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The National Conference of Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Abstract Proceedings
Trans.: Mahdi Shafieyan, Ph.D.
Imam Sadiq University
Islamic Republic of Iran
Ministry of the Interior
Education and
Strategic Studies Center
In the Name of the God
The National Conference of
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Abstract Proceedings
Trans.: Mahdi Shafieyan
(Assistant Professor at Imam Sadiq University PBUH
)
The Education and Strategic
Studies Center
The National Conference of Balanced
and Sustainable Regional Development
iii
President of the Conference
Hon. Minister of the Interior
Dr. Abdorreza Rahmani Fazli
Secretary-General of the Conference and Head of the Strategic Board
President of the Education and Strategic Studies Center
Dr. Asghar Eftekhari
Secretary of the Conference Strategic Board
Research Vice-President of the Education and Strategic Studies Center
Dr. Sayyid Saeed Jalali
Scientific Secretary of the Conference
Dr. Aboozar Kosari
President of the Conference Permanent Secretariat and the Organizing Chair
Dr. Mozaffar Sadeqi
iv
The Conference Scientific Board
Dr. Asghar Eftekhari President of the Education and Strategic Studies Center
Dr. Sayyid Saeed Jalali Research Vice-President of the Education and Strategic Studies Center
Dr. Aboozar Kosari Scientific Secretary of the Conference
Dr. Mozaffar Sadeqi President of the Conference Permanent Secretariat &
Secretary of the Organizing Committee
Dr. Mostafa Azkia Faculty Member at University of Tehran
Dr. Abbas Saeedi Faculty Member at Shahid Beheshti University
Dr. Farajollah Ahmadi Faculty Member at University of Tehran
Dr. Lotfali Aqeli Faculty Member at Tarbiat Modares University
Dr. Ahmad Shabani Faculty Member at Imam Sadiq University
The Conference Specialized Panels Panel of Conceptual, Theoretical, and Methodological Basics of
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Name Workplace Major Position
Dr. Ahmad Shabani Imam Sadiq University PBUH
Economics Chair
Dr. Hojjatollah Abdolmaleki " " Member
Dr. Mahdi Toqyani " " "
Dr. Mohammad Javad
Sharifzadeh
" " "
Dr. Mohammad Nemati " " "
Dr. Mohammad Hasan Khani " Political Studies Sessions
Organizing
Chair
Dr. Aboozar Gohari
Moqaddam
" " Lecturer
Dr. Jalal Derakhsheh " " "
Dr. Hasan Majidi " " "
Panel of the Environment in Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Dr. Majid Makhdoom University of Tehran Spatial
Planning and
Assesment
Chair
Dr. Naghmeh Mobarqe„i Shahid Beheshti University;
Research Vice-President of
Environmental Sciences
Research Institute
Environmental
Economics
Head
Dr. Hoomaan Liaqati Shahid Beheshti University;
President of the
Environmental Sciences
Research Institute
Environment Sessions
Organizing
Chair
Dr. Hamid Gashtasb Meygoni University of Tehran Park Protection Member
Dr. Lo‟bat Zebardast " Environmental
Planning
"
Dr. Farideh Meqdadi " " Lecturer
Dr. Maryam Esma„ilifar " " "
v
Dr. Shadnaz Azizi " " "
Panel of the Social Aspects of Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Dr. Mostafa Azkia University of Tehran &
Islamic Azad University,
Science and Research
Branch, Tehran
Sociology Chair
Dr. Hosein Imani Jajarmi University of Tehran " Sessions
Organizing
Chair
Dr. Sayyid Ahmad
Firoozabadi
University of Tehran " Member
Dr. Soheila Alirezanezhad Islamic Azad University,
Central Tehran Branch
" "
Dr. Minaee Institute for Humanities and
Cultural Studies
" Sessions
Organizing
Chair
Dr. Asghar Eftekhari Imam Sadiq University PBUH
;
President of the Education
and Strategic Studies Center
Political
Studies
Lecturer
Dr. Saeed Mojarradi " "
Dr. Qadir Nasiri Kharazmi University " "
Dr. Parviz Piran --- Sociology "
Dr. Farshad Mo‟meni Allameh Tabataba'i
University
" "
Dr. Moshfeq " "
Panel of the Politico-Security Dimensions of Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Dr. Farajollah Ahmadi University of Tehran History Chair
Dr. Abolhasani " Political Studies Member
Dr. Yazdanfam Research Institute of
Strategic Studies
" "
Dr. Morshedizad Shahed University " "
Dr. Sayyid Ahmad Movasaqi University of Tehran " "
Dr. Abdorrasool Kheirandish Shiraz University History "
Dr. Masood Motalebi Islamic Azad University,
Azad Shahr Branch
Political Studies "
Panel of the Economic Angles of Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Dr. Lotfali Aqeli Tarbiat Modares University Economics Chair
Dr. Morteza Ezzati " " Lecturer
Dr. Sayyid Morteza Afqah Shahid Chamran University " Member
Mr. Khosro Qubadi President of Institute for
Humanities and Social
Sciences of ACECR
--- Sessions
Organizing
Chair
Dr. Iraj Qasemi Institute for Humanities and
Social Sciences of ACECR
--- Lecturer
Mr. Naqi Asgari " " "
vi
Mr. Alireza Nazari " Geography and
Rural Planning
"
Mr. Alireza Rahmatnia Regional Planning and
Development Vice-
President of the
Management and Planning
Organization of Iran
" "
Dr. Farzam Poorasghar National Planning Center,
Management and Planning
Organization of Iran
Environment "
Dr. Alaeddin Azvaji Vice-President of
Macroeconomic Planning
Office
Economics "
Mr. Mohammad Reza Yoosefi --- " "
Panel of the Spatial Respects of Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Dr. Abbas Saeedi Shahid Beheshti University
Geography and
Rural Planning
Chair
Dr. Mohammad Reza Rezvani University of Tehran " Sessions
Organizing
Chair
Dr. Abdorreza Roknoddin
Eftekhari
Tarbiat Modares University " Member
Dr. Mahdi Poortaheri " " Lecturer
Dr. Keramatollah Ziari University of Tehran Geography and
Urban Planning
"
Dr. Mohammad Taqi
Rahnamaee
" " "
Dr. Sayyid Ali Badri " Geography and
Rural Planning
Member
Dr. Sayyid Hasan Motiee
Langarudi
" " "
Dr. Alireza Darban Astaneh " " "
Dr. Mohammad Amin
Khorasani
" " "
Dr. Mohammad Salmani " " "
Dr. Hasanali Faraji Sabokbar " " "
Dr. Fazileh Khani " " "
Dr. Hasan Afrakhteh Kharazmi University " "
Dr. Mostafa Taleshi Payame Noor University " "
Dr. Javad Eta„at Shahid Beheshti University Political Studies Lecturer
Dr. Sayyid Hasan Sadooq " Geomorphology Member
Integrative Panel
Mr. Mohammad Ehsan
Hooshmand
Iranian Sociological
Association
Sociology Chair
Mr. Ali Ehsan Hooshmand " " Member
vii
Dr. Mohammad Hasan Khani Imam Sadiq University PBUH
Political Studies "
viii
Table of Contents
Preface ......................................................................................................................................... 1
The Words of the Honorable Minister of the Interior ................................................................. 2
The Words of the Secretary-General of the Conference and the President of the Education and
Strategic Studies Center .............................................................................................................. 3
The Words of the Scientific Secretary of the Conference ........................................................... 4
An Introduction to the Conference .............................................................................................. 5
Balanced and Sustainable Development from the Viewpoint of the Honorable Minister of the
Interior ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Section One: Conceptual, Theoretical, and Methodological Basics of Balanced and
Sustainable Regional Development ........................................................................... 7
1.1. Articles ................................................................................................................................. 8
The Theoretical Essentials of Balanced Regional Development in Iran ................................. 8
Sustainable Development and the Systems Thinking Paradigm ............................................. 9
An Analysis of the Proper Paradigm to Identify the Regional Advantages in Balanced
Growth and Sustainable Development .................................................................................. 10
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development: Teachings from Universal Experiences
and Development Plans in Iran .............................................................................................. 11
1.2. Reports .............................................................................................................................. 12
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development in the Higher-Order Documents ............ 12
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development in Imam Khomeini‟s Words .................. 13
Legal Dimensions of Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development .............................. 14
Section Two: The Environment in Balanced and Sustainable Regional
Development ............................................................................................................ 15
2.1. Articles ............................................................................................................................... 16
A Pathological Study of the Previous Development Plans: An Environmental Viewpoint .. 16
The Protected Areas and Balanced and Sustainable Development ....................................... 17
Management and Optimum Exploitation of Water Resources in Balanced and Sustainable
Regional Development: Lake Urmia as a Case Study ........................................................... 18
ix
The Role of Ecological Systems in Regional Balance: Lake Urmia as a Case Study ........... 19
An Assessment of Urban Sprawl‟s Environmental Impacts: Torqabeh‟s Mehr Housing
Project .................................................................................................................................... 20
2.2. Reports .............................................................................................................................. 21
A Reflection on the Spatial Planning Policies in Iran ........................................................... 21
Green Economy and Sustainable Regional Development ..................................................... 22
Rural Cognitive Clusters Model: A Sustainable Attitude toward Balanced Regional
Development .......................................................................................................................... 23
New Technologies: A Solution for Sustainable Rural Development .................................... 24
Section Three: The Social Aspects of Balanced and Sustainable Regional
Development ............................................................................................................ 25
3.1. Articles ............................................................................................................................... 26
Indigenous Communities and Their Role in Regional Development .................................... 26
Public Participation and the Role of Local Societies in Regional Development .................. 27
A Sociological Study of Ethnic Variables in Sustainable Development: Kurdistan as a Case
Study ...................................................................................................................................... 28
3.2. Reports .............................................................................................................................. 29
The Role of Social Capital in Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development ................ 29
Asymmetrical Growth, Social Solidarity, and Balanced and Sustainable Regional
Development .......................................................................................................................... 30
The Role of Culture and Indigenous Cultural Models in Balanced and Sustainable Regional
Development .......................................................................................................................... 31
Public Participation and the Role of Local Societies in Balanced and Sustainable Regional
Development .......................................................................................................................... 32
Social Justice and Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development in Iran ....................... 33
Migration and Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development ........................................ 34
A Pathological Study of the Previous Development Plans from a Social Perspective .......... 35
Cyberspace/Social Networks and Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development .......... 36
Section Four: The Politico-Security Dimensions of Balanced and Sustainable
Regional Development ............................................................................................. 37
4.1. Articles ............................................................................................................................... 38
x
The Roots and Historical Functions of Customs Policies in Lack of Balanced Development
in Frontier Regions ................................................................................................................ 38
The Frontier Markets: A Securing Mechanism in Sustainable Frontier Regions‟
Development .......................................................................................................................... 39
An Analysis of Security Outcomes of Iran‟s Stable Regional Imbalance ............................. 40
The Effect of Climate Change on Frontiers: The Aras in Jolfa as a Case Study ................... 41
The Effects of Gorgan-Incheh Borun Railway on the Northern Golestan ............................ 42
A Problematology of the Iranian Frontier Regions‟ Development in the Light of
Constructivism ....................................................................................................................... 43
4.2. Reports .............................................................................................................................. 44
The Necessities of Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development .................................. 44
The Islamic Political Foundations of Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development ..... 45
Macro Policy-Making and Its Role in Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development ... 46
The Social Backgrounds of Ethno-religious Radicalism and Its Effect on Balanced and
Sustainable Regional Development ....................................................................................... 47
Section Five: The Economic Angles of Balanced and Sustainable Regional
Development ............................................................................................................ 48
5.1. Articles ............................................................................................................................... 49
An Estimation of the Underground Economy in Khuzestan and Its Causal Relation with the
Inequality in Income Distribution.......................................................................................... 49
The Effect of the Needs and Capacities in the Government‟s Budget Appropriation on the
Economic Growth of the Iranian Provinces .......................................................................... 50
Balanced Regional Development Planning via the Cooperatives‟ Capacities for Granting
Entrepreneurial Microcredit .................................................................................................. 51
ICT Effects on the Socioeconomic Dimensions of Rural Areas: Amol as a Case Study ...... 52
5.2. Reports .............................................................................................................................. 53
Development Planning: Realities and Challenges ................................................................. 53
Spatial Planning in the Littoral Regions of Iran: Opportunities and Challenges .................. 54
The Role of Free Trade-Industrial Zones in Balanced and Sustainable Regional
Development .......................................................................................................................... 55
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development: Free Zones ............................................ 56
xi
Section Six: The Spatial Respects of Balanced and Sustainable Regional
Development ............................................................................................................ 57
6.1. Articles ............................................................................................................................... 58
Rural-Urban Development Continuum in Rural Systems in Line with Balanced and
Sustainable Regional Development ....................................................................................... 58
The Drainage Basins‟ Role in Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development ................ 59
An Analysis of Rural Settlement Systems: Fars Province as a Case Study .......................... 60
The Role of Spatial Planning in Drafting Iran‟s Regional Development Policies ................ 61
The Role of Intermediary Cities in Regional Development: Parsabad and MEshkinshahr as
Cases of Study ....................................................................................................................... 62
The Rural-Urban Development Continuum in Industrial Cities in Line with Balanced and
Sustainable Regional Development: Alborz in Qazvin as a Case Study ............................... 63
6.2. Reports .............................................................................................................................. 64
A Pathological Study of the Previous Development Plans in Local-Spatial Terms .............. 64
Spatial Planning as an Alternative to Sectoral Planning ....................................................... 65
Rural-Urban Development Continuum in Rural Systems in Line with Balanced and
Sustainable Regional Development ....................................................................................... 66
Rural Servicing and Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development ............................... 67
Regional Imbalance in Iran: Roots and Reasons ................................................................... 68
The National System of Development Evaluation Standards: Development Evaluation and
Planning Monitoring System (SATRA) ................................................................................ 69
Section Seven: Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development: An Integrative
View ......................................................................................................................... 71
The Status of Some of the Regional Imbalance Standards in Iran ........................................ 71
Towns‟ Role in Spatial Balance of Regions‟ Population: Fars Province as a Case Study .... 72
An Analysis of Intraprovincial Development Reports .......................................................... 73
1
Preface The Ministry of the Interior, in line with the development-based aims and approach of the
honorable minister and the Sixth Development Plan of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2016-2021),
embarked on organizing the First Conference of Balanced and Sustainable Regional
Development in cooperation with influential institutions, universities, elites, governorates, and
the other subsidiary units of the ministry. The present proceedings are a summary of the panels‟
discussions on conceptual, theoretical, and methodological basics; the environment; the social
aspects; the politico-security dimensions; the economic angles; the spatial respects; and
integrative views.
2
The Words of the Honorable Minister of the Interior
Dr. Abdorreza Rahmani Fazli
The prevalence of sectoral view in the national macro planning and lack of a holistic outlook on
rural settlements, a supporting pillar of the territorial system, have led to spatial imbalance, the
increase of distinction between cities and villages, and imbalanced development that are
improper for the country. Among the outcomes are the disuse of regional potentials and
emergence of geographical/economic gaps. Targeted at sustainable development, the Ministry of
the Interior is looking for regional planning. This conference aims to motivate the provinces to
play a role in the balanced development of the country‟s regions based on justice in resources
and facilities distribution. Governors-general should approach the regions in accordance with
balance, equilibrium, and completion of activities. The ministry is ready to legally and
managerially strengthen some provinces within a year and all in a five-year plan to be capable of
running development by relying on their local resources. We highlight balance and sustainability
to dwindle centralization and detriments. The spirit of the sustainable development model is
public participation and recognition of the country‟s real abilities. The major axes of this
design‟s macro policies are human resources development, national integrity, economic
efficiency, regional balance, and proper organization, which lead to equality and public
satisfaction. Fulfillment of the balanced and sustainable regional development model entails the
drafting of a strategic and operational document to reply to all possible doubts and questions.
3
The Words of the Secretary-General of the Conference and the President
of the Education and Strategic Studies Center
Dr. Asghar Eftekhari
The Ministry of the Interior in line with the Constitution, sayings of Imam Khomeini and the
Supreme Leader, the policies of the Tact and Hope Government, and specifically the strategic
program of Dr. Rahmani Fazli, the honorable minister, has put balanced and sustainable regional
development on the agenda. Regarding the minister‟s positive approach and emphasis on the
significant principles, such as provinces‟ participation in management, their cooperation as
regions, and use of the present axial cultural, political, and economic potentials, this choice is
meaningful, and we hope this conference can be a large theoretical step and an effective practical
action toward the fulfillment of the model in our dear Iran (God willing).
4
The Words of the Scientific Secretary of the Conference
Dr. Aboozar Kosari
Poverty reduction, elimination of discrimination, and provision of a life corresponding to the
high human and Islamic dignity have been among the most overriding concerns of the country‟s
supreme officials since the revolution. These have been reverberated in all the higher-order
documents, especially the Twenty-Year Perspective Document. All governments after the
revolution proportionate to their priorities have tried more or less to include balanced
development and poverty reduction in their programs. In recent years, however, some exigencies,
like economic pressures imposed on the country, which gave birth to President Rowhani‟s
government to respond to such matters in the political arena, have motivated the officials to
discover the importance of in-house development and to use the country‟s economic capacities.
This conference derives from these concerns and the historical necessities of development, on the
one hand, and today‟s exigencies of the country, on the other, which ought to be regarded by
experts and officials more than before.
5
An Introduction to the Conference
The Ministry of the Interior in line with the development-based aims and approach of the
honorable minister and the Sixth Development Plan of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2016-2021)
embarked on organizing the Conference of Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development in
two stages with the cooperation of influential institutions, universities, elites, governorates, and
the other subsidiary units of the ministry. The first stage, including lectures and specialized
panels, was held in collaboration with civil chief officers and executive organizations on
Tuesday and Wednesday, 18-19 February 2015, in the ministry. The second stage was held on an
absolutely specialized level on February 15. The conference goals consist of the following:
1. Propagation of justice-seeking in development;
2. Attraction of managers and officials‟ attention to regional development and equal look at
the different provinces in order to have stability in the country;
3. Invitation to sustainable social, political, and economic security via balanced development
in all the regions;
4. Revival of spatial planning in the regions‟ development and sustainable use of territorial
potentials;
6
Balanced and Sustainable Development from the Viewpoint of the
Honorable Minister of the Interior
To achieve sustainable development, the Ministry of the Interior is looking for regional planning.
The major axes of the macro policies of balanced and sustainable regional development are
human resources development, national integrity, economic efficiency, regional balance, and
appropriate organization, which lead to equality and public satisfaction. In this regard, we should
pay attention to the national-historical demand, the strategic exigency, a variety of models, as
well as the balanced and sustainable development model as a new solution. Sustainable
development involves an eye on the rural regions together with cities and metropolises to make
social justice dominant. To tend villagers and farmers is the true social justice, which should be a
priority. Although rural reconstruction has highly been attended, our villages still suffer many
failures, a fact obvious in their average population in comparison to cities. The political
evolution trend asks us to go beyond the academic models of development to institutionalize the
Islamic-Iranian experience and to present it as an original proposal. The balanced and sustainable
development model is the strategic suggestion of the Islamic Republic to solve
underdevelopment in Iran and similar countries. Altogether, one can claim that the model can be
a local practical theory, one proven to have had a positive effect during the last two years, the
tenure of the Tact and Hope Government.
Section One
Conceptual, Theoretical, and Methodological Basics of
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
8
1.1. Articles
The Theoretical Essentials of Balanced Regional Development in Iran
Abdorreza Roknoddin Eftekhari (Professor at Tarbiat Modares University)
Abstract
To regionalize a country, as an area for implementation of plans, has been a focus for academic,
policy-making, and executive environments. Therefore, due to the prevalence of this matter as a
developmental and strategic thought, transnational and subnational aspects of the issue has
increasingly been investigated since the 1960s and 1970s in the world over. The current
evolution of regional development theories in the world indicates a change from the top-down
(centralized) to the bottom-up (decentralized) attitude. In new approaches, balanced and
sustainable regional development means a re-creation of the developmental movement and a
change from quantity to quality. This matter, essentially, focuses on the limitations and impact of
economic development on the natural environment. Despite the above points, regional
development in Iran in recent decades shows a top-down and highly-centralized planning
paradigm, in a way that the challenge of regional inequalities in development could not be
overcome, microscopically or macroscopically speaking. Even perhaps the regional development
policies and plans themselves have been elements of underdevelopment or unsustainable
development. As a matter of fact, this fundamental question has always been raised: What are the
theoretical essentials of fulfilling balanced regional development? To answer, the researcher has
benefited from a documentary method and experimental inquiries in Iran and the world through
content analysis. The findings of this research show that the absence of the necessary, valid, and
workable institutions for regional development is the main obstacle to balanced and sustainable
development in Iran.
Keywords: balanced and sustainable development, regional development, theoretical essentials,
Iran
9
Sustainable Development and the Systems Thinking Paradigm
Amir Hosein Qaderi (M.S. of Systems Engineering; Head of the Department of Reconstruction
and Development at the Education and Strategic Studies Center, the Ministry of the Interior)
Abstract
It is universally acknowledged that science and technology suggest different solutions for some
environmental and social problems, although this optimistic assumption is increasingly on the
wane. Scientific systems in our era, therefore, face a crisis in reliability, validity, and, finally
responsibility in areas such as sustainable development. Issues related to sustainable
development are often complicated. Self-organizing systems are tightly tied to sustainable
development in meaning and essence, and understanding their behavior is usually intricate to
researchers. For many scholars, for instance, it is difficult to accept that development is not a
project with a starting and finishing point but a constant process in progress, and it is necessary
to be considered as a part of daily work. This research tries to respond to these questions: What
is, essentially, the nature of development? Which loops does it include? How are the interactions
of its subsystems? What variables should be monitored to manage its behavioral changes? The
applied approaches, here, are systems thinking and system dynamics. This method to analyze the
complicated systems whose elements and variables affect each other and produce non-linear
behavior is very practical. The results indicate that dynamic systems help us understand the
productive relations among elements of development; through a “learning process,” they also
assist us to gain a quicker and more thorough awareness of the system‟s changes, procedures,
and leaks. This strategic understanding, finally, speeds up smart efforts for fulfilling the aims of
sustainable development.
Keywords: system, sustainable development, systems thinking
10
An Analysis of the Proper Paradigm to Identify the Regional Advantages
in Balanced Growth and Sustainable Development
Hojjatollah Abdolmaleki (Assistant Professor at Imam Sadiq University
PBUH)
Mahin Mahdavi (M.A. of Regional Development Planning, Allameh Tabataba'i University)
Abstract
Since the late twentieth century, along with the literature on progress and development, balance
and sustainability of development were taken into account in spatial geography. Sustainability
became noteworthy since the attitude of development factors (humans) toward nature and biomes
together with the degree and quality of their exploitation indicated perils in the long term,
inattention to which made sustainable growth impossible. On the other hand, the balance of
development with regard to value-oriented norms, such as spatial and geographical justice as
well as the quality of its exploitation by people in different zones, came to being. What is now on
the agenda of strategic plans, therefore, is balanced and sustainable development. The present
article aims at analyzing the relation between regional advantage analysis as well as regional
balanced and sustainable progress. The main problem is to find out the proper regional advantage
analysis paradigm for fulfilling balanced and sustainable development. What are the components
of this paradigm? Based on the findings, in the current advantage analysis paradigm, all norms
and elements are used per their effectiveness in the profit-making of the given economic
corporations. Hence, merely considering the profit in determining the advantage of a region
practically leads to the negligence in long-term outlooks on existing resources and their
protection. Commitment to such a paradigm sometimes brings irreparable damages to nature and
future generations‟ rights, endangering the region sustainability. The current paradigm (purely
predicated on profit-making and artificial norms, without a long-term regional growth or an
effective plan for artificial infrastructures), further, results in deep unsustainability. However, the
natural paradigm of advantage analysis through adjusting the development plan of economic
activities (production) to the natural structure of the region and designing the map of suitable
artificial elements (according to the progress of the districts with natural advantages) paves the
way for a balanced long-term growth in the region. In addition, emphasizing natural elements
and deleting artificial ones in primary decision-making, which has a paramount role in the
advantages map, the natural paradigm goes hand in hand with the basics and objectives of
sustainable development. Omitting the elements deviating from and highlighting the harmonious
ones with sustainable development translates into a serious role-playing of this advantage
analysis paradigm in the process of sustainable regional development.
Keywords: sustainable regional development, balanced regional growth, natural and current
advantage analysis
11
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development:
Teachings from Universal Experiences and Development Plans in Iran
Ebrahim Khalifeh (C.Phil. of Geography and Rural Planning at Tarbiat Modares University;
Researcher at the Education and Strategic Studies Center, the Ministry of the Interior)
Mozaffar Sadeqi (Ph.D. of Geography and Rural Planning, Shahid Beheshti University;
Research-Education Vice-President of Applied Science Institution, the Ministry of the Interior)
Bahram Imani (Faculty Member of the Department of Geography and Rural Planning at
Mohaqeq Ardebili University; Member of the Iranian Geography and Rural Planning Society)
Abstract
Studying the balanced and sustainable regional development changes in Iran (in step with the
world changes) shows that in higher-order programs (such as the Twenty-Year Perspective
Document or the pre-/post-revolutionary reconstruction and development plans, and so forth)
concepts like sustainability, balance, regional development, and so on have always been
addressed. Functional-structural challenges, however, have brought some obstacles to the
process of regional development planning nationwide. The present research seeks to investigate
some valuable universal experiences and the general evolution trend of regional development in
Iran to analyze the current problems in order to suggest some road maps for fulfilling balanced
and sustainable development in the country. The results testify that the process of development
planning in developed and developing countries differs from period to period fundamentally.
Nowadays, in developed countries planning systems are predominantly ruled by the bottom-up,
decentralized, spatial, and participatory approach, while in developing countries, like Iran,
elements such as conceptual ambiguities in local and regional planning, sectoral centralization in
accordance with the bureaucratic-political system, absence of a regional management system,
legal vagueness in regional planning, economic reliance on oil income, as well as weak regional
information bank and programs have clogged the realization of balanced and sustainable
development. Teachings of universal experiences show that a revision in definitions, concepts,
and theoretical basics of development; making political, social, and economic conditions of the
society stable and sustainable; attention to local planning; reliance on the spatial, decentralized
approach; familiarity with human and natural potentials in regions and their versatility;
benefiting from the participation of all beneficiaries in planning and policy-making; as well as
regarding spatial justice based on their capabilities can make up the theoretical and practical
aspects of inequalities in/between regions and realize balanced and sustainable development in
the country.
Keywords: balanced and sustainable regional development, universal experiences, development
plans, Iran
12
1.2. Reports
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development in the Higher-Order Documents
Mohammad Hasan Khani (Associate Professor at Imam Sadiq University
PBUH)
Abstract
Development is a process in which the transition from the improper status quo to an excellent
condition happens in the future. Predicated on this view, in other words, development is not but a
process for transition, one pregnant with many fundamental changes in several areas and sections
of society. The higher-order documents, hence, have three important functions: first, describing
the status quo and the pleasant state; second, targeting; and finally, designing the strategy and
delineating a road map from the current situation to a certain, favorable one in the future. The
key issue of balanced and sustainable regional development in higher-order documents is
grounded on two points: the significance of drafting the higher-order development documents as
well as an analysis of some of them in Iran. The illumination of both can facilitate balanced and
sustainable development in the country. The findings of the study represent that generalization,
clichés, and inattention to detailed or comprehensive solutions are among the grave problems in
the documents. The Islamic Republic of Iran‟s Health Document is one of the substantial higher-
order documents which is free from this pitfall.
Keywords: higher-order documents, balanced and sustainable development, Iran
13
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development in Imam Khomeini‟s Words
Jalal Derakhsheh (Professor at Imam Sadiq University
PBUH)
Abstract
Iran in contemporary era has been a highly-evolving society, the people of which have expressed
many demands in the risings and sociopolitical changes; liberation, vehement opposition to
dictatorship during the last hundred years, as well as the independence of foreign forces and
countries could be among the examples. All point out a certain demand for the political
development of the country. The aims of political development from Imam Khomeini‟s
perspective are as follows: enforcing laws based on the Islamic justice; preventing from cruelty
and tyrannical governance; spreading personal and social equality; barring corruption and
various deviations in the society; freedom grounded in intellect and justice; individual and social
independence (i.e. resistance to exploitation, colonization, and dictatorship, socio-politically
speaking). The results of the study on balanced and sustainable regional development in Imam
Khomeini‟s words indicate that the standards of political development in his view include
tendency to religious spirituality; struggle against despotism and establishment of an Islamic
government; potentialities of a religious system to solve problems; besides independence, self-
reliance, and self-esteem, which can be explained under the Islamic thought. Political
development, in his opinion, occurs if a system has the great goal of human transcendence;
consequently, to achieve this objective, some means by the Islamic ethics are essential.
Keywords: development, political development, Imam Khomeini‟s words
14
Legal Dimensions of Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Hasan Majidi (Faculty Member at Imam Sadiq University
PBUH)
Abstract
Sustainable development is a public right, from which all walks of life and regions should
benefit. Human and geographical developments are indeed among the components of balanced
and sustainable regional development. In the higher-order development documents in Iran little
attention is paid to legalizing and sanctioning the dimensions of sustainable development; hence,
among the administrative institutions, little commitment to the true fulfillment of the sustainable
development necessities is seen. The findings of the present research highlight the following:
attention to legal dimensions and exigencies of balanced and sustainable regional development in
the drafting of the Sixth Development Plan and the Second Twenty-Year Perspective Document
is necessary. Notice to development in all judiciary, bureaucratic, and political aspects should
also be taken. Regard to development programs in terms of the approaches in foreign policies,
poverty reduction in less-privileged provinces, regimentation of political competitions,
reformation of the educational system based on talents, and fortification of the political culture to
lead the national determination to balanced and sustainable regional development ought to be
shown.
Keywords: balanced and sustainable development, regional development, legal and juridical
dimensions, development documents, Iran
Section Two
The Environment in
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
16
2.1. Articles
A Pathological Study of the Previous Development Plans:
An Environmental Viewpoint
Naghmeh Mobarqe„i
(Assistant Professor at Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University)
Abstract
The environment as a bed for development has always played a vital role in the quality and
procedure of development, inattention to which can make development unsustainable.
Unfortunately, there are many experiences of rupture in the process of development in Iran due
to disregard for the environment. Such problems happen whereas different development plans in
temporal and spatial dimensions have guided development. Various failures in fulfillment of the
plans necessitate a pathological examination of the past programs to discover the reasons. In this
article, after a pathological survey of the post-revolutionary social, cultural, and economic
development plans, the researcher attempts to consider their fortes and foibles regarding the
environment. The study proves that attention to the environment in the First and Second
Development Plans is so superficial. Although some proper protection laws exist in the next two,
the increasing destruction of the environment sheds light on the ineffectiveness of the laws. In
the Fifth Plan, also, lack of proper notice is seen. At the end of this research, some solutions for
the Sixth one are proposed.
Keywords: development plans, environment, pathology
17
The Protected Areas and Balanced and Sustainable Development
Hamid Gashtasb (Assistant Professor at Karaj Environment University)
Bahman Shams Esfanabad (Assistant Professor at Islamic Azad University, Arak Branch)
Ali Bali (Expert at the Iranian Department of Environment)
Elham Ayubi (M.A. Student at Environment University)
Abstract
The protected areas for different reasons, such as people‟s exclusion from their management,
lack of effective management plans, inattention to the surrounding land‟s impact, ignorance
about people‟s old biophysical and cultural interactions with the area, and misunderstanding of
the protection‟s multifarious dimensions in fertilizing the area‟s potentials, could not have
positive consequences, so there is still a conflict between human communities and such areas.
During the last decades, the mutual relation between protected areas and sustainable
development has been underlined more than before. Today, most of the sustainable development
plans are designed in a way to minimize damages to the areas and their environmental resources.
Regarding novel laws of conservation biology, cultural-biological interactions, and people‟s vital
role according to the land zoning potentiality, the change of environmental protection models to
establish opener systems are active steps toward organism diversity in the protected areas. In the
new perspective, these areas are to show their various potentials in line with sustainable
development fulfillment, hence removing any doubt about the effectiveness of protection from
common people‟s and decision-makers‟ minds and providing themselves with greater security in
comparison with other possible economic profits. Keywords: protected areas, management plans, sustainable development, surrounding land,
protection biology
18
Management and Optimum Exploitation of Water Resources in Balanced and
Sustainable Regional Development: Lake Urmia as a Case Study
Lo‟bat Zebardast (Assistant Professor at Environment Faculty, University of Tehran)
Abstract
In current times, the human is grappling with several environmental crises, many of which have
been caused by mismanagement, unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, and imbalance
between the consumption and supplies of such God-given gifts. Efficient water exploitation is
counted as one of the crucial issues about natural resources, inattention to which is obviously
observed in the destruction of the wetlands, especially Lake Urmia. When registered as one of
the biggest Iranian lakes and international wetlands in Ramsar Convention, this lake was of
paramount significance in economic, tourist, social, and environmental terms, yet its destruction
during recent years has brought serious concerns. In this study, using the causality model of
DPSIR in an all-inclusive environmental assessment, the researcher endeavors to suggest some
solutions for alleviating the juncture. The results reveal that the lake‟s condition in recent years
(specifically the last three years) has become more catastrophic. The main factors, including
motive forces and pressures, have been active for many years in this aquiferous area and now
tangibly disclose their synergic and increasing impacts on this valuable ecosystem, which should
be transmitted safely to the next generation. Among the major factors are the wrong attitude
toward water and a rupture in its natural cycle through harvesting and consuming large amounts
of renewable water resources, besides unnoticing the natural water rights.
Keywords: consolidated environmental assessment, DPSIR model, Lake Urmia
19
The Role of Ecological Systems in Regional Balance:
Lake Urmia as a Case Study
Mojtaba Rafi„ian (Associate Professor of Urbanization at Tarbiat Modares University)
Ehsan Pashanezhad (M.A. Student of Spatial Planning at Tarbiat Modares University)
Siavash Shayan (Assistant Professor of Geomorphology at Tarbiat Modares University)
Abstract Investigating the human and the natural environment relations, the world today focuses on
sustainability. Lake Urmia ecosystem has been active in the balancing of the eastern bank
region‟s spatial structure. During recent years, for a variety of reasons, such as climate change,
overexploitation of the water resources, and mismanagement, it has brought ecological
imbalance. This article aims to probe into the ecosystem‟s role in balancing the eastern bank
region‟s spatial structure. To know the influential forces in the region‟s imbalance, first, we
scrutinize the spatial structure of the urban systems. The study shows that the urban primacy still
exists in the region; with more centralized population, Tabriz is the first city in the number of
activities, keeping a nine-time distance from the second city, Maraqeh. The urban concentration
standards also emphasize the urban primacy, the unsustainability of the urban systems, and
concentrated population in centers. In the second stage, integrating multiple attribute decision-
making and GIS, we identify the future attracting and repelling areas in the case-study spatial
structure. According to the findings, Malekan, Bonab, and „Ajabshir will have the highest
number of repelled population and manpower dislodged by the dysfunction of Lake Urmia‟s
ecosystem. Tabriz and Maraqeh, also, will attract the largest number of population. Concerning
the concentration standards in the settlement system, the region will become more concentrated
and less balanced.
Keywords: Lake Urmia ecosystem, balance, spatial structure, socioecological systems
20
An Assessment of Urban Sprawl‟s Environmental Impacts:
Torqabeh‟s Mehr Housing Project
Mahdi Hoseini (M.A. Student of Urban Planning at Imam Reza International University)
Masumeh Barqchi (Ph.D. and Faculty Member at Imam Reza International University)
Fahimeh Baqerzadeh (M.A. of Urban Planning, Imam Reza International University)
Qadir Siyami (Faculty Member at Imam Reza International University)
Abstract
An environmental assessment of Mehr Housing Project in Iran regarding the compatibility of this
policy with the components of sustainable urban development and its widespread impact on the
ecology of the cities seems inevitable. The main purpose of this article is an evaluation of the
environmental implications of the project in Torqabeh, as an ecotourist center around Mashhad, a
metropolis in Razavi Khorasan. After a survey on the 4151-apartment Mehr Housing Project in
Torqabeh, the method of this research is descriptive-analytic, and practical in terms of the aim.
The framework is predicated on an integration of the various standards and substandards to
measure the environmental components of the project based on the local experts‟ ideas. Among
the most critical standards, used in this research, are water contamination as well as soil, air, and
noise pollutions. Data collection was done through observations, researcher-made questionnaires,
consisting of environmental standards along with some substandards of sustainability, and
consistent sampling to inquire the relevant officials‟ viewpoints. Further, AHP was used as a tool
for spatial analysis of environmental sustainability standards. The results signify that water
contamination, weighed 0.498, change in the plantation, weighed 0.258, soil pollution, weighed
0.134, air pollution, weighed 0.076, and finally, noise pollution, weighed 0.034, are respectively
the most seminal impacts of the project on the environment.
Keywords: Mehr Housing Project, environmental evaluation, Torqabeh, AHP
21
2.2. Reports
A Reflection on the Spatial Planning Policies in Iran
Maryam Esma„ili (Public Policy Lecturer and Researcher)
Abstract
When balanced, comprehensive, and sustainable development in line with intra-generational and
intergenerational justice is the consentaneous higher-order policy in countries, one can hope for
good design and administration of spatial planning. The evolution trend in Iran‟s regional
planning indicates that several policies, made in different periods under the then political, social,
cultural, and economic conditions, had almost no outcome but imbalance, unsustainability, and
spatial inequality between the urban and rural areas. The findings highlight some of the
challenges in the Iranian spatial policies as follows: short-lasting policies, overlapping missions,
regionalism, and lack of clear procedures to include all governmental and non-governmental
beneficiaries in drafting, administrating, and evaluating the spatial planning documents. Spatial
planning in provinces manifests the absence of updated, reliable statistics; generalization and
ambiguity in most of the documents, likewise, are detected in a way that they are not assessable.
The information does not provide a clear, practical picture of the province‟s spatial planning
either. In the provincial documents, contrary to the strategic approach to services, no major goal
and specific strategy are expressed; they often suffice it to analyze the status quo. As universal
experiences affirm, spatial management, whether national, regional, or local, is up to the Ministry
of the Interior. In Iran, the ministry as a multi-sectoral department, given its numerous duties
(spatial-local, sociocultural, environmental, politico-security, or economic), can through an
integrated, macroscopic management, cooperating with other ministries and the Department of
Environment, formulate harmonious local policies in geographical terms in order to meet the
aims of the spatial planning besides balanced and sustainable regional development.
Keywords: policy, spatial planning, development plan, Iran
22
Green Economy and Sustainable Regional Development
Naghmeh Mobarqe„i
(Assistant Professor at Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University)
Abstract
The two natural limitations in resources and wastage absorption have made economic enterprises
committed to the principles of maintaining and protecting the environment. Green economy,
used since 1989, attempts through decreasing environmental dangers and ecological limitations
boost social justice and human welfare. Rio Declaration examines the developmental and
environmental dimensions of issues like energy, desert greening, rural development,
transportation, agriculture, water, settlement, health, chemical waste, air pollution, climate
change, as well as sustainable production and consumption models, among others, to arrive at an
agreement. The results confirm that regional development problems, inharmonious activity
distribution, and improper exploitation of renewable energies in Iran translate into less developed
regions, many of which have some potentialities not truly applied to elevate the regional
development. Disuse of the new energies, with beach and frontier capacities, is worth
mentioning. The Ministry of the Interior in respect to its balanced and sustainable regional
development policy should adopt green economy and establish a center to monitor the
development standards and evaluate the environmental impact of its activities in villages and
cities.
Keywords: green economy, sustainable regional development, Iran
23
Rural Cognitive Clusters Model:
A Sustainable Attitude toward Balanced Regional Development
Shadnaz Azizi (Ph.D. of Spatial Planning and Environmental Evaluation)
Abstract Today, concerning lower education, inventions registration, risk-taking, and investment in
villages, compared to cities, rural agriculture and services cannot compete with the urban. This
matter shows the inefficiency of the concentration on agriculture and production in the rural and
regional economic cycles. Therefore, a model to fertilize the rural economy and to optimize it in
rural settlements is basic. In this regard, the industrial clusters model has been appropriate in
recent decades to organize the strategies and policies for improving regional development. The
most substantial elements of the rural cognitive clusters model in a village-based economic
development, as the findings of this paper, are as follows: first, knowing the indigenous
cognitive bases; second, making a relation between the local institutions and corporations that
support this cognition; third, developing the promotion strategies of creativity in rural cognitive
clusters; and finally, advancing the regional perspective document as a guide for indigenous
strategies.
Keywords: rural cognitive clusters model, balanced and sustainable development, regional
development
24
New Technologies: A Solution for Sustainable Rural Development
Farideh Meqdadi (Professor of New Energies at Vienna University of Technology)
Abstract
Rural environmental, social, institutional, physical-spatial, and economic challenges entail
attention to strategies and solutions. Nowadays, new technologies as a solution for attaining
sustainable rural development are universally benefited. Photovoltaic panels, floating on natural
and dam lakes, not only decrease evaporation but also can generate electricity using solar energy.
This method can supply rural regions‟ electricity on a micro scale and can link the produced
electricity to the cross-country electric network. The results prove that based on the universal
experiences this method can provide the rural areas with better services and paves the way for
sustainable development in there.
Keywords: new technologies, sustainable development, rural regions
Section Three
The Social Aspects of
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
26
3.1. Articles
Indigenous Communities and Their Role in Regional Development
Valiollah Rostamalizadeh (Ph.D. of Development Sociology and
Faculty Member at the National Population Studies and Comprehensive Management Institute)
Abstract
Indigenous communities through collective actions, its members‟ social-local capital, and
establishing some institutes can answer its own needs and improve the local community, so
regional, development. They are locales with flexible and variable borders in which people with
common interests follow collective actions. They also include a network of organizations to
fulfill their citizens‟ needs. The development relying on an indigenous community is driven by
its rural or regional populace. It can also proceed by those emigrating from there to megacities,
such as Tehran, provided they shape native societies in the destination, like The Club of Daryani
People in Tehran, and benefit therefrom to reproduce the local community or to develop their
region. The natives should further build cordial rapport with the emigrants so as to have diverse
interactions and to form a chain of networks among themselves. Indigenous communities for
emigrants bring a sense of belonging or identification, revocation of rituals, support, a point of
return, and so forth, and provide natives with the emigrants‟ financial supply as well as regional
affluence. This type of development involves developmental activists, institutes, moods,
potentialities, and relations. Its activists are the members, the local participatory managers,
together with indigenous/emigrant elites and entrepreneurs. Its developmental institutes are
native societies and other supportive and benevolent organizations. Its developmental moods and
potentialities enshroud social union or alliance and the sense of belonging. The outcomes of such
development are the transmission of creativity, ideas, and capital, local investment, settlement in
the region as the second house, business process improvement, agricultural and economic
affluence, help to the youth stay, as well as population boom, among others. Keywords: regional development, indigenous communities, collective action, social capital
27
Public Participation and the Role of Local Societies in Regional Development
Mohammad Hosein Razzaqi (Member of Novingostar Rural Development Research Institute and
Lecturer at Payame Noor University)
Abstract
Given the role of governments, especially in developing countries, in people‟s social, political,
cultural, and economic lives, and the centralized system of top-down planning and decision-
making, which leads to failure in policies, public participation can play a principal role in local
and regional societies‟ development. In this article, first, a brief history of formations‟
participation in Iran and the world, the grounds of its materialization, definitions and concepts,
theoretical dimensions, besides experts‟ viewpoints will be presented. The researcher, then,
concerns himself with the experiential background and models of participation before and after
the revolution, like carbon sequestration in South Khorasan, Hablehroud Sustainable
Management of Land and Water Resources Project in Tehran and Semnan, or MENARID
International Project of Integrated Natural Resources Management. At last, the participation and
management of formations in Jarahi drainage basin in Ramshir, Khuzestan, done by Novingostar
Rural Development Research Institute as a case study will be analyzed.
Keywords: participation, local societies, participation modes, practical models
28
A Sociological Study of Ethnic Variables in Sustainable Development:
Kurdistan as a Case Study
Adel Abdollahi
(Faculty Member at the National Population Studies and Comprehensive Management Institute)
Abstract
In countries with a variety of cultural and ethnic groups, like Iran, balanced and sustainable
development without noticing the ethnic and local variables is impossible. The present paper is
to study the actions and reactions between Kurds, as one of the most genuine folks in Iran, and
the balanced and sustainable regional development reformers to scan the outcomes. The
approach, here, is based on modernization, dependency, statism, social exclusion, and post-
development theories. The research method is qualitative, emphasizing the grounded theory. The
data were collected by depth interview, participant observation, document analysis, and
secondary analysis. The findings in terms of the political development exhibit that despite the
increasing, meaningful, and remarkable growth in Kurds‟ participation in elections, particularly
presidential elections, the local managers still play a small role in Kurdistan‟s political and
cultural issues. In cultural terms, the promises of qualitative and quantitative development, like
education in the mother tongue and true representation of the ethnic identity in the local media,
have not been honored yet. These are followed by the dissatisfaction with “the National
Medium” (IRIB) and the formation of a resistant identity. To summarize, the Iranian folks‟
tendency to participate in the regional development notwithstanding, the reformers are still to
continue their one-sided policies and doubt the realization of balanced and sustainable regional
development based on a participatory management and the local sociocultural grounds. Such
policies can eclipse the actors‟ role and the ethnic identities in regional planning, ensuing a
gradual distrust, disinterest in national aims, and finally no balanced and sustainable regional
development. Confirming the results of the research, one can mention the “unequal
development” as a primary, clarifying issue that includes all the findings.
Keywords: sociological study, ethnic variables, sustainable development, Kurdistan
29
3.2. Reports
The Role of Social Capital in Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Sayyid Ahmad Firoozabadi (Faculty Member at University of Tehran)
Abstract
The main means to fulfill social solidarity is social capital. One cannot speak of social solidarity
without a reference to social capital, which is the only way to bring harmony to society. Based
on the studies on social capital in Iran, the following results were achieved: Public and personal
trust in more socioeconomically developed regions of the country is less than the others. In
megacities and more modern cities, there is a direct relation between trust and socioeconomic
development, while the relation is reversed in more traditional and newer cities.
Keywords: social capital, balanced and sustainable regional development, Iran
30
Asymmetrical Growth, Social Solidarity,
and Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Gholamreza Ghaffary (Associate Professor at University of Tehran)
Abstract
Social solidarity can be considered on both micro and macro scales in Iran. The macro, more
highlighted in sociological theories, underlines the social networks and relations, and the micro
stresses the individual and social interactions. Development fundamentally pursues to dissociate
areas, whereas one should also maintain solidarity. The question may arise how we can have
both simultaneously. Solidarity has four legs: symbolic perception, political regulation, social
regulation, and structural generalization. The results exhibit that asymmetrical and imbalanced
development is rooted in four grounds in Iran: different growth rates, internal colonization,
internal polarization, and lack of spatial planning.
Keywords: asymmetrical growth, social solidarity, balanced and sustainable regional
development, Iran
31
The Role of Culture and Indigenous Cultural Models in
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Aboozar Gohari Moqaddam (Faculty Member at Imam Sadiq University
PBUH)
Abstract
Culture is considered as a cardinal prerequisite for balanced and sustainable development.
National development, especially in economic dimensions, entails specific behavior in different
aspects of the individual life, e.g. social, which are directly relevant to the culture. In fact, culture
in this sense bears constitutional changes for a society movement toward balanced and
sustainable development. The most prominent standards for cultural development as the
infrastructure of balanced and sustainable regional development are as follows: cultural freedom,
creativity, cultural dialog, in addition to education and research. The findings emphasize that the
role of the indigenous culture, that is, the cultural structures of the country, rather than an
imported kind, should be regarded as one of the substrata of development. The more a culture is
powerful and adaptable to various cultures in a society or developed countries, internationally
speaking, the more balanced and sustainable development is possible.
Keywords: culture, indigenous cultural models, balanced and sustainable regional development
32
Public Participation and the Role of Local Societies
in Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Parviz Piran (Eminent Professor of Sociology)
Abstract
Nowadays, localization is a universal urban strategy. Public participation has less been attended
in Iran, while local participation and planning are inevitable essentials. The results show that the
country‟s social capital has decreased to the minimum, and there is a contradiction in this regard.
Therefore, the social capital should be boosted, and people‟s role should be clarified. As far as
people do not understand their position in policy- and decision-making, balanced and sustainable
development will not be materialized. Recording institutions‟ experiences in attracting public
participation in development is required and can provide the other organizations with practical
models for sustainable development. Sustainability and citizen-orientation in participatory local
planning are the suggested strategies to remove inequalities and to realize balanced and
sustainable regional development in the country. The Ministry of the Interior, regarding its scope
of authority and legal duties in multiple dimensions and levels (national, regional, and local) can
prepare the institutional and administrative grounds for the concordance of sectoral policies in
the geographical space and the realization of public participation.
Keywords: public participation, local society, balanced and sustainable regional development,
Iran
33
Social Justice and Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development in Iran
Farshad Mo‟meni (Faculty Member at Allameh Tabataba'i University)
Abstract
Social justice is counted as one of the key elements in fulfilling balanced and sustainable
regional development in the world. An investigation into the development planning in Iran
suggests a disregard for this salient fact. Although poverty reduction in deprived or less
developed regions after the revolution became the axis of the plans in Iran to bed the social
justice, some structural, functional, and institutional obstacles caused the aims above to fail. The
findings show that a pathological study of the previous macro and micro policies and plans;
attention to the planning system; geographical, political, and economic structure of the country;
the Sixth Development Plan; and the position of the Ministry of the Interior can institutionalize
social justice as an essential element so as to approach balanced and sustainable regional
development on a cross-country scale.
Keywords: social justice, structure, balanced and sustainable regional development, Iran
34
Migration and Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Mahmood Moshfeq (Faculty Member at Allameh Tabataba'i University)
Abstract
Migration is a core element to change the process of development sustainability in a country.
Various population shifts in different regions can have positive and negative effects in the source
and destination. In Iran, due to the centralized and sectoral developmental policies, there is an
imbalance in population distribution. The results show that the problems in migration management
in the country are as follows: inharmony among macro, middle, and micro sections; lack of a
political determination to carry out the approved development projects; absence of an incorporated
and interiorized thought among the involved organizations; contradictory visions; and lack of a
legal plan and project, among others. The other countries‟ experience teaches that we cannot treat
sustainable regional development and migration management by a policy. We should have a
comprehensive package of decentralization, development of local administration, industrial
development, and so on. Identification and independence of regions are suggested for the
development of local administration. The central government, like the other countries, should
monitor, correct, and coordinate the subparts; economically speaking, we should direct the
overwhelming and relative advantages of regions, strengthen local production systems, and link
them to the world markets.
Keywords: migration, balanced and sustainable regional development, Iran
35
A Pathological Study of the Previous Development Plans from a Social Perspective
Hojjatollah Mirzaee (Faculty Member at Allameh Tabataba'i University)
Abstract
Designing and executing some reconstruction and development plans, before and after the
revolution, have had remarkable positive or adverse effects on social and cultural evolutions in
different regions, directly or indirectly. The findings show that during the past half a century,
despite the considerable efforts, we have never had an official regional development, as it is
customary in the world. The national development plans have been macroscopic, integrated, top-
down, sometimes absolutely imperative, too long, without sectoral or regional priorities, and
entirely governmental (that is, they were designed both by and for the government, rather than
outside it). Negligence to the social evaluation of the plans may lead to similar challenges in the
country. In fact, knowing their fortes and foibles based on social standards can realistically solve
the social and cultural problems, bringing some better opportunities for the officials.
Keywords: pathological study, reconstruction and development plans, social aspects
36
Cyberspace/Social Networks and Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Saeed Mojarradi (Researcher at Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies)
Abstract
Cyberspace and social networks, if correctly managed, can be practical tools for realizing
balanced and sustainable regional development, as universal experiences verify. The results in
Iran about their efficiency indicate that the government‟s view toward cyberspace is mostly
threat-centric, and economic activists‟ look is opportunity-centric. We should design an entry
between the two perspectives in order not to ignore the threats nor to skip the opportunities. In
this regard, predicated on the successful universal experiences and experts‟ opinions, the
following approaches are suggested: creating national social networks; generating specialized
social networks; establishing audience-centric networks for different tastes and ages; concluding
a contract with SNSes and ISPs; benefiting from public potentials to provide health and security
in the society; and using public participation in crisis management and national unity.
Keywords: social security, cyberspace, social networks, balanced and sustainable regional
development
Section Four
The Politico-Security Dimensions of
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
38
4.1. Articles
The Roots and Historical Functions of Customs Policies
in Lack of Balanced Development in Frontier Regions
Abdorrasool Kheirandish (Professor of History at Shiraz University)
Abstract
In frontier regions, customs as an economic institution and with this name dates back to one
hundred and fifty years ago. Although existing before this time probably with a different aim or
function, such an institution is known as a component of modern economy and government; it is,
therefore, a supplement to economic management and cannot be ignored. In contemporary
Iranian history, customs has played a different role between the two concepts, “national” or
central and “regional” or provincial. The provinces outside the capital see customs as deterrent,
awkward, intruding, and problematic. To improve their conditions, therefore, the regions ask for
exemption, modification, forgiveness, mitigation, speed, ease, and the like. From the capital
viewpoint, however, this institution is assigned to monitor, control, and regulate commercial
policies. This research reviews the one-hundred-and fifty-year experience.
Keywords: customs, government, traffic, frontier, customs policies
39
The Frontier Markets:
A Securing Mechanism in Sustainable Frontier Regions‟ Development
Masood Motalebi
(Assistant Professor of Political Studies at Islamic Azad University, Azadshahr Branch)
Abstract
Today, sustainable development, prevalent security, and social justice are among the principal
matters for developing countries. One through a brief survey can perceive the poor condition of
the frontier regions and their surroundings, compared with the central sections of the country, in
terms of national and regional development. The geographical isolation of such regions, distance
from industrial-economic poles, and underdevelopment in many aspects can be counted as the
reasons, leading many countries, like Iran, to establishing the frontier markets, one of the well-
known methods for regional economic development, in order to struggle with the retardation.
This research, using a descriptive-analytic method, relying on documentary-library sources, and
a meta-analysis of some of the existing documents, attempts to elucidate the role of the frontier
markets in sustainable development and security. The main assumption is that the markets have
vast potentials to enhance the Islamic Republic‟s marginal zones‟ security and development.
Keywords: sustainable development, frontier regions, national security, frontier markets
40
An Analysis of Security Outcomes of Iran‟s Stable Regional Imbalance
Kheder Faraji Rad
(Assistant Professor at Police Science and Social Studies Research Institute)
Mohammad Qasemi
(Research Instructor at Police Science and Social Studies Research Institute)
Abstract
Iran‟s political geography, ethnic and cultural variety, noticeable differences in the spatial
distribution of natural potentials, and the like have caused the cross-country imbalanced
development when the spatial plans are either weak or absent. Now, the unequal development
between megacities (particularly, Tehran and Tabriz) and other regions is one of the preeminent
characteristics of the spatial system. Mention should be made that if underdevelopment occurs in
cities with ethnic, linguistic, and religious minorities, it can serve a political divergence, which
may vigorously challenge the national security and reveal itself in separatist parties,
demonstrations, and oppositions every so often. The findings approve that the imbalance and
inequality in regional development give birth to the economic centralization and density in some
specific places, which make the national economy fragile and insecure, especially when there is a
crisis in such regions. Such conditions, likewise, ensue socioeconomic, geographical, or class
fissures among provinces. If constant, they bring political schism and threaten the national
security.
Keywords: security outcome, continuous regional imbalance, Iran
41
The Effect of Climate Change on Frontiers: The Aras in Jolfa as a Case Study
Mohsen Ranjbar (Faculty Member at Islamic Azad University, Shahr-e Rey Branch)
Narjes Rahmati (M.A. of Physical Geography, Climatology)
Abstract
Bringing many complicated problems, climate change is one of the pivotal events in the current
era. If we ignore this issue, we cannot probably retrieve the conditions to the primary or normal
state and compensate the aftermath. Its effects are so slow that lack of sustainable development
may not be one of its outcomes. Bearing complicated atmospheric conditions and endangering
humans‟ lives, such changes can imperil the environmental and even frontier security of a
country. In the present research, the effect of climate change on the frontiers will be studied by
means of meteorological statistics and GIS. The results confirm a replacement in the case study
(the Aras in Jolfa) since the last frontier agreements and contracts with the neighboring country. Keywords: Climate change, frontiers, the Aras, Jolfa, temporal series
42
The Effects of Gorgan-Incheh Borun Railway on the Northern Golestan
Sharif Motavvef (Assistant Professor at Shahid Beheshti University)
Mahdi Yuri (M.A. of Urbanization, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch)
Abstract
The northern Golestan expects to see the overspread effects of the newly inaugurated Gorgan-
Incheh Borun railway on its development. In this research, therefore, we try to respond to this
question: What will be the weights of the railway? After a short review of the theoretical
concepts of the paper, we investigate the impressions predicated on Golestan‟s railway
transportation data. The method is a descriptive-analytic survey, and the data collection method
is documentary and based on fieldwork (observation and interview). The findings confirm that
this project, building the necessary infrastructure, will bring growth and development in different
respects to the region. In continuation, the railway transportation will be analyzed by SWOT.
Some suggestions, finally, for further salutary effects will be made.
Keywords: regional development, frontier regions spatial planning, economic effects, Golestan,
railway transportation
43
A Problematology of the Iranian Frontier Regions‟ Development
in the Light of Constructivism
Mohammad Baratian (M.A. of Public Policy-Making and Iranian Studies)
Abstract
Development implies massive changes in different dimensions of life. Given its ample scope and
versatility, this notion has been researched from many angles, most of which are through a
quantitative and positive methodology. However, as development is human-centered, especially
in recent decades, its qualitative aspect is inquired to help a better understanding. The norms,
regulations, and procedures seem to influence remarkably sustainable development policy-
making, in particular grasping its problems and opting winning strategies. Considering this
important fact and the environmental changes, the present paper tries to examine and revise
Iran‟s frontier regions‟ development from a new (normative) viewpoint. It also analyzes through
a constructivist look how mentalities and established identities affect policymakers and
administrators‟ understandings, which are shaped by security- and threat-orientations. It
explores, then, the adverse impacts of this constructed picture on the development plans and their
consequences. Ultimately, the researcher proposes some policies in the light of constructivism
regarding minimalist- or maximalist security.
Keywords: development, problematology, constructivism, Iran‟s frontier regions, identity, norm
44
4.2. Reports
The Necessities of Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Asghar Eftekhari (President of the Education and Strategic Studies Center,
the Ministry of the Interior, and the Conference Secretary-General)
Abstract
Development has always been a public demand in Iran, to which development theories are a
response. In the works on development in our country, the concept of “dissidence” has been less
researched. Among the pitfalls of the development model in Iran, one can refer to the inattention
to local aspects, which may be categorized into four groups: A) historical and geopolitical
elements; B) the theory of identity; C) political culture; and D) power construction. The features
of the favorable model, based on the concept of “dissidence,” for balanced and sustainable
development in Iran are as follows: A) sustainability; B) balance; as well as C) a constant
administrative plan. The findings confirm that if we pay attention to development as a public
demand, obviously our achievements will not accord with the costs. The major problem for
Iran‟s development is not oil economy, but the political power construction; on the contrary, the
management of oil and natural resources can per se spur development. From this perspective,
referring to the Islamic discourse and reflecting on the Iranian conditions and exigencies, one can
ascertain that the development model should be revised according to “dissidence management”;
it also becomes balanced by decreasing the government‟s possessive role and through
decentralization.
Keywords: development model, balanced and sustainable regional development, Iran
45
The Islamic Political Foundations of
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Moosa Anbari (Faculty Member of Social Studies at University of Tehran)
Abstract
Sustainable development is not possible without a precise definition of sustainability, a concept
which is today broader than development. Based on this notion, development should be criticized
from three perspectives: ethical or cultural, natural or ecological, and religious or political. The
first two are clear, yet the last one is intricate and vague, probably because the logic of the first
two is horizontal, but in the last, it is vertical and pertinent to power hierarchy. The results of the
discussion hint that development in Iran is mostly run forward by governments. Modern
government in our country came to being simultaneous with oil, which caused governments,
depending on oil, to depoliticize development and ignore history. Development due to rapid and
inclusive changes instigates imbalance and unsustainability in society, so speed should be
controlled. Instead of the underground resources, the required energy for development should be
supplied by the social resources, such as ethnicities, history, collective demands, or local and
cultural beliefs. Any oil-centered and statist model is not workable since development is not but
the materialization of public demands. Even in industrial production we should use and produce
local products, rather than respond to foreign customers. Development should be in the first
place at the service of the domestic production than export.
Keywords: Islamic political foundations, balanced and sustainable regional development, Iran
46
Macro Policy-Making and Its Role
in Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Habib Jabari (Lecturer at University of Tehran;
Scientific Partner of the Iranian Management and Planning Organization)
Abstract
Regional planning for balanced and sustainable development, in a review, is a response to
national and local problems and losses. A general and similar attitude toward all the regions of
the country has brought a complex situation in policy-making, causing local potentials and
limitations not to be seen, as all cities are regarded by the same lens. In development planning,
the exigencies of each region should be nursed. The development output has not depicted a
balanced and harmonious picture yet. Another issue is oil economy, which prevents stable, long-
term programming. The findings verify that the developmental approach in a row has not been
completely economic and resting on GDP growth; the elements such as culture, the environment,
and society have been under the rubric of economy, while the reversed is now ratified: economy
has to be a subcategory of culture and society. If conceding to ecological conditions,
development leads to sustainability. The actions done, indeed, have not been effective as
expected in balancing all regions. What should be highlighted is regional planning in which
public participation is included, and macro policies are adapted to zonal features.
Keywords: macro policy-making, balanced and sustainable regional development, Iran
47
The Social Backgrounds of Ethno-religious Radicalism and
Its Effect on Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Qadir Nasri (Faculty Member at Kharazmi University)
Abstract
To investigate the matter of radicalism and its effect on balanced and sustainable regional
development, one should consider the socio-security challenges and problems in Iran—caused by
ISIS in the region, the rich ethnoreligious variety and conflicts, etc. The results confirm that
radicalism leads to the unsustainability and imbalance of regional development as well as a
menace to the national security. To resolve the dilemmas, the following remedies are offered: an
active and consistent harmony with the regional powers, promotion of the international social
capital—although Iran as an influential and prosperous country has a very high international
social capital—stabilization of the center or the majority‟s political will, empowerment of local
organizations, avoidance of identities discrimination, economic development, improvement of
infrastructures, creation of links rather than dependence, and so on.
Keywords: social backgrounds, ethnoreligious radicalism, balanced and sustainable regional
development
Section Five
The Economic Angles of
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
49
5.1. Articles
An Estimation of the Underground Economy in Khuzestan
and Its Causal Relation with the Inequality in Income Distribution
Sayyid Morteza Afqah (Assistant Professor at Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz)
Salah Ebrahimi (C.Phil. of Economics at Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz)
Abstract
Many factors cause the underground economy to spread; it can simultaneously be both the cause
and effect of some other economic variables. One of the compelling reasons for goods trafficking
is inequality in income distribution. In this study, hence, the causality between the two in
Khuzestan will be examined by the Granger causality test during 1997-2011. To this aim, first,
the underground economy is calculated by the fuzzy method, and then the researchers treat of the
causality. The findings represent that the average of the underground economy was 1.29% of the
province GDP in the period; there was also a mutual causal relation between trafficking and the
inequality in income distribution in Khuzestan.
Keywords: underground economy, inequality in income distribution, Granger causality, fuzzy
method, Khuzestan
50
The Effect of the Needs and Capacities in the Government‟s Budget Appropriation
on the Economic Growth of the Iranian Provinces
Morteza Ezzati (Faculty Member at Tarbiat Modares University)
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the government‟s policies in budget appropriation to the
provinces and to estimate the effect of the provincial needs and capacities in budget appropriation
on the economic growth. After defining need and capacity, some standards for budget
appropriation are determined. The trends and differences in the provincial data during 2000-
2009, then, will be analyzed. The growth model is calculated by panel data in econometrics. The
GDP and its growth are the dependent variables, and the capital stock and the workforce are the
independent variables of the model. The main results suggest that the government‟s budget
appropriation more than the provinces‟ capacity has a destructive impact on production and
growth, yet budget appropriation to poor provinces more than their needs to fulfill their basic
needs has a positive effect on the economic growth.
Keywords: budget, capacity, need, economic growth, regional economy
51
Balanced Regional Development Planning via the Cooperatives‟ Capacities
for Granting Entrepreneurial Microcredit
Mohammad Hasan Hoseini (M.A. of Urbanization and Regional Planning;
Caretaker of Tarom Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare Bureau)
Abstract
Since the late 1970s, developed countries and even many developing countries have paid
attention to entrepreneurship, yet in Iran, this was slighted by the beginning of the Third
Development Plan; even academia had rarely done something remarkable. Unemployment and
the prediction of its more hectic condition in the 2000s required care when the Plan was drafted.
In the Plan, developing entrepreneurship was in issue for the ministries of Science, Research, and
Technology; Health and Medical Education; Agriculture Jihad; Industries and Mines; together
with all the relevant institutions, such as the Academic Center for Education, Culture, and
Research. Low- and average-income governments face inaccessibility of sustainable
development, which depends on poverty reduction, enough food supply, and attention to the key
role of agriculture in comprehensive economic development. In Iran, agriculture can play an
integral role in removing the socioeconomic challenges (independence, food security,
employment, sustainable development, and the environment protection), so it demands new
investments. The present research is to design a model in a descriptive way to propose a novel
kind of sustainable regional planning, which benefits from the regional comparative advantages
and cooperatives‟ potentials in employment. The findings show that enabling cooperatives to
compete with other sections in operationalizing large infrastructural projects, prioritizing them in
the government‟s legal supports, as well as establishing comprehensive and regional
cooperatives based on the comparative advantages to possess transferable projects and
corporations can increase their share and hence the participation of all walks of life in planning.
This will end in social justice in the distribution of facilities and infrastructures together with
comprehensive and balanced development.
Keywords: regional planning, regional development, balanced regional development,
entrepreneurship, microcredit
52
ICT Effects on the Socioeconomic Dimensions of Rural Areas:
Amol as a Case Study
Sayyid Hasan Motiee Langarudi (Faculty Member at University of Tehran)
Saber Seddiqi (M.A. Student of Geography and Rural Planning at University of Tehran)
Behzad Doostisabzi (M.A. Student of Geography and Rural Planning at University of Tehran)
Abstract
Due to the prevalence of information and communication technology, today is witness to a
change in all respects of human lifestyle. Rural communities‟ lag in such changes can result in
retardation of the regions and slowness of the country‟s development. The aim of this research is
to know ICT effects on the socioeconomic dimensions of rural areas, so we use both qualitative
and quantitative methods. The statistical population includes villages in Amol; 6 (3688
households) were selected out of 28 villages with ICT centers by a stratified random sampling.
Using Cochran‟s formula, we distributed 373 questionnaires; the focus groups were shaped
based on the number of households and population. Then, the variables were evaluated by one-
sample t-test to come to the following results: In social aspect, there is a meaningful relation
between the use of ICT and an increase in the villagers‟ welfare and participation in rural affairs
as well as a decrease in immigration from the village to cities. From an economic angle, due to
no proper education, lack of infrastructure, and no appropriation of enough financial resources,
one cannot see a significant relation between ICT and economic development in the villages.
Among the most formidable obstacles to the usage of ICT is a need for the necessary education
in all scopes of the technology; it is suggested, therefore, education should be taken into account
since it can affect the socioeconomic dimensions.
Keywords: information and communication technology, rural development, socioeconomic
dimensions, Amol
53
5.2. Reports
Development Planning: Realities and Challenges
Alaeddin Azwaji (Vice-President of Macroeconomic Planning Office)
Mohammad Reza Yoosefi (Researcher of Development Planning)
Abstract
Planning is not essential merely for efficiency or inefficiency of the market system; to prevent
from a natural process requires intervention and planning. Development planning is a constant
process in which only a statute is not drafted; the position and role of institutions and
organizations are more important than the law. Iran has a seventy-year official experience in
development planning, which is embodied in five plans before and five after the revolution. In
this span, planning followed the socio-politico-economic changes and witnessed many
vicissitudes. One of the significant challenges in development planning in the country is a
misunderstanding of the difference between economic and communist planning, among many
other theories and concepts. The true balanced and sustainable development entails
comprehensive, scientific, and realistic knowledge, analysis, and clarification of the previous
reconstruction plans as well as the exploitation and localization of the universal models and
experiences. The findings signify that, regarding the some-decade experience in Iran,
investigating the plans‟ strong and weak points based on universal and local standards, future
challenges, and effective elements in the development planning process can help the Ministry of
the Interior strategically manage balanced and sustainable development.
Keywords: development planning, performance, economy, reality, challenges, Iran
54
Spatial Planning in the Littoral Regions of Iran: Opportunities and Challenges
Alireza Nazari (C.Phil. of Geography and Rural Planning at
Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences of ACECR)
Abstract
There are many reasons that show the significance of attention to littoral planning: many coastal
borders and their sensitive ecosystems, a lot of applicants for exploiting the coastal land, the
similarities (despite the differences) between the northern and southern beaches in demanding
development, their limited enjoyment of (governmental, public, and private) “developmental
opportunities”, conflict in actions, contradictory uses inadaptable to the ecosystem, no planning
attitude with necessary priorities or based on a true feasibility study, loss of the limited resources
or their indiscriminate use, missing opportunities, and so forth. The results of this report
represent that the attention to littoral planning in the higher-order development documents, the
drafting of the coastal regions‟ consolidated management plan, and the Iranian beaches
regimentation document notwithstanding, the officials should notice the following: A) regard to
strategies such as balanced population distribution proportionate to the resources, environmental
potentials, and biomes‟ capacity in the northern development-prone regions; B) balancing the
population structure and supporting population centers, especially in small and average cities,
concerning the development perspective document of Persian Gulf coastline activities and the
necessity of relocating some of them on the coast of the Sea of Oman.
Keywords: development plan, littoral planning, coastal regions consolidated management, Iran
55
The Role of Free Trade-Industrial Zones
in Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Naqi Asgari (Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences of ACECR)
Abstract
Service-oriented, high-tech industrial, special economic, and regional (shared by two countries)
free zones have been the four evolved types of the zones in the world. In post-war Iran, due to
the oil incomes decrease in the First Development Plan, the government was allowed to set up
three free zones to expand export. In this report, the internal free zones will be scrutinized, and
then the Iranian zones will be compared to Dubai free zone. The findings indicate that Chabahar
and Aras free zones with 27.5 points out of 200 have a relatively better performance than Anzali
and Arvand. In a comparative study, the only common points between the Iranian and Dubai free
zones are in political stability and policy-making; in other angles, such as commitment to laissez-
faire, strategic orientation, workforce, proper infrastructures, legal transparency, and financing,
Dubai free zone has a better performance.
Keywords: free trade-industrial zones, balanced and sustainable regional development, Iran,
Dubai
56
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development: Free Zones
Iraj Qasemi
(Faculty Member at Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences of ACECR)
Abstract
To speed up the reconstruction of substructures, the growth of economic development, and
investment; to increase public income and sound as well as productive employment; to regulate
product and work markets; to participate actively in universal and regional markets; or to
produce and export industrial and intermediate goods besides public services, the government
was allowed to legally run free industrial and trade zones. Despite the endeavors, the sectoral,
centralized planning and approach has translated into some challenges to the zones and
developmental ends. According to the results, the spatial distribution of the zones shows that
most of the special economic zones are adapted to the development driving force, and only three
zones are situated in less-developed areas. In other words, the zones, more than serving the
national aim of regional development and removal of imbalances, are directed toward the general
tendency and add to the imbalance. Created mainly re the socioeconomic circumstances, the
zones, therefore, have not been in line with balanced and sustainable regional development. The
surroundings, however, in some cases benefited from the leakage limitedly, a fact helping to the
region‟s development. The government should take on its legal-bureaucratic instruments to
eliminate such imbalances. Predicated on the codes of the zones‟ charter, one of their vocations
is regional affluence, so they ought to diminish the imbalance.
Keywords: free zones, balanced and sustainable regional development, spatial planning, Iran
Section Six
The Spatial Respects of
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
58
6.1. Articles
Rural-Urban Development Continuum in Rural Systems
in Line with Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Abbas Saeedi (Professor of Human Geography at Shahid Beheshti University)
Abstract
Sustainable rural development is a process to promote life in villages through preparing and
encouraging activities harmonious with the local capabilities and constraints. It includes various
angles, yet structural preparation in four general parts can help this process work aptly:
environmental-ecological, cultural, politico-economic, and physical-spatial. Spatial integrity in a
systematic approach looks at rural settlements as open systems on spot, local, zonal, regional,
and national scales. Each settlement, therefore, is continuously dynamic not only in the actions
and reactions of its different internal components and forces but also in interaction with the other
(rural or urban) settlement systems. The system capabilities, embodied in making interactional
relation with policies, plans, and credit appropriation, are of paramount significance. Regarding
the new approaches in applied geography, on the other hand, and the attention to communities‟
role in creating various spaces, many objectives of spatial planning and sustainability are tightly
connected. The researcher, hence, is of the opinion that “sustainable development” is a rather
neutral term with no meaning in itself, unless it is tested against settlements‟ spatial integrity and
sustainability. In addition, both planning and environmental issues include a collection of
problematic binaries that work as dialectic tools rather than analytic means; for instance, the
environment versus economy, society against nature, town versus village, and crawl against
integrity. This paper attempts to disclose that sustainability in rural development entails spatial
integrity, which is not plausible but by an approach based on the regional network in a structural-
functional dynamics.
Keywords: relation between rural and urban development, sustainable regional development,
balanced development, rural systems, local and regional networks
59
The Drainage Basins‟ Role in Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Kaveh Masoomi (Social Expert in Water Management)
Abstract
Located in an arid and semi-arid climate of the world and due to its specific geographical
conditions, Iran confronts imbalance in its different regions in terms of exploitable water
resources, which historically and in contemporary era particularly originated a number of socio-
economic and cultural evolutions and impressed the national development. Everyone today
admits that the process, despite its positive aspects, has intensified the imbalance and inequality
among various regions. Integrated water management in drainage basins simultaneous with the
reformation of its governmental system can play a key role in the balanced and sustainable
regional development. According to the findings of this descriptive-analytic research, along with
the environment, water because of its multi-sectoral essence and catastrophic status can stop or
interrupt all development processes, so it should be promoted in the country‟s planning and
decision-making system to act as a strategic driving force in regions‟ reconstruction. In this
regard, it is suggested that in drafting physical-spatial plans, given the temporal-spatial
distribution and essential value of water resources, their qualitative and quantitative limitation be
taken into account as a touchstone for deciding on drainage basins. The inter-basinal transference
projects, concerning water dispersion and distribution in the country, should also be
operationalized only in a win-win framework for the local and national interests, and all
economic, social, environmental, political, and security angles in both giving and taking basins
ought to be noticed. We have to pay attention to the water basins of the country as a proper
element in the drafting of regional plans; otherwise, the water crisis will become uncontrollable,
and all regions, whether privileged or unprivileged, will be endangered the same.
Keywords: water, drainage basin, balanced and sustainable regional development, Iran
60
An Analysis of Rural Settlement Systems: Fars Province as a Case Study
Rana Sheikh Beigloo
(Assistant Professor of Geography and Urban Planning at Shiraz University)
Elaheh Ghaffari
(M.A. Student of Geography and Regional Development Planning at Shiraz University)
Abstract
Increasing urbanization in recent decades in step with mass rural-urban immigrations and
simultaneous with the socio-politico-economic evolution trend has been a decisive element in
setting up the imbalanced urban system, possibly rooted in how resources are distributed in the
regions. Fars Province has also confronted intensive immigration, settlements dispersion,
unequal distribution of infrastructural facilities, spatial “disintegrity”, and no workable, orderly
settlement hierarchy. This research intends to classify the rural servicing offices in the center of
Shiraz in 2011 and to analyze how the population was distributed in diverse rural and urban
classes of the province. To identify the central places and their special services, a system center,
and some complex centers as well as area centers were determined; they were equipped and
boosted in performance in order to provide effective services, to link rural settlements, and to set
up a relative balance between villages and cities. To analyze how the population was distributed
in the different urban classes of the province, the researcher used the Lorenz curve and the Gini
coefficient, the results of which indicate an improper distribution in cities and a semi-balanced
distribution in villages.
Keywords: Rural Settlement, spatial system, sustainable regional development, central place,
Fars Province
61
The Role of Spatial Planning in Drafting Iran‟s Regional Development Policies
Aram Karimi (M.A. Student of Spatial Planning at Tarbiat Modares University)
Hasan Ahmadi (Assistant Professor of Geography at Tarbiat Modares University)
Abstract
Spatial planning deals with the favorable organizing of economic, social, and cultural activities
necessary for development and leads to the optimum appropriation of space to various activities.
According to the European Union, it is an action to affect the spatial structure through managing
national development and attuning sectoral policies‟ outcomes. Its end is to know the territorial
resources, how to exploit them, and to anticipate the future condition of the human and his
performance in nature to reach a rational, sustainable, and congenial economic growth in a
country. On the other hand, its goal is not separate from that of regional development planning
and policies. It can sufficiently introduce the deprived areas and the present order of spatial
activities to provide guidelines for a long-term perspective. To guide programs in line with
facility and wealth distribution, it can also present how the axes and poles of industrial,
agricultural, and service development are, the way population and settlement systems are
established, the quality of the relation between villages and cities, in what way to prevent
extravagant welfare in special zones through the required developmental policies, and many
other issues. Re the theoretical essence of this paper, the main method is descriptive-analytic.
First, we consider the concepts and objectives of spatial planning as well as regional
development; then given the prime function of regions and the significance of development in
territorial planning, we discuss the role of spatial planning in drafting regional development
policies.
Keywords: planning, territorial planning, space, regional development, balanced development
62
The Role of Intermediary Cities in Regional Development: Parsabad and
MEshkinshahr as Cases of Study
Amir Kashani Asl (M.A. Student of Geography and Urban Planning at Maragheh University)
Vahid Salahi Sarikhan Beigloo
(M.A. Student of Geography and Urban Planning at Maragheh University)
Abstract
The difference in enjoying natural, political, social, and economic elements begets regional
inequality. Development and inequality reduction in diverse settlements and regions of a country
are among the concerns of governments and academic communities. The population distribution
model in developing countries signifies an imbalance in population settlement and exploitation
of resources. Having a leading role in just development and poverty reduction, small and
intermediary cities are indispensable for regional and spatial development. While having
numerous cities, Ardabil has almost no intermediary city; only Parsabad and Meshkinshahr can
be called so. The purpose of this article is to analyze the two cities‟ position in Ardabil Province
regional development. The method is descriptive-analytic in a quantitative paradigm. The
findings endorse the valuable role of the two counties in the spatial development of northern
Ardabil Province through agricultural and agricultural-tourist activities, respectively. Due to their
suitable environmental capacities and growth in forty-five statistical years, the two could have
been nerve centers to attract population.
Keywords: development, regional development, intermediary cities, Parsabad, Meshkinshahr
63
The Rural-Urban Development Continuum in Industrial Cities in Line with
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development: Alborz in Qazvin as a Case
Study
Arastoo Yari Hesar
(Faculty Member of Geography and Rural Planning at Mohaqeq Ardebili University)
Zahra Mohammadi (M.A. Student of Geography and Rural Planning)
Abstract
The reciprocal relations between cities and villages are known as one of the most momentous
parameters in social, cultural, and economic changes. They can translate into the development or
underdevelopment of either community. As every phenomenon occurring in time and space
affects them according to its weight, industry and industrialization are not exceptions. One can
dare to claim, consequently, that without a solid understanding of industrial changes and issues
he/she cannot have a clear picture of regional, urban, and rural planning. As a matter of fact,
there is usually rural-urban development continuum. This research designs to study and analyze
the sustainability of the villages surrounding Alborz industrial city and to disclose the difference
in the development of closer villages to the industrial city. The statistical population includes
both Mohammadiyeh and the central district of Alborz. The sample based on Cochran‟s formula
was estimated at 378 people. Sustainability level was measured via Prescott-Allen‟s barometer of
sustainability and AMOEBA sustainability radar. The results prove that in the central district, the
closer villages to Alborz, such as Koochar, Hasanabad, and Kamalabad, in most indices have a
better condition; in Mohammadiyeh, which is farther from the industrial city, development is
average and potential. One can say that in this district, too, villages like Hesarkhorvan and
Bavers, closer to Caspian industrial town (one of the satellite towns of Alborz), have more
agreeable status. Finally, regarding the economic, social, environmental, and physical
weaknesses of the villages, we come up with some suggestions.
Keywords: industrial city, rural-urban relations, sustainable rural development, Alborz
64
6.2. Reports
A Pathological Study of the Previous Development Plans in Local-Spatial Terms
Mohammad Taqi Rahnamaee
(Professor Emeritus of the Department of Geography at University of Tehran)
Abstract
The pre- and post-revolutionary reconstruction and development plans as the most important
higher-order documents of the country have been facing different changes in the political, social,
and economic conditions of their times. This study is to have a pathological look at the problems
and challenges of the mentioned plans to propose some planning necessities. The results reveal
that centralization, absence of a spatial approach, particularism, a top-down view, deficiency in
legal supports, lack of an institution, as well as political, social, and economic instability have
impressed the general process of reconstruction and development planning in different periods,
turning in spatial inequalities, imbalance among and within regions, and unsustainability of
regional development. As a matter of fact, understanding of foibles and fortes of the prior plans,
a shift from sectoral to spatial attitude, stability in micro and macro planning, and attention to
legal and institutional requirements can reduce the previous problems and initiate the fulfillment
of balanced and sustainable regional development.
Keywords: pathological study, reconstruction and development plans, local-spatial approach,
balanced and sustainable regional development
65
Spatial Planning as an Alternative to Sectoral Planning
Keramatollah Ziari (Professor at University of Tehran)
Abstract
Spatial planning is an alternative to and a reformer of sectoral planning. The most outstanding
issue about the space is social justice, the relative distribution and appropriation of rights, their
resources, and equal opportunities, which is embodied in geographical spaces. Resource
appropriation is not merely for economic growth, but for social justice, the environment
protection, and sustainability. Sectoral planning brings forth a group of negative outcomes
because it deals with only one isolated socioeconomic division. In spatial planning, all parts,
especially the environment, are taken into account and become related. The results prove that a
cursory look at the definition of theoretical concepts and basics in spatial planning, little
attention to the environment, unfamiliarity to environmental potentials, disregard for a multi-
dimensional, interdisciplinary approach, absence of essential institutions and substructures,
particularism, centralization, and loss of any national spatial planning are among the hugest
challenges our country faces in the planning system and fulfillment of balanced and sustainable
regional development.
Keywords: spatial planning, sectoral planning, development
66
Rural-Urban Development Continuum in Rural Systems
in Line with Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Abbas Saeedi (Professor of Human Geography at Shahid Beheshti University)
Abstract
Inattention to numerous villages and their local-spatial differences, lack of systematic attitude
toward planning and public participation in decision-making, negligence to mutual relations
between cities and villages or rural-urban development continuum as well as regional
development, dominance of sectoral planning over regional planning (although the former is not
essentially bad, it should not be competitive and oppositional), and multitude of institutions
responsible for development decision- and policy-making are among the most burning issues in
Iran‟s regional development. The findings assert that not only villages but also cities could not
have played their expected roles. Today, the matter of comparative advantage is not worth
repeating because it has already been noticed. If planning is correct, balanced and sustainable
development is within reach. Regional planning should be dominant, that is, we have to start
from the margins and the weakest regions, rather than the strongest, to underline the comparative
advantages; we ourselves should create advantages. Rural and urban development entails
continuum, rather than omit settlements in policy-making.
Keywords: rural-urban development continuum, balanced and sustainable regional development
67
Rural Servicing and Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development
Mahdi Pourtaheri (Associate Professor at Tarbiat Modares University;
Member of the Iranian Geography and Rural Planning Society)
Abstract
The results of this research show that rural servicing, particularly after the revolution, for the
purpose of poverty reduction in these biological spaces, has always been considered as all-
inclusive development, while it is only one of the tools to bed balanced and sustainable
development. Consequently, to realize the rural development, the indispensable substructures,
such as the illumination of the key theoretical notions in this area together with an independent,
consolidated institution and management responsible for rural regions should be prepared. The
given points ought to be highly noticed in the Sixth and Seventh Plans as well as the oncoming
Perspective Documents.
Keywords: rural servicing, development plans, balanced and sustainable regional development
68
Regional Imbalance in Iran: Roots and Reasons
Farzam Poorasghar (Expert of the Environment at National Planning Center,
Management and Planning Organization of Iran)
Abstract
Experiencing different problems in various periods, spatial planning and balanced and
sustainable development have always been affected by human (socio-politico-economic) and
natural (climate, topography, water resources, soil, etc.) factors in the world. The elements above
make the development process balanced and sustainable or vice versa. Specific geographical and
environmental conditions as well as natural crises and dangers, on the one hand, besides human
changes and traits in Iran, on the other, have made the spatial and planning systems of the
regional development face several problems. To know the serious issues, advantages, and
disadvantages in the shaping of the country‟s spatial system can help clarify the matter and
provide a useful framework to remove the failures of balanced and sustainable regional
development. The results confirm that the involuntary (water resources limitation) and voluntary
(economic structure and socio-politico-military qualities, such as industrial poles like Mugan
plain or Tehran-Karaj axis) parameters, together with alternative importation policies are among
the crucial respects in forming the spatial system; they might occasion social, spatial, and
economic injustice or regional imbalance across the country too.
Keywords: spatial system, regional development, balance and sustainability, Iran
69
The National System of Development Evaluation Standards:
Development Evaluation and Planning Monitoring System (SATRA)
Alireza Rahmatnia (Regional Planning and Development Vice-President of
the Management and Planning Organization of Iran)
Abstract
Struggling against multifarious environmental, socio-cultural, economic, and physical-spatial
challenges, many countries around the world deal with generating a proper system of data
production and distribution, continually monitoring development standards and their changes‟
mutual effect, designing future scenarios, besides anticipating and elucidating the influence of a
decision on other (national, regional, and local) decisions. There are numerous regional issues in
Iran: Lake Urmia crisis, recent frequent droughts, inverted and adverse consequences of multiple
policies, and so forth reveal the absence of enough and comprehensive data as well as any
analysis of the decisions‟ future outcomes, inattention to the reciprocities between various
sections, along with the problems in the present models. To assuage the concerns, a legal and
systematic pathological study of the mentioned matters, development evaluation, and planning
monitoring are necessary. The findings show that the different challenges in Iran‟s regional
development, resulted from internal and external elements, in particular lack of updated and
precise information, led to the drafting of required laws to design SATRA for collecting,
managing, and creating strong developmental information plus advocating planning. SATRA is a
fundamental infrastructure for realizing balanced and sustainable regional development in the
country.
Keywords: development evaluation, standards, planning, SATRA, Iran
Section Seven
Balanced and Sustainable Regional Development:
An Integrative View
71
The Status of Some of the Regional Imbalance Standards in Iran
Jamal Boostan Zar (C.Phil. of Public Policy)
Abstract
Regional imbalance causes some problems that stop the national aims, plans, and policies being
realized. If existing for a long time, it negatively affects the economic efficiency, so attention to
regions plays a vital role in national planning. Among its major consequences, one can hint at the
permanent regional differences in standard of living (41.7% of the population live in 5 provinces
which consist of 21.5% of the country‟s area) and high unemployment in these regions resulting
in migration. In the present report, the attempt is made to depict some of the imbalance standards
based on the statistics of 2013. This study hopes the planners and policy-makers consider the
regions‟ role in planning and use their potentials to decrease the imbalances.
Keywords: standard, balance, regional imbalance, Iran
72
Towns‟ Role in Spatial Balance of Regions‟ Population:
Fars Province as a Case Study
Rahimeh Shirvan
(M.A. of Regional Planning and Expert at Councils Office of Fars Governorate)
Abstract
Today, national planning and investment are mostly advantageous to the higher levels of the
urban hierarchy, that is, the megacities, bringing a disorder to the past urban network and giving
birth to “macrocephaly.” Besides imbalanced distribution of economic activities, this causes
unequal diaspora in the region and the country. Towns as one of the principal elements of
regional systems play a prominent role in stabilizing population, activities, and capital, region-
and nationwide. Fars Province confronts regional inequalities and spatially imbalanced
distribution. In 2006, it had 73 cities, one of which alone included 47% of the urban population
of the province. Aiming to study the role of towns in spatial and regional balance, this research
considers Fars Province and its urban network by a descriptive-analytic method based on
population components and quantitative models. To see the role of towns in physical-spatial
balance, first, the urban system of the province is investigated since 1956 by urban primacy
index. For examining the role of towns in regional balance, elasticity coefficient and migration
streams analysis were used. According to the results, towns have no role in decreasing the
primacy, comprising a tiny percentage of the region‟s population in all the studied periods. Based
on elasticity coefficient and migration streams analysis, however, they have had at the beginning
a small role in attracting population, but in recent periods they have had a bigger role.
Keywords: town, spatial balance, population, Fars Province
73
An Analysis of Intraprovincial Development Reports
Mohammad Ehsan Hooshmand (Member of Iranian Sociological Association)
Abstract
“Sustainable development” is tied to the “environment” because it demands environmental
considerations, such as detection of existing resources, accordance of the resources with
developmental needs, and selection of development type. The evolution trend in the country
shows that, despite the remarkable urban and rural plants and services, little attention has been
paid to the natural heritage and environment. Frequent droughts, the phenomenon of dust,
pastures evaporation, and dry riverbeds caused by inordinate damming, among other reasons, are
the most pressing challenges of Iran. Therefore, an incorporated national management in rural,
urban, and regional development (government, governors-general, mayors) seems essential.
Analysis of the data indicates that all the country faces some degrees of chronic developmental
problems, which could be solved if each province‟s opportunities and each region‟s
predicaments are particularly examined. Hence, regional and provincial plans, developmental
agents (governors and governors-general), an increase of their developmental authorities, and
decentralizing revision of the structure of planning institutions in provinces are significant to
boost efficiency. Empowering the agents and educating the executive officials are among the
means for balanced and sustainable regional development, preventing a subjective or personal
look at and instilling an expert, harmonious, and tactful attitude toward development.
Keywords: balanced and sustainable regional development, planning system, province
