The Performance of Tehran Municipality in Monitoring the Price of Bread in the First Pahlavī Era

After gaining power, Reza Shah Pahlavī started political, administrative and social reforms with authoritarian centralist policies and modernization. The management of urban affairs and municipalities was one of the areas where structural and administrative reforms took place. One of the duties of municipalities in that period was monitoring the price of bread. The hoarding of grain and flour and the shortage and increase in the price of bread had created a chaotic situation in Tehran. This article, relying on written sources and especially official documents, has answered the question, what solution did Tehran municipality take to solve the problem of bread shortage and monitor its price and what actions did it take? The Pahlavī government tried to manage urban affairs, especially the issue of bread, by choosing a military person, Colonel Karim Khan Bouzarjamhari, as the head of Tehran municipality. This measure was effective and Tehran municipality took control of the affairs to a large extent and started a fundamental reform. Reforms that included the issuance of health booklets, inspection of bakery shops, determination of working hours of bakeries, reduction of prices and the writing of regulations for the punishment of high-priced sellers, and the approval and application of trade union and food regulations