Informal Settlement in Iran: establishing reasons and suburbanites’ problems

ABSTRACT: Informal settlement is the most problematic kind of urban community in the
world. These settlements are the spatial illustration of poverty in the cities
and the dwellers in these kinds of settlements are those who cannot find
economic opportunities within the cities. To attract rural residents, cities
claimed to be a "land of wishes". But the promise of the "land of wishes"
remains undelivered and the informal settlement appears as a way to
alleviate the problems of the homeless. Iran is one of the developing
countries in the Middle East in which the cities have had to deal with
informal and squatter settlements. These settlements, common in most of
the big cities in Iran, grew up in 1944 when economic policies were
adopted from developed countries. Economic policies and imported
industry had a profound effect on Iranian cities. Those that were once
producer cities became consumer ones. Rural residents because of
economic problems migrated to cities to find better job and lives. The
villages became vacant, the cities could not meet the requirements of the
growing population and the immigrants had to settle in suburbs or on the
vacant land within the cities. Due to poverty, informal settlers tended to
acquire money through corrupt and illegal ways. The residents of these
settlements with no citizen"s rights had to live in deteriorating, unstable
homes which were erected over night.
The aim of this article is to introduce the reasons for the appearance
of informal settlements in Iran, a survey of their geographical locations, and
the spatial situation of their house and lands. Economic and social
information of the residents will be explained. The government"s
destructive actions will be described. Finally the dangerous effects of
destroying these settlements and the correct alternatives will be surveyed.

Keywords: Informal/Squatter Settlement, Spatial SituationGovernment Response

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