A National Guideline for Transit-Oriented Development: Challenges and Prospects for the Iranian Edition

Outstanding consequences of transport land-use integration under the label of transit-oriented development (TOD) approach in pioneer countries have spurred several newcomers to apply such a policy. Of which, Iran with a centralized planning system has recently provided a TOD national guideline with the purpose of curbing traffic-caused challenges. This study attempts to describe the process applied for the guideline preparation and discover operational challenges and future prospects for TOD successful implementation offering a local edition in Iran. The research has a qualitative approach, based on the case study. Critical analysis of Iranian existing situation together with review of five-year process which ends up with final approval of the guideline, are basic tools applied to investigate the situation. The results demonstrated that although the guideline as a turning point pinpointed the policy of the integration in Iranian policymaking efforts, there are still several barriers to realize TOD policies in Iran including inconsistent urban policies, profit making from TOD potentials, no practical experience, lacking public support and weak local authorities. This study also offers some lessons for such countries with a similar system of urban planning and/or policy challenges, which are planning transport and land use integration.