Exploring the socio-spatial patterns of diversity and its influencing factors at a metropolitan scale

ABSTRACT

Responding to a critical gap in diversity studies which have been mostly dedicated to Western contexts, and setting the scene for celebrating an ignored issue in the Iranian context are the aims of this study. To these ends, Tehran is selected, and its socio-spatial patterns of diversity are studied through a GIS-based analysis. Results suggest that housing and residential diversity are highly correlated. Influencing factors of diversity also indicate that diverse neighborhoods are usually smaller ones with higher population density. Surprisingly, land-use diversity does not have any significant relationship with housing and residential diversity in Tehran neighborhoods. Residential diversity usually occurs in neighborhoods, where jobs opportunities are more available, open spaces are more frequent, and individuals feel more secure. Recovering balances between residential and housing predictory variables and planning in the scale of neighborhoods rather than urban regions are what planners should seek through the notion of planning for diversity.

KEYWORDS:

• Diversity
• housing
• residential
• segregation
• land-use
• Tehran

Acknowledgments

Authors special thank goes to great reviewers and the editor of the Journal of Urbanism: International research on placemaking and urban sustainability who helped us to increase the quality of the paper through their significant reviews.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mohammad Ghazaie

Mohammad Ghazaie is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Art and Architecture at Tarbiat Modares University of Iran. He is also a visiting scholar at the Knowlton School of Architecture at Ohio State University in the US. His research focuses on social equity in city planning, segregation, planning for diversity, community development and qualitative methodologies.

Mojtaba Rafieian

Mojtaba Rafieian is Associated Professor at Department of urban and regional planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University of Iran. He is also the dean of Art and Architecture Faculty. He holds a PhD in urban and regional planning from Tarbiat Modares University of Iran. His research focuses on the governance of urban development, with a special interest in Urban Transformation.

Hashem Dadashpoor

Hashem Dadashpoor is Associate Professor at Department of urban and regional planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University of Iran. He holds a PhD in urban and regional planning from the University of South Australia, Australia. His research interests include spatial planning theories and practices specifically spatial structure and organization, spatial patterns, spatial equity and inequity, land use planning policy, territorial (spatial) development planning, research methodology and comparative planning.