Explaining The Barriers to The Realization of Strategic Spatial Planning in Iran

Strategic spatial planning is presented as an approach to deal with the chronic challenges facing the sustainable use of space, i.e. the physical-spatial division and the policy-planning division. However, there are major barriers to realizing this approach in Iran, which are affected by its governance and planning system approaches. In this regard, the current research has attempted to identify and explain the major barriers to the realization of strategic spatial planning in Iran with an exploratory approach and a combined interview and targeted Delphi method. The data was collected through a semi-structured interview in the form of a targeted Delphi method in two rounds of 25 experts, and the barriers and related concepts were confirmed, extracted and described using MAXQDA software and Kendall's coefficient of agreement. The results of 405 extracted codes indicated that there are 4 major barriers to the realization of strategic spatial planning in Iran, which are: geographical-spatial barrier (6 explanatory concepts and 26% of the extracted codes), rentier political economy barrier (7 explanatory concepts and 34% of extracted codes), institutional division barrier (7 explanatory concepts and 23% of extracted codes) and structural-spatial division barrier (7 explanatory concepts and 17% of extracted codes). The present study highlights the importance of recognizing and correctly confronting and taking constructive measures against the four mentioned barriers, which are the main sources of physical-spatial and political-planning divisions in the way of realizing strategic spatial planning in Iran.