An analysis on the development plans and urban land policies in Tehran metropolis with emphasis on good land governance approach

The concepts of land and land use planning and its objectives have changed over time. These changes include: Changes in the socioeconomic concept, the evolution of the concept of land, physical and new priorities in land use per capita. In addition, seeking to promote the environmental movement in the 1980s led to the global popularity of the concept of sustainable development, qualitative changes in approaches and methods of planning and urban design. Since then, urbanization goals have changed from physical and functional issues towards the sustainable urban development. In fact, equitable access to land is one of the components of sustainable development. The true role of land and its importance in sustainable development is properly understood when its prerequisites are taken into consideration. One of the most important of these prerequisites can be pointed to good land governance. Alongside this revival of land issues in development policy discourse, is the emergence of a distinct pole in governance discourse, namely, ‘land governance’. The term and notion of ‘land governance’ has gained currency within the mainstream agencies in recent years, and generally means the most efficient way of administration of land issues, such as cadastres, land titling, and so on.
Land governance encompasses a range of issues and subjects that the laws and policies of urban land is one of those cases. So, the urban land laws and policies from the perspective of good governance approach Provides good understanding of the policies and rules and patterns of urban land issues.
The main method of this study was a descriptive-analytical approach that has been carried out using a literature review in library data. This research is both fundamental and practical. The main goal of this study is to determine the characteristics and consequences of good and poor governance and the interpretation of laws and policies from the perspective of good land governance model and determining the obstacles to fulfill the requirements of good land governance in Tehran Metropolis.
In the Third Development Plan (1962-1967), the master plan for Tehran Metropolis was prepared. Such plans led to long-term government intervention in the land market. It should be noted that the criterion of 300 meters for land separation in the first comprehensive plan of Tehran was far beyond the average residential land area in the status quo (about 100 meters) and was beyond the capacity of low-income groups.This pattern was repeated in subsequent programs and led to projections of lower income groups to the suburban areas. Whereas good land governance requires knowledge and beyond citizen participation and interest groups in the preparation and implementation of development programs and urban land policies, effectiveness and efficiency is one of the most important criteria for good land governance that must be based on accurate and perfect laws and regulations. In Tehran Metropolis, the lack of adequate and affordable housing, especially for low-income groups led to poor governance of land and housing. Also, given that decision-making process is centralized, the local land management has not been achieved.
The results showed that, zoning laws, land separation regulations, and housing planning flaws led to speculation of land and housing in Tehran metropolis and ignored low-income groups in urban plans and increased urban sprawl and expansion of the unregulated constructions as a result of poor land governance. Also, it is necessary to mention that the land acquisition and construction by various institutions without permission, the institutional irregularities, centralized decision-making process and the lack of formation of local land management, lack of transparency and unclear land property situation within and outside the cities, all of which are in contradiction with the principles of good land governance. Good land governance is based on transparency of ownership, land tenure security and transparency and so on. This is a very basic issue that also continues. Therefore, the need to revise the governance structure along with subsidiarity and providing the context of popular participation, and institutions such as councils by state are the essential issues. In the end, it must be emphasized that the realization of local land management also depends on good land governance.