Baladieh's (Municipality) Performance during the First Pahlavi period: A Case Study of Shiraz

Baladieh is a reflection of local people’s hopes and demands. The formation of Baladieh in Iran dates back to the pre-Constitution era and the reign of Naser al-Din Shah. Nevertheless, formal establishment of the Baladieh of Shiraz is recorded in 1286 AH/ 1907 AD. The Baladieh of Shiraz was no more than an empty title during the Qajar era which had not achieved anything beyond partial cleaning and lighting of the city. Shiraz was a traditional city with narrow alleyways which were pitch-dark at night. During the Pahlavi I period, Baladieh underwent certain improvements and a few steps were taken forward. This paper, based on an analytical approach and relying on first-class sources such as the press and unpublished documents of the National Organization of the Fars Foundation, studies the effects of changes in the Baladieh of Shiraz. The central question of the study is: what were the most important obstacles and problems of urban services in Shiraz? Three categorizes of problems were identified in this study. The main hypothesis throughout the research can be summarized as: financial and local factors were hindering the development of urban services in Shiraz. The findings of this research indicate that, despite the gradual improvement in Baladiah's performance, the lack of financial resources was the most important problem of Baladieh of Shiraz during the first Pahlavi era.