Territorial approach to rural development in Iran (A systematic review)

Many years have passed since the initiation and implementation of sustainable rural development projects in the country of Iran, however, rural communities in many regions of the country still face numerous challenges. In this regard, government planners and administrators have made efforts to address the issues and problems of rural areas by presenting new approaches. Accordingly, the current research aims to provide a different approach to rural development by critically and comparatively analyzing traditional approaches in rural development planning. Therefore, the present research is of a developmental type, and the research method is analytical-interpretive, with data collection primarily based on library and documentary research. The findings of the study indicate that the top-down approach based on the endogenous approach and sectoral planning still dominates the rural development system in Iran, and as a result, the desired development of rural communities nationwide has not been achieved. The results show that sustainable rural development can be facilitated at the national level by incorporating the characteristics of a territorial approach. This suggests that a proposal beyond agriculture should be based on the participation of all stakeholders, emphasizing the importance of social factors and rural institutions, and incorporating both agricultural and non-agricultural occupations, considering the interrelationships between agricultural, industrial, and service sectors, and most importantly, it should be inconsistent with a spatial perspective on urban-rural relations. Therefore, the process of rural development in the country would be economically rational, socially equitable, and environmentally responsible.