Explanation of Exclusive Space Production Mechanisms in Coastal Peri-Urban Areas (Case Study: Southern Coast of Caspian Sea)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD in Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Architecture and Environmental Design, Iran University of Science & Technology, Tehran, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Architecture and Environmental Design, Iran University of Science & Technology, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Multiple forces in spatial planning have led to complexity of planning efforts in making balance between human needs and available spatial resources. This challenge is more sever in natural lands, as the increase in environmental advantages would increase the demand for different human activities. Facing the scarcity of environmentally valuable resources forces planning efforts to deal with the conflict between human use and resource conservation.  This challenge is sometimes represented in the form of physical exclusive spaces where the sense of private ownership is dominant. Exclusively use of national and public lands is the phenomenon in more developed and less developed communities, however the mechanisms in which this privatization happens are different and basically depend on the spatial features of the context.  This research aims to explain the main mechanisms of exclusive spaces production in coastal peri-urban areas in north of Iran. The constructivist grounded theory method is the instrumental basic for the analysis. Findings showed that six main concepts of inefficiency of formal institutional framework, power conflict, non-productive political economy, cultural supports for privatization, rentier spatial structure and the multiplier rent are the main concepts shaping the exclusive spaces in coastal peri-urban areas in north of Iran.

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