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The Farahzad Neighbourhood of Tehran: Land Use Transition in the City Periphery

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03 November 2024

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05 November 2024

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Abstract
Since the 1960s, Iran’s major cities have experienced significant migration from the country’s rural areas and from overseas. Although many urban planning and design concepts can be traced back to Iran, the coun-try’s planning machinery has failed to effectively regulate urban growth, notably in the city peripheries, where land use has changed radically as semi-rural areas have been developed in a haphazard fashion with scant adherence to existing plans and planning regulations. Farahzad is one such area in the urban periph-ery of Tehran, where a range of sub-standard dwellings have been built and urban services are deficient in many regards. This article uses secondary documentation, images developed from GIS data, and interview material with NGOs and other local authorities to explore the growth of the neighbourhood in recent dec-ades, and assess the current problems confronting both residents and local authorities. The article examines how the urban landscape has evolved, how the resident population has grown, and the nature of the social and economic issues that persist today. Findings suggest that the planning machinery, and land use zoning in particular, have played little part in guiding or controlling urban development in this peripheral neigh-bourhood, and that identifying urban fabrics may prove a useful way of assessing socio-economic and physical development needs in such circumstances. The article makes a small contribution to our under-standing of the change dynamics in a peripheral neighbourhood of a major city in the developing world.
Keywords: 
Subject: 
Social Sciences  -   Geography, Planning and Development

1. Introduction

As in many other developing countries, Iran has experienced significant migration from rural to urban areas, which has impacted the scale and nature of city development [1]. Since the land reforms of the 1960s, mass country-city migration has seen the nation’s capital, Tehran, expand its population to 9.6 million in 2024, with consequent pressure on the supply of housing, services and infrastructure. Farahzad, a neighbourhood spanning 136 hectares with almost 20,000 inhabitants [2], is located in District 2 on the northern margins of the city (Figure 1). It is bounded by the Alborz Mountains to the north, the Yadegar-e Emam Expressway to the south, and the Farahzad River to the west. Emamzadeh Davood Street and Tabarok Street are on the eastern border of the old settlement, beyond which modern apartment blocks have been built towards the neighbourhood’s eastern boundary.
The study of land use transition enhances our understanding of human-environment interactions, which can underpin more effective solutions to socio-economic and environmental challenges. Such research can provide valuable insights for urban planning and environmental management, facilitating alignment with regional development goals [3]. For example, in their study of the urban periphery in Greater Cairo (GC), Salem et al. [4] concluded “the study found a development gap between the urban periphery and the main urban agglomeration in GC, particularly in the infrastructure aspect. These results highlight the deficiencies that exist in the urban periphery of GC which help decision-makers to prepare appropriate policies to improve SD [sustainable development] in such territory” (p.971).
Nevertheless, there is a general dearth of studies that explore the change dynamics in the urban peripheries of developing world cities. Meth et al. [5], in the context of major conurbations in Africa, noted “the edges of cities are increasingly understood as places of dynamism and change, but there is little research on African urban peripheries, the nature of building, growth, investment and decline that is shaping them and how these are lived” (para. 1). There is, however, an increasing recognition across urban science disciplines of the significance of the urban periphery as a focus for academic research, as opposed to the city centre. Ren [6], for example, notes “a century after the invention of urban sociology, the paradigm of urban studies has been inverted, with the ‘periphery’ taking center stage for urban inquiry” (p. 1), and that, in research of peripheral development in Indian cities, “based on mixed methods—historical analysis, oral history, ethnography, quantitative analyses, and visual documentation—these studies spotlight the incompleteness of city-making on the urban edge” (p.2).
Here, with a focus on Iran - a major developing country in Asia - this article discusses the growth of the Farahzad neighbourhood in the periphery of the nation’s capital city in recent decades, and examines the role of urban planning in this change process. Immigration since the turn of the century - from both within Iran and from outside - has resulted in the growth of informal settlements in the neighbourhood, including self-built shanties made of clay and straw. Such developments in the urban periphery are found in many parts of the World, as cities have struggled to accommodate immigrant families through planned housing provision [7]. As Atkinson [8] (para.62) notes “vulnerable groups have been impacted by poor planning in formal housing, such that no amount of reform or infill efforts could address the need for existing populations, much less the rapid influx of groups from other areas into the fringes of urban regions”. In this context, this article addresses the following research questions (RQs):
RQ1. How has Farahzad developed in recent decades and what types of urban fabric now prevail?
RQ2. What are the key problems currently evident in Farahzad and what role can urban planning play in their resolution?
Following this introduction, Section 2 looks at relevant literature and background information to the study. Section 3 then outlines the research methodology. In Section 4, the results are presented, directly addressing the two research questions set out above. Finally, Section 5 provides a conclusion to the study, noting its limitations and pointing up possible future areas for research in this field of study.

2. Relevant Literature and the Planning and Development Context

Tehran is divided into 22 districts, 123 areas, and 355 neighbourhoods, providing the administrative framework for urban governance and planning in the city. The functional zoning of the city of Tehran is embodied in the master (or comprehensive) plan of Tehran (Figure 2), approved in 2006 [9], which is the main document for guiding and controlling urban development and monitoring construction in the city. There are four main land use classifications: residential, commercial/business activity, mixed, and protected areas. Each of these classifications has its own characteristics and uses. Residential zones (yellow in Figure 2) are the most common zonings in Tehran, comprising housing, schools, and associated infrastructure. Commercial/business activity zones (red) are intended for uses such as offices, shops, and factories. Mixed zones (orange) combine residential, commercial/business activity, and other uses. They are often found in areas that are undergoing rapid development. In the case of the Tehran municipality, although the zonings are based on these four main land use classifications, there are also sub-zones within these four classifications, each with its distinct set of guidelines and colour differentiation on the plan. For instance, residential zones, which are marked in yellow in general, encompass a range of shades from light to dark yellow. Dark yellow on the plan indicates the special residential zone in the central city areas.
These zones are designed to provide a variety of housing and employment opportunities. Protected zones are designed to protect the city's natural and cultural resources (green), including parks, forests, and agricultural lands. As recently noted by Mansourihanis et al. [10], “land-use planning stands as a pivotal instrument for achieving the orderly, efficient, and sustainable physical evolution of cities and regions” (p.1). Yet all too often in the developing world [11], and indeed in some parts of Europe [12], urban planning has not played an effective role in guiding and controlling growth in the urban periphery. Indeed, Mohammadi [13], in his review of the master plans in Iran’s main cities, concluded that “the master city plans in Iran have many shortcomings, in the various stages as well as the implementation”, but that “these plans are still prepared and executed” (p.1).
In addition to master plans, there are also detailed level plans. The master plan is a long-term plan in which land use with appropriate zonings are specified according to strategic and development priorities, as in the Tehran master plan. A detailed plan is prepared based on the rules and criteria of the master urban plan for the particular area, and specifies development detail such as population density and construction layout, local level transportation infrastructure, and improvement and renovation schemes. The detailed plans are at district level (e.g., District 2 in Tehran) and complement the master plan of the city. These two types of plan have noticeable differences in the scale of the maps and method of preparation. The master plan aims to meet the needs for development in a 10-year period, with scales of 1:5000 or 1:10000. Detailed plans are generally prepared based on geographic information system (GIS) data, with a scale of 1:2000. In theory, detailed plans should be prepared by the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, but in practice they are often done by the municipality and sent to the city council who first verify alignment with the master plan. The detailed plan is then submitted to the “Article 5 Commission”, a body within the Supreme Council of Urban Planning and Architecture of Iran for approval. There is also scope for the provision of local plans, which indicate how the detail plan can be implemented in terms of road infrastructure, services provision, site parameters etc. at neighbourhood level [14].
One result of the inadequacy of these urban planning mechanisms in Iran is that it is difficult to measure and assess their efficacy in controlling urban development in any detail - they have in many cases become removed from the real urban growth process. Some scholars have thus turned to other means of assessing changes in city development, particularly in the urban periphery. Muñiz [15], in his review of concepts and terminology used in the context of the urban periphery, concluded “the ‘urban’ has historically been delimited with accuracy, often as an administrative or statistical unit. Yet nowadays, complex urban regions overcome these boundaries and show a shape that is difficult to delimit. Therefore, the analysis of contemporary urban forms should be released from those limits” (p. 250). In this context, Sarvari et al. [16] studied peripheral urban areas in the cities of developing countries, notably poor-quality residential zones with a lack of basic services, and termed these urban areas “worn-out urban fabrics” (WoUFs). In their study of WoUFs in Iran, they conclude that “urban regeneration of WoUFs is one of the main challenges that cities and inhabitants are facing, especially in developing countries where urban regeneration represents the principal means for improving the quality of life of residents and provides the minimum conditions to ensure a decent living” (p.1). Typically, WoUFs are characterised by socio-economic problems, often associated with an increase in the migrant population of the area, poor environmental quality, architectural vulnerability and accessibility problems, as evidenced by an acute shortage of urban public services. A contrasting approach has been developed by Jahani and Barghjelveh [17]. In their study of the Farahzad valley, they propose “a classification system, based on the energy-information fluxes within organizational levels and through the heterogeneity of the landscape” (para. 1). This has some overlap with the concept of urban fabric discussed here.
In the context of this research, the urban fabric of an area can be conceptualised as its physical characteristics, including the streetscapes, buildings, landscaping, roads and other infrastructure. Lynch [18] took “fabric”, “density”, and “accessibility” as the main characteristics to define urban space, and argued that fabric was an effective tool for reflecting overall morphological characteristics, asserting that fineness and degree of uniformity were important aspects of urban fabric. However, Li et al. [19] have argued that urban fabric not only reflects the physical characteristics of environmental structure, but also embodies social and economic relationships, and that the nature of land use, land value, construction intensity, and spatial density can also be considered in urban fabric studies. Thomson and Newman [20] further suggest that some urban fabrics have inherently more sustainable properties that need to be optimised and extended to other parts of an urban area. Both formal and informal social connections exist within specific social contexts and are linked to social capital [21]. Here, the evolution of the urban fabric in Farahzad is studied, taking its broader definition to include environmental and social aspects, as well as physical structure.

3. Research Method

The primary objectives of this research are to examine land use changes in the Farahzad neighbourhood and assess the current issues facing the resident population. The Farahzad neighbourhood was selected as a case study of the problems encountered in balancing population growth and residential livability in the Tehran periphery. Farahzad provides a snapshot of the spatial mismatches between incompatible land uses as the neighbourhood has been impacted by the rapid growth of Tehran. It also provided an opportunity to assess the current landscape in terms of urban fabrics rather than land use zonings.
The research is based on an interpretivist philosophy and an inductive, qualitative approach. This is in line with Gill and Johnson’s [22] assertion that an inductive approach is best suited to research in which the aim is to explore a study area and develop an explanation of the phenomenon being studied. There were three main phases in the research process (Figure 3). Firstly, a scoping literature review was undertaken to identify key concepts and develop the research questions for the study, reported above in section 2. A scoping review can provide a summary overview of the subject matter “to draw the big picture” [23] (p. 1). It involves a “broad scan of contextual literature” through which “topical relationships, research trends, and complementary capabilities can be discovered”[24] (p.351). Various academic databases, including Science Direct, IEEE Xplore, and Google Scholar were used to search for relevant sources, and the master plan for Tehran and associated documents were assessed.
Secondly, relevant documents, aerial photo images, plans and projects for Tehran Municipality's District 2, particularly the Farahzad neighbourhood, were located and studied. The availability of diverse data sources and models offers various approaches for measuring socio-ecological change [3]. Here, documents were obtained from online sources and from Tehran Municipality, and data for each map was gathered from relevant departments and organizations, such as the municipality and the Statistical Center of Iran, dated to 2023. The data was then analysed using GIS software, and appropriate maps were prepared.
Thirdly, a questionnaire was developed to elicit from interviewees relevant information regarding land use change and socio-economic issues in the Farahzad neighbourhood. The questions were answered through face-to-face interviews with officials shown in Table 1. Data was collected in the period from December 2023 to May 2024. The responses were then analyzed to identify issues and activity patterns in Farahzad. Since the interviewees were not proficient in English, the questions were asked in Persian, and the responses were translated into English by two authors of the paper, who cross-checked their translations.
The interviews were semi-structured, having the characteristics of both structured and unstructured interviews [25]. Semi-structured interviews were adjudged to be the most appropriate means of obtaining qualitative data with the highest possible level of knowledge being acquired in a flexible manner. As the interview progresses, the interviewee gets the opportunity to elaborate or provide more relevant information as appropriate [26]. The authors took the view that six in-depth interviews with experienced officials, from diverse backgrounds, were enough to allow the development of new material to address the research questions. This is supported by Guest et al. [27], who found that “basic elements for metathemes were present as early as six interviews” (p.59). All interviews took a minimum of one hour and some went beyond the two-hour mark. The quotations contained in the sections below are taken from the questionnaire and appended notes added in the interviews, which were recorded and subsequently searched for additional relevant material and quotations to address RQ2 and identify emerging themes. Identifying the neighborhood's lifestyle and activity patterns and tracking them over time assisted the researchers in achieving this goal. The analysis of the interview material provided a snapshot of the socio-economic challenges confronting residents and public authorities in the Farahzad neighbourhood.

4. Results

4.1. RQ1. How Has Farahzad Developed in Recent Decades and What Types of Urban Fabric Now Prevail?

The Farahzad neighbourhood was largely untouched by urban expansion until the late 1960s. Aerial photographs from the 1970s and earlier show that residential buildings were limited to the Farahzad villages and hamlets, and most of the lands were dedicated to agriculture and orchards. It was not until the late 1960s that construction in the southern parts of the area began to encroach on the village lands. In the mid-1970s, following the passing of a new law facilitating the building of residential complexes and townships, haphazard house construction progressed, leading to numerous environmental problems and the destruction of natural spaces.
The detailed plan for District 2 indicates a mix of land zone classifications for the Farahzad neighbourhood (Figure 4 and Table 2). As regards residential zoning, the neighbourhood includes zones of differing densities and environments (R112, R122, R212, and R241), with zone R112 (low-density residential) covering the largest area in terms of allocated space. The village areas and a significant portion of old Farahzad are classified as R212 and R241 (valuable rural or green residential zonings). The activity zones (S222 and S332) are to the south and south-east, and include some lands currently vacant and unoccupied, plus a multi-story car park under construction. However, the main band of commercial/business zoning (S222) encompasses the lower section of Emamzadeh Davood street, stretching from the lower boundary of the Yadegar-e Emam Expressway into the Farahzad neighbourhood. To the north of this commercial central strip is a mixed zone of business and residential uses, including commercial and office units, within residential areas, between Farahzad Square and Pachenar. Finally, the protection zones include the river valley to the west, the northern limits in the foothills of the mountains and two parks within the neighbourhood at Golepaad and Khordad.
This land zoning to a large extent reflects the current situation on the ground, although much of the informal dwelling construction has been contrary to some of these zonings. Figure 5 and Figure 6 provide an indication of how Farahzad has expanded in the period 2000 - 2023. As open land was developed for mass housing projects, cooperatives, and infrastructure in other parts of the city, so more people re-located into the Farahzad neighbourhood, which remained relatively undeveloped, in search of more traditional housing or informal dwellings. This resulted in the division and conversion of gardens into separate plots for construction, occupation of the protected riverside areas, and construction in the foothills of the surrounding mountainous areas. Development has spread around the main north-south axis (Emamzadeh Davood street, zoned for mixed and activity uses in Figure 4), which was once the route of passage for pilgrimage caravans, and around the tangential roads and pathways.
Today, Farahzad exhibits a number of contrasts in land use and the nature of the landscape. Its pleasant climate has given rise to a number of tourism related businesses, but this has also attracted low-income individuals seeking employment in these tourist establishments. The lack of adequate housing for these migrants has led, as noted above, to the growth of shanty, informal developments, characterised by a lack of adequate services, poverty, insecurity and a resultant low quality of life. The majority of the inhabitants currently living in these shanty areas initially lived in tents, which were destroyed by the municipal authorities. Because of such actions, a lack of trust in the public authorities has increased. This is a recurring theme in the informal settlements literature. Atkinson [8], for example, in his comprehensive study of this literature, concluded “programs may not work because there is a lack of trust in the government and its efforts”, and that “symbolic efforts are not enough” (para. 62). In Farahzad, however, the shanty dwellers constructed new dwellings, mainly of clay and straw, especially along the Farahzad River. Allahyari et al. [29] have emphasized the significance of river valleys in influencing land use and development patterns, and here, the availability of common land and amenable water supply have encouraged shanty developments in these riverside locations.
In contrast, the urban environment in the eastern part of Farahzad is of a higher quality, with better access to the city center, and newer and better-quality housing with relatively affluent inhabitants [30]. This is adjacent to the main area of business and commercial activity which has grown up around Emamzadeh Davood street and the Yadegar-e Emam Expressway, which curves around the southern border of the neighbourhood, leading eastwards. The residential areas cover most of the central part of the neighbourhood with green zones in the periphery to the north and west.
As a result of this significant growth process, the most common land use in Farahzad is residential, accounting for approximately 45% of the land area (Table 3). Vacant land makes up 32% of the neighbourhood, much of this land remaining fallow due to a lack of clear ownership and official documents. The challenging morphology of the area, with its mountains and hills to the north and river valley to the west, further complicates construction efforts. Agricultural land has been reduced to less than 5% of the land area, mainly used for cultivating diverse produce such as stone fruits, grapes, walnuts, and various vegetables. These agricultural plots, which serve as a food source for Tehran, are mainly located in the northeast part of the neighborhood.
Figure 7 provides a detailed picture of land use in 2023. The primary commercial land uses in the area include shops, real estate agencies, car galleries, car repair shops, and restaurants, which are located in the south and central areas around Farahzadi street. Urban facilities are integrated into these commercial areas, and additionally, there are several shrines, including Abu Taleb and Saleh, as well as important mosques that play a significant role at both local and supra-local levels. Two notable urban facilities include the health services center located in the north and a parking area situated in the west. The administrative area in the southeast is designated for the Farahzad sports complex.
In summary, the main changes in land use over the period 2020 -23, are: firstly, the significant growth of informal settlements in the Farahzad river valley on the western margin; secondly, the significant infilling – comprising both residential and business developments - around the main north to south and east west axes (Farahzadi/Tabarok streets; and Emamzadeh Davood street); thirdly, the expansion of modern apartment blocks on the eastern side of the neighbourhood; fourthly, the provision of new service infrastructure, including the sports complex, new parks and green spaces. The neighbourhood has thus changed significantly in this period, accommodating a growing population as Tehran continues to expand, experiencing environmental challenges, notably in the Farahzad valley area, with demographic shifts and some conservation initiatives.
Within this changed urban landscape – and building upon existing concepts in the existing literature - different urban fabrics (or patterns) can be defined and identified as an alternative to simple land use zoning. Population density, migration statistics, population ethnicity, dwelling typology, infrastructure quality and green zoning were all considered in conjunction with general land use assessment to define five urban fabrics evident in the neighbourhood.
The original core of the Farahzad neighborhood, along with its gardens, have over time been impacted by land division to create an organic fabric with a local identity. Around this old core, four other urban fabrics have evolved to create today’s urban landscape. Large areas of worn-out urban fabric are in evidence to the north, and to the west, on the banks of the Farahzad river, which include many of the informal settlements which have caused many problems and are rapidly penetrating into the surrounding fabrics, notably the areas of green space with which they are now interweaved. To the east of the neighbourhood, a modern urban fabric dominates, where – in general - there are better living conditions in newly constructed buildings where better economic conditions prevail. To the south, a small linear band of tourism fabric has evolved around the main routeway and commercial centre. These five urban fabrics (Figure 8) are detailed more precisely below.
The old (Organic) urban fabric includes the old village settlement of Farahzad, which has been shaped by its natural features, local economy, and rural culture (Figure 9). It contains Emamzadeh Davood street, the most important access road to Farahzad from Tehran, and the narrow, winding alleys and passages branching off from it. It is characterized by indigenous architecture with a variety of occupation patterns and climatic orientation, and some remaining old trees alongside the traffic routes. The nature of this fabric reflects the initial methods of dividing gardens and the topography of the area, with north-south accesses being used for internal communications and east-west alleys for access to the gardens. In the north and western parts of this fabric area, plots tend to be smaller and construction more unstable. This has led, particularly in the northern section, to a degraded dwelling stock, with residents vacating the area to be replaced by non-locals, including Afghans. Nevertheless, social cohesion and local participation are significant features of this old fabric. This is visible during events like Ashura (a day of commemoration in Islam), where residents demonstrate their unity with black mourning flags.
The modern urban fabric is located in the eastern side of the neighbourhood and includes modern house construction built in accordance with the detailed plan of Tehran. New construction has generally followed the approved building regulations, with plots measuring around 100 to 200 square meters in which newer developments have been constructed, making up about 20% of the neighbourhood as a whole. The fabric features modern, multi-story buildings with enhanced amenities and designs, and higher standard urban infrastructure, such as water, electricity, gas networks, and public transportation. Population density here has significantly increased due to the rise in buildings and residential units. Commercial areas, such as shopping centers, restaurants, and offices, have also been developed. Good access roads and sufficient passage width are typical in this fabric, and proximity to major roads like Kouhsar and the Yadegar-e Emam Expressway ensures good connectivity to other parts of the city (Figure 10).
The worn-out urban fabric is typified by illegal or informal development (Figure 11), socio-economic problems, poor environmental quality, architectural vulnerability, and a severe shortage of urban public services. This fabric is mainly in evidence in the northern and western parts of Farahzad, on the outskirts of the old town and near the Farahzad river, and requires new rehabilitation and management policies. Many dwellings are in irregular shapes with primitive architecture and there is thus no one dwelling design that typifies the worn-out urban fabric.
The tourism urban fabric is found within the organic urban fabric and retains some of the same features. Most of the main structure of this area is part of the old fabric of Farahzad village, but it now predominantly performs non-residential functions. Economic activities in Farahzad have shifted from traditional agriculture and livestock to leisure activities and tourism. Many gardens have been converted into garden-restaurants, lining the main street with restaurants and teahouses, which are primary attractions and revenue sources. This rapid development, while economically beneficial, has caused spatial disorder and potential social and cultural issues. The Yadegar-e Emam Expressway has facilitated access to Farahzad, boosting the popularity of these leisure facilities. In part to cater for the tourist trade, businesses such as car washes, repair shops, and other workshops have increased in recent years, interspersed with these recreational activities [31].
The natural and green urban fabric comprises gardens and orchards in which a variety of fruits are grown, using traditional farming methods for higher quality. Beyond crop production, these orchards provide crucial employment and help preserve rural culture. This fabric is found alongside the river valley in the west (Figure 12) and is interwoven with areas of worn-out urban fabric and shanty developments in some places.

4.2. RQ2. What Are the Key Problems Currently Evident in Farahzad and What Role Can Urban Planning Play in Their Resolution?

This section draws upon evidence from 6 in-depth interviews with local government officials and individuals working in development agencies (private and NGOs), as shown in Table 1 above.
Farahzad clearly suffers from a range of interconnected social, economic and environmental problems that impact the future planning and development of the neighbourhood, as attested to by several of the interviewees. P2, a Neighbourhood Development Officer observed that “the people of Farahzad neighborhood have obvious poverty - most of them are marginalized”. P4 works for the Mehr o Mah Institute (a local charitable agency), “with the aim of empowering children and women, which is organized according to the needs of the people in the educational and literacy classes in the institute”. P4 observed that “most of the residents who live in the Farahzad area are immigrants who have a low level of literacy and their income is low, so the living conditions in this area are very low”. P4 identified “Tabarok Street towards Farahzad River” as the main problem area in the neighbourhood, where there was an “accumulation of sleeping bags”, and other issues included “the lack of training centers, treatment centers, addiction and security centers [and] the old texture and the existence of stairwells that greatly reduced security”. Women were aided in earning a living by “training classes in the field of skill building, and selling handicrafts through virtual networks or holding public exhibitions”. P6, who works for a non-governmental charity (Rooyesh-e Nahal Institute), which provides a range of services for social, supportive, educational, and prevention purposes, added that the biggest problems were the sale and consumption of drugs, homeless people, working children and fugitive women and girls.
P6 also highlighted that “there were many ethnic prejudices and ethnic fights in Farahzad … we try to teach the concept that today's necessity is to live together”. P2 noted that religious conflict existed: “There is a hidden ethnic conflict in the neighborhood. Afghans, Torkamans and Kurds are Sunni; the Lors and the Khalkhalis are Shiite, and for this reason there is a hidden conflict between them, but it is not so much that they cannot live together, but there is a distance between them, so that the Sunnis have a mosque for themselves and the Shiites one for themselves”.
There are also problems with the physical infrastructure of the area. P2 stated that “the problem of garbage inside the neighborhood is very important because the garbage trucks cannot move inside the narrow alleys, and because of this, garbage is left by people in the place”. P2 also pointed out that “the neighbourhood does not have a sewer network and the sewage is flowing in the streets and a part of it flows into the river valley, which has caused pollution and health problems”….“some houses do not have a bathroom and they heat and bathe in a pit of water, which creates difficult conditions in winter”. P2 emphasised that communications improvements are needed: “the most important traffic plans that we proposed and want to implement are the connection of Yadegar-e Emam to Farahzad neighborhood, which is now cut off, and the other is to reach the public transportation network, because Farahzad does not have a metro station, bus, taxi, or even minibus”.
Several of the interviewees highlighted the need for a local plan to provide the necessary planning and regulatory framework for addressing the urban problems in the neighbourhood. P1, for example, emphasised that “Farahzad's biggest problem is the lack of a subordinate [local] plan that can be cited for urban development and urban design, and obtaining permits, etc.”. He emphasized the need for a local plan “to carry out an urban design for this area and get an approval from the Article 5 Commission”. He stressed the significance of the lack of a regulatory framework. Without the local plan approval “if someone wants to do something there: issuance of a permit, reconstruction, etc., there is no document on hand as a criterion for action for the municipality”. P1 talked of the content of a local plan drawn up with consultants and awaiting approval. It includes the “stabilisation of residences”, “ecologically correct reconstruction”, and “the organization of the restaurants”. P3 opined that as regards getting a local plan approved, “the municipality does not perform its main duty”. This lack of a clear framework for development has made attracting private investment into the neighbourhood more difficult. F2 reported the problems of attaining investment: “one of the capital owners, who is of Farahzadi origin, refused to invest in Farahzad and invested in the Opal business complex instead”. F2 suggested that “development incentives should be done first to encourage investors”.
The lack of ownership documentation is also a major hurdle in progressing future development. P1 observed “in my opinion, preserving the traditional texture and organizing it, and expanding the uses that attract the population, such as native and student residences, can be effective, but all this takes time and requires a lot of infrastructure, and this lack of infrastructure puts off investors…. the traditional fabric must be restored and secured. …. the problem is that we do not have ownership documents”. P3, a local council member, reinforced these points: “our priority has been the local plan for Farahzad. The main problem of Farahzad is the residents' ownership documents. Construction permits are not given, people build without permits, which the municipality demolishes, and the ruins are a place for drug addicts”.
P2 also highlighted this issue, asserting that “the most important problem that the people of the neighbourhood are facing is the problem of ownership, and they are not the owners of the houses they live in, because these lands belong to big owners, and at the beginning of the Revolution [1979], these people either ran away or bequeathed these lands to their children and their children either endow or abandon these lands”. P2 concluded that “for this reason, many residents of the neighbourhood (even those who have lived in the neighborhood for nearly fifty years) do not have ownership documents, and this has caused Farahzad to become an informal settlement”.
The potential of tourism and restaurant development was highlighted by several interviewees. P2 observed “it [the neighbourhood] has summer weather and in the past people came to Farahzad for recreation, climbing and the pilgrimage to Emamzadeh Davood, and the neighborhood was very prosperous and has a very favorable climate both in the past and now”. P1 noted that the neighbourhood’s restaurants “have definitely been effective in Farahzad's economy, but they must be organized and controlled, in terms of environmental measures and protection of traditional gardens”. P2 saw the growth of restaurants as “definitely positive. … in general, the presence of activity there creates employment and establishes the cycle of the economy. Like Hossein's restaurant, where all the employees are drug addicts who have quit and are working there. For this reason, we see the performance of these restaurants and canteens as quite positive and think that they are useful in terms of tourism”.
In summary, the neighbourhood faces a range of interrelated social-economic problems, exacerbated by the lack of an effective planning framework for development, lack of investment, and poor physical infrastructure. This has created a downward spiral of poverty and deprivation in much of the neighbourhood, alleviated only by limited municipal initiatives and charitable foundations. It has suffered from the rapid and haphazard urban expansion of Tehran into a rural suburb. As P3, a local council member, observed “Farahzad neighborhood was originally a village that was forced into the city due to the development of urbanisation, but its economy, culture, way of life and even its problems are reflective of its former rural life. Farahzad is neither a village nor a city”. This is has resulted in a situation in which, as P2 notes “lack of trust is normal”.
The work of voluntary organisations has been, and will continue to be, needed in Farahzad. The range of problems they face is illustrated by P5, who works as a volunteer for the Emam Ali Community Institute. P5 outlined the broad scope of their work: the charity focuses on “cultural aspects as well as economic activities; education of children left out of school; tutorial classes; training classes for income-generating professions such as sewing and needlework; literacy movement; financial facilities in the form of loans and non-financial support to start a business; recreational camps; support in the field of mental health promotion; supporting products and helping to sell them”.
The approval of a local plan and associated regulations to provide a framework for future development and land ownership ratification is urgently required, but the neighbourhood’s challenges go far beyond mere planning. The downward spiral of poverty and economic struggle is likely to continue until there is a significant change in the wider political system. Until then, the Farahzad neighbourhood is likely to remain as an in-between settlement in the urban periphery of one of the world’s major conurbations.

5. Conclusions

The urban landscape in Farahzad today reflects the urban change dynamics in Tehran as a whole over the past 25 years. What was hitherto a largely rural area on the northern outskirts of the city has been dramatically changed by the urban expansion of the city, the immigration to the city of folk from various developing nations, the lack of any significant investment in public facilities and infrastructure, and the failure of the urban planning system to comprehensively regulate development in the neighbourood as a whole.
One result of this combination of factors is that local planners and officials have struggled to put in place an authorised local plan as a point of reference from which to initiate development proposals, a situation exacerbated by the lack of clarity on land ownership and building regulations. While the District 2 detailed plan provides land zonings, more detailed development proposals are required. This weakness is exacerbated by the lack of clarity on land ownership and the fact that current land use in not in line with the zonings contained in the detailed plan in some areas.
This article clearly has its limitations, in that it examines peripheral urban growth in just one neighbourhood of one major city in the developing world. Because of this, wider generalisation about urban development in the city periphery is not appropriate. Nevertheless, the authors believe the research findings offer some valuable insights into some of the key themes discussed in the context of peripheral city growth. In addition, building upon field observation and feedback from local officials and residents, the article puts forward a classification of the neighbourhood into fabrics that accommodate human, physical, and environmental patterns schematically, focusing on the area's potential and weaknesses without adhering strictly to specific land use classifications. In the absence of any effective planning or development control mechanisms, this can provide an alternative perspective which may be of value to researchers, investors and planners interested in the Farahzad area. As Ren [6] notes “focusing on the periphery can deepen our understanding of the people and communities living on the metropolitan edge”, and “furthermore, it leads to important first steps for theorizing about urban structures, governance, and social relations in these rapidly urbanizing communities” (p. 3).
In this context, the recent evolution of Farahzad illustrates the convergence of what Yang et al. [32] term “top-town” and “bottom-up” influences in the development of the urban periphery. “The downward trend features the process that cities are expanding towards the urban outskirt next to which rural areas are located”, whilst “the upward trend reflects the process that some rural areas located in the urban periphery are creating functional urban fabric and converging into urban lifestyles” (p.95). Both these trends have worked in combination to produce the urban landscape in Farahazad today. The residents of Farahzad must now contend with a range of social, economic and cultural problems, which together constitute a major challenge to progress.
There are, however, some positives – the charitable organisations acting in the area have made some impact, the restaurant trade is bringing revenue and employment to the neighbourhood, the intrinsic beauty of the landscape to the north can be developed into new tourism opportunities, and a local plan may finally be approved to provide a clearer planning framework for future development. Future studies could build upon this initial study in Farahzad to examine any progress in the plan-making and approval process and its impact in Farahzad. Comparative studies in other major developing world cities could also provide fruitful results, not least in the applicability of the urban fabric concept as an alternative or complement to lad use zoning. However, as Mohammadi [13] concluded in his study of the Iranian planning system, “these plans now need to be modified in order to respond to the needs of the new urbanism or be replaced with suitable plans. This requires a change in the policy, laws, and spatial planning in Iran” (p. 1). Without change in these aspects of planning, and in the wider political system, it is difficult to envisage any significant improvement in the near future in this peripheral urban settlement in the outskirts of Tehran.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, Z.H., M.P. and M.W.; methodology, S.Z. and M.W.; validation, Z.H., M.P. and M.W.; formal analysis, Z.H., M.P. and M.W.; investigation, S.Z. and M.P.; resources, Z.H., M.P. and M.W.; data curation, Z.H., M.P. and M.W.; writing—original draft preparation, Z.H., M.P. and M.W.; writing—review and editing, Z.H., and M.W.; visualization, Z.H., M.P. and M.W.; supervision, Z.H., M.P. and M.W.; project administration, Z.H., M.P. and M.W. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Data Availability Statement

The GIS and interview data used in this article are held in a university environment. Further details are available from the corresponding author.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Figure 1. Location of the Farahzad neighbourhood in District 2 of Tehran municipality. Source: Authors.
Figure 1. Location of the Farahzad neighbourhood in District 2 of Tehran municipality. Source: Authors.
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Figure 2. Land use zoning in the Tehran master plan. Source: Tehran Municipality [9].
Figure 2. Land use zoning in the Tehran master plan. Source: Tehran Municipality [9].
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Figure 3. The 3 phases in the research process.
Figure 3. The 3 phases in the research process.
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Figure 4. District 2 detailed plan: land zone classifications in Farahzad. Source: Authors, based on [28].
Figure 4. District 2 detailed plan: land zone classifications in Farahzad. Source: Authors, based on [28].
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Figure 5. Farahzad Aerial Image 2000. Source: Authors, based on Google Earth.
Figure 5. Farahzad Aerial Image 2000. Source: Authors, based on Google Earth.
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Figure 6. Farahzad Aerial Image 2023. Source: Authors, based on Google Earth.
Figure 6. Farahzad Aerial Image 2023. Source: Authors, based on Google Earth.
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Figure 7. Land use in Farahzad 2023. Source: Authors, based on GIS data.
Figure 7. Land use in Farahzad 2023. Source: Authors, based on GIS data.
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Figure 8. Urban Fabrics in Farahzad 2024. Source: Authors, based on Google Earth.
Figure 8. Urban Fabrics in Farahzad 2024. Source: Authors, based on Google Earth.
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Figure 9. Farahzad: old (organic) urban fabric. Source: authors.
Figure 9. Farahzad: old (organic) urban fabric. Source: authors.
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Figure 10. Farahzad: modern urban fabric. Source: authors.
Figure 10. Farahzad: modern urban fabric. Source: authors.
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Figure 11. Farahzad: worn-out urban fabric Source: authors.
Figure 11. Farahzad: worn-out urban fabric Source: authors.
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Figure 12. Farahzad: natural and green urban fabric Source: authors.
Figure 12. Farahzad: natural and green urban fabric Source: authors.
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Table 1. Interviewee Profiles.
Table 1. Interviewee Profiles.
Code Affiliation Role/Title
P1
P2		 Farahzad municipality
Neighbourhood Development Office		 Advisor to Mayor
Director
P3 City Council Council member
P4
P5
P6		 Mehr o Mah Institute
Emam Ali Association
Rooyesh-e Nahal Institute		 Director
Employee
Board member
Table 2. Farahzad land use zones and codes.
Table 2. Farahzad land use zones and codes.
Macro Zones Code
 Main Zones
 Sub-Code Sub-Zones Sub-sub-Code
Residential (R) R1 General Residential R11 Low Density Residential R112
R12 Medium Density Residential R122
R2 Special Residential R21 Valuable Rural Residential Fabric R212
R24 Valuable Green Residential Fabrics R241
Activity (S) S 2 Centers and Areas of Commercial, Administrative, and Services (Predominantly Green and Open Spaces) S22 Commercial, Administrative, and Services (with Cultural Prevalence) S222
S33 Industrial and Technical Services S332
Mixed (M) M1 Activity with Residential M11 Mixed Commercial, Administrative, and Services with Residential M113
Protection (Green and Open) (G) G1 Public Green Space G11 Urban Parks G111
G3 Green and Open (Special Protection) G31 River Valleys G311
G312
G32 Special Green and Open Zones G323
Table 3. Land use in Farahzad 2023. Source: Authors, based on GIS data.
Table 3. Land use in Farahzad 2023. Source: Authors, based on GIS data.
Land use Area (M2) Percentage
Residential 373260.2 45.72
Mixed-residential 14304.1 1.75
Commercial 23288.6 2.85
Administrative 11025.1 1.35
Educational 4326.6 0.53
Urban facilities 21910.8 2.68
Medical 1305.6 0.16
Cultural 862.9 0.11
Religious 5740 0.7
Industrial 5123.1 0.63
Parks/open-spaces 27898.2 3.42
Agricultural 36141.9 4.43
Urban Equipment 23012.8 2.82
Transportations 2660.1 0.33
Vacant land 265625.2 32.53
Total 816485.2 100
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