An Anthropological Study of an  Urban Poverty Island in Tehran

One of the consequences of rapid growth of urbanization in developing countries, asa way of passing though modernity, has been the appearance of intercity slums,called here ‘poverty Islands’. In this paper we have developed a qualitative andethnographic survey of one of these little slums: Mehran quarter situated in the 4thdistrict of Tehran which is nearly 25 years old. Mehran is physically divided by ahighway and partly destroyed, but still has a population of about 40 familiesoriginating from different Iranian ethnic groups: Azeris, Lurs, and Kurds. Theethnographical survey demonstrates that shaping and evolution of space have takenplace under the influence of ethnic characteristics. In addition, this article tries toshow the importance of an anthropological and ethnicity-oriented approach in helpthe urban policy makers in this case and other urban areas which are likely tobecome slums. In other words, studies like the present one aim to develop for urbanpolicy makers, more coherent and humane ways for finding sound solutions forthese kinds of populations, particularly in the Iranian metropolitan centers.