Tehran: Old and emerging spatial divides

Abstract

Social and spatial inequalities are important challenges in today’s urban life. Socio-economic inequalities sometimes manifest themselves in the form of spatial inequality. In other words, spatial inequality represents social inequality or distribution disorder in the social system. Tehran, as a metropolis and the capital of Iran, has a crucial role in the national system. The continuous growth and development of Tehran has unbalanced its system. The city has attracted a large population. As a centre, Tehran plays an important role in the country’s macro socio-economy but its urban components suffer from spatial inequality and unbalanced distribution of services. One of the most visible characteristics of Tehran is its North-South spatial inequality and polarisation created by modernisation and its elements such as cars and newly emerged business districts. Although the revolution of 1979 came with a promise of equality and improvement of lifestyle for the poor and the marginalised, the growing gap between the rich and the poor and spatial inequality in Tehran in the ensuing years have been widened. Although most urban planners and sociologists in Iran think that spatial inequality in Tehran is a historic trend and not caused by globalisation, others believe that globalisation has intensified it. A global city or not, this chapter illustrates old and new emerging spatial inequality lines and patterns in Tehran, and also examine the theory of ‘Global City’ (Saskia Sassen’s theory) between 1996 and 2006 on this case.