Changes in urban studies in Tehran in the last century; With an emphasis on social and planning studies

New urbanization in Iran began around 1921. Also, the rapid growth of urbanization began after 1953 and after the 28 Mordad coup. According to the first census of Tehran, conducted in 1246 AH, the total population of Tehran was declared to be 155736 people. Furthermore, between 1939 and 1941, according to the one-day census, the population of Tehran was 540087.Following the modernization in Iran during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s,  the city of Tehran gradually became larger, and many immigrants entered it. So, new issues in social, cultural, infrastructure, and management areas arose in the city, and according to Pourahmad et al. (2006), urban issues and problems appeared from the 1960s onwards. Subsequently, numerous research has been done by public and governmental institutions and organizations and individual and interested researchers.Tehran Urban Research has gradually had an institution and structure from the government and the municipality since the early 1970s. AH, and it is the Tehran urban research and planning center, the foundations of which were formed in 1973. After this period, more and more diverse studies were conducted because municipal institutions, universities, research institutes, and research offices of official organizations began to study the various dimensions of Tehran’s urban life.Therefore, after about half a century of activity of Tehran urban research and planning center (and other study institutions in Tehran municipality) and also a century of urban studies in Tehran, the study of these research activities, especially in the social and planning fields, helps to identify the changes during this period.

In this paper, these studies were first collected by referring to documents (reports, books, and research projects) in social studies and urban management and planning in the city and municipality of Tehran. Then, considering the content and structure, the trend of changes in urban studies in Tehran has been studied. The method used was a systematic review.

Changes in urban research in Tehran can be divided into six periods; 1) 1920- 1940s, the period of institutional formation and executive activities in Tehran. 2) The second period includes the 1940s and 1950s. During this period, there were limited urban studies from Tehran, most of them were done by foreign advisors and consultants, and the government was the prominent leader in the studies. 3) The 1960s & 1970s are the period of formation of urban research in Tehran. 4) The fourth period includes the studies of the 1980s. During this period, urban issues and problems such as migration, marginalization, urban problems, transportation, and traffic were still raised. However, the discussion of development plans is more concentrated. The previous three periods are the periods of engineering or technocratic view of the city and urban problems. 5) The fifth period includes the studies of the 1990s. This period is a period of a paradigm shift in urban studies in Tehran. In this decade, attention to people, their participation, satisfaction, and attitudes are discussed, and in the urban planning of Tehran, attention is paid to the people. 6) The sixth period includes the 2000s & 2010s. In this period, we are facing human development and sustainable development.

Changes in urban studies in the last century in Tehran have been significant changes. One of the most important changes is the quantitative change. The number of studies has been increasing steadily since the 1980s, and one of the most important reasons was the formation of a formal institution for research in Tehran in the mid-1970s.However, the most critical change in urban studies in Tehran can be seen in the 1990s due to entering new topics in the urban studies of Tehran with the political atmosphere and developmental attitudes of that period.In the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and even 08s, the main discussion in Tehran urban studies were urban issues and problems, urbanization and the uncontrolled expansion of the city, suburbanization, traffic, and problems arising from them. Moreover, in these decades, priority was given to the issues of construction and physical development.The 1990s should be considered the decade of a paradigm shift towards the people in the urban planning of Tehran. The decade in which people, their participation, satisfaction, and attitudes gradually became important is likely to be the acceptance and legitimacy of local managers.The 2000s and 2010s are also the decades of conceptual and approach change in urban studies in Tehran, and human development and sustainable development are considered.