions of the first five decades of the 20th century.