Iranian New Towns and their Urban Management Issues: A critical review of influential actors and factors

Abstract As a key component of Iran’s urban policy and planning, new town development has been scrutinised from various aspects such as design and architecture, geography, and sociology, with much of the literature concentrating on the substantive challenges of the development process. Missing, however, is the account of its procedural challenges arising from the influential actors and factors involved in that process. This paper focuses on the critical assessment of the performance of the key factors and actors involved in the Iranian New Town development decisions. These modifications seem necessary, as will be argued, because due to weak governance, the new town development programme has not yet achieved all its goals. Part one of this paper discusses the planning framework of the Iranian New Towns; part two discusses the national and regional levels of urban planning in Iran, stressing the planning process and the actors involved; part three concentrates on master planning, and part four concludes with suggestions for improving the urban development process in Iran.