Document Type : Article extracted from plan or project (by ordering the organization or department, etc.)
Authors
1
Department of Social Science Education, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran
2
Social Studies Research Group, Institute for Cultural, Social and Civilizational Studies, Tehran, Iran
10.22059/jrd.2026.411231.668976
Abstract
Over the past 3030 years, undeniable transformations in the spatial configuration of modern metropolises have engulfed the urban lifeworld worldwide—or, more accurately, through a globalized process bridging the Global East and West. The consequences of this new socio-geographical trend of urbanization, along with its concrete impacts, profoundly manifest in everyday life, the planning and design of the built environment, and disproportionate urban growth. The present study aimed to qualitatively investigate the peripheral urbanization of Tehran, employing a qualitative methodology based on Grounded Theory. To this end, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 1818 suburban residents of Tehran and 88 university professors and researchers specializing in urban studies and development. The participants were selected through purposive and snowball sampling techniques. During the data analysis phase, the coding paradigm yielded 345345 open codes, 3333 sub-categories, 88 main categories, and one core category. The findings reveal that Tehran’s urban periphery, driven by the quest for the privatization of leisure, has led to the reproduction of a manipulated and modernized nature in the city’s outskirts. By shifting the environmental paradigm from traditional villa construction to modern landscaped gardening, this novel process has steered place-based development toward the phenomenon of peri-urban gentrification. The analysis of the findings highlights a spatial contradiction; while the integration of the leisure economy with the local economy has generated positive socio-economic outcomes for the suburbs, at the macro level, it has exacerbated environmental unsustainability and degradation through scattered development (urban sprawl) and infrastructural inefficiency. Ultimately, the interpretation and synthesis of these contradictions underscore the urgent need to transition from a state of passivity toward the adoption of integrated and preventive physio-spatial and environmental strategies.
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