Evaluating the Position of Tehran Urban Management within the Macro-Political and Administrative Structure

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the structural and functional position of Tehran’s urban management within Iran’s macro-political and administrative system and to identify its principal strengths and deficiencies. This applied and analytical study employed a mixed qualitative–quantitative design. The study population consisted of urban planning and urban management specialists, academics, municipal administrators, and experts from organizations involved in governing Tehran. Using non-probability snowball sampling, 75 participants were recruited. Qualitative data were collected through a review of documents, scholarly literature, articles, and theses, from which the initial assessment criteria were derived. Quantitative data were subsequently obtained using a closed-ended questionnaire administered through a three-round Delphi panel. Following expert review and refinement, 20 criteria were retained under eight indicators: decentralization, participation, rule of law, transparency and accountability, efficiency and effectiveness, consensus orientation, responsibility, and justice and equity. Data were analyzed using means, standard deviations, and coefficients of variation. Expert consensus indicated that Tehran’s urban management occupied an unfavorable structural and functional position. Of the 20 assessed criteria, 12 obtained scores below the theoretical midpoint of three, whereas only eight received scores above this threshold. Structurally, the influence of macro-level economic and social planning policies on the municipality received the highest evaluation. However, decentralization, administrative integration, interorganizational cooperation, the establishment of new municipal revenue sources, and governmental transparency were rated unfavorably. Functionally, staff responsibility based on a precise division of duties received the highest score. Conversely, the delegation of planning and policymaking authority to local managers and civil society, institutional adaptability, staff training, and citizen participation were assessed as inadequate. Improving Tehran’s urban management requires a transition from a centralized and fragmented structure toward an integrated, multilevel, and participatory governance system. This transition should include greater authority for local institutions, stronger interorganizational coordination, sustainable municipal revenues, institutional accountability, and meaningful participation by citizens, civil society organizations, and the private sector.