The Inequality of Development in the 22 Districts of Tehran Metropolis

In the recent century, urbanization ratio has increased four times in Iran and now three quarters of the population lives in urban areas. Rapid urban transition of Iran is associated with an increase in differentiation and inequality not only among cities, but also within cities and among urban districts. Thus, one of the key features of Tehran metropolis is regional and spatial inequality. In this regard, the main aim of this study is to investigate the extent and patterns of spatial inequality using the socio-economic index in 22 districts of Tehran.
The study was designed in the developmental leveling framework and descriptive-analytical as research method was applied. Multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) procedure was used to measure the development of the districts. TOPSIS and factor analysis as technical methods and 16 social - economic indicators from 2011 census data were used.
Findings: Results indicated the highest degree of development belong to region 3 and the lowest belong to district 17 of Tehran. The highest score of development, respectively, for the 3, 1, 2, 6 and 5 districts and the lowest one for the districts of 17, 19, 18, 15, 16 and 20, respectively, were found. The Results of TOPSIS and factor analysis techniques in measuring and ranking of the 22 districts of Tehran based on socio-economic development index were almost similar with a very high positive correlation (0.99). Using cluster analysis, we classified the 22 districts of Tehran into five groups in terms of socio-economic development levels; four districts including 3, 1, 2 and 6 were grouped as developed areas. The districts of 5 and 7 were relatively developed areas. Six districts of 4, 8, 22, 13, 21, and 11 were categorized as areas with moderate development level. Five districts (10, 14, 9, 12 and 20) were in the less developed group. Finally, the five districts including 16, 15, 18, 19 and 17 were classified as underdeveloped (very poor) areas in Tehran.
Results indicated that there are significant differences between urban districts of Tehran city in terms of the socio-economic development index. Underdeveloped and less developed regions are located in the south and southeast of Tehran city; moderate and relatively developed areas are found in the central and west parts of Tehran; finally, developed (rich) areas are located in the northern half of the Tehran city. In general, spatial inequality in various aspects of development is the distinguishing feature of Tehran metropolis and also, urban spatial inequality is a key driver of urban unsustainable development