Territorialisation and deterritorialisation: A topography of conflict in the Tehran University Development Plan, Iran
Abstract
The research discussed in this paper delves into the complex processes of territorialisation and deterritorialisation in urban development planning, focusing specifically on the Tehran University Development Plan. The study employs a robust methodology that includes 66 interviews with a wide array of stakeholders. It identifies and examines five core concepts that reveal the impact of the development plan: local resistance, academic discourse, power structures, mechanisms of urbanisation and dispossession. By analysing these concepts, the research uncovers how centralised narratives and political agendas affect the spatial relations. The study exposes the contentious nature of urban planning, demonstrating how planning processes can intensify spatial inequalities and marginalise local populations. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
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Author's Biography
Zahra Rahmati is a graduate of urban planning from Tarbiat Modares University. She has over a decade of professional experience in urban regeneration and renewal. Her research focuses on the political economy of space, with a particular emphasis on dispossession, regeneration, spatial justice, land use and gentrification. Zahra is particularly interested in the democratic approach to planning that mitigates conflicts of interest among urban actors and fosters social and spatial justice.
Ahmad Yazdanian is a PhD student of urban planning at The University of Queensland and a researcher in the political economy of space. His research interests include affordable housing, genealogy, urban renewal, spatial conflicts, land use, space and capital and social and spatial justice. Through his research, Ahmad aims to develop planning and policy-making approaches that enable the production of space with minimal exclusion and maximum inclusivity for diverse social groups.
Ali Cheshmehzangi is Head of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Queensland. One of his primary concerns is urban sustainability, which he conceptualises through social, environmental and cultural dimensions. Ali’s research is consistently oriented toward achieving sustainable spatial and social relations.
