Evaluation of national development plans and outstanding documents in environmental justice with an emphasis on green technology, case study: Tehran metropolis

Environmental issues in the field of institutional management from the global to the local level, have always been a complex problem for planners and decision-makers. This fact has faced major challenges in cities and especially in metropolitan areas because of the concentration of economic and demographic activities, a kind of planning system and mechanism. Therefore, every management system has sought to solve these problems from the planning level to the implementation. The reflection of these plans and the determination of environmental problem-solving strategies has mirrored in the plan and program, and this research also seeks to evaluate developing plans and programs. Investigation of environmental policy making in urban development plans and documents indicates its importance but unfortunately, implementation of environmental agent programs has not been considered by decision-makers in their programs but also, ignoring the laws and regulations in urban development plans and economic plans in the context of the city has created enormous environmental problems for Tehran metropolis. Therefore, one of the solutions to tackle these challenges is to address environmental justice discussions, with emphasize on, green technology. The present study is a documentary research with an interpretive approach. It seeks to embody the concepts of environmental justice in the urban development documents. The present study aimed to see whether environmental justice policy-making has emphasized green technology in national development programs. Whether outreach documents in Tehran metropolis, identify the barriers and challenges of comprehensive policy-making in achieving urban environmental justice with an emphasis on green technology. Also recognizing the most important factors which can contribute to the achievement of environmental justice in the city by focusing on green technology is a study goal.

The method of data gathering is library information and analysis based on expert's opinion. The results show that attention to environmental justice has been placed in the center of plans from the fourth development plan onwards. But in practice it has been neglected.

Environmental issues due to their role in human life have always attracted the attention of planners and the whole system of management. The present study aimed to evaluate the state of environmental justice by focusing on green technology by considering five-year economic, social, and cultural development plans. In fact, the programs leading to prevention of environmental justice in the metropolis of Tehran were evaluated in the present study. It is different from other studies by focusing on environmental justice with respect to green technology for evaluating development plans. Based on the results, lack of involvement of environmental sectors in implementing the programs, lack of financing, and lack of appropriate environmental infrastructure based on development plans were considered problems which prevented Tehran from achieving environmental programs and environmental justice.

In urban documents the environmental justice outline has been presented, but in implementation it had been ignored. According to experts, the most important obstacle to environmental justice policy making is conflict of interests and lack of attention to the development of green space and appropriate facilities and technology that have focus on environmental justice policy. In addition, the most important components for achieving environmental justice in Tehran metropolis include economic components such as: car investment and ownership, informed social participation and decision-making, and renewable environmental resources and attention to green technology.