Designing a Coordinated Urban Governance Model in Iran with Emphasis on the Role of Municipalities

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student in Land Use Planning, Department of Geography, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

2 Associate Prof, Department of Geography, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.

3 Ph.D. Student in Land Use Planning, Department of Geography, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.

Abstract

Urban governance in Iran faces serious institutional, legal, and financial challenges. Municipalities, despite their legal status, have not been able to play a pivotal role in coordinating urban policies due to centralization, limited sustainable resources, and overlapping responsibilities with other institutions. This gap has created a crisis of institutional coordination, reduced efficiency, and weakened the quality of urban management, showing that the absence of a clear local institutional-legal model for coordinated urban governance is the main problem of urban management in Iran. The aim of this research is to present a local model for coordinated urban governance in Iran with emphasis on the role of municipalities. The study was conducted using a qualitative-analytical approach based on institutional and legal analysis. Data were collected through documentary and library studies, including laws, regulations, and official reports, and examined using content analysis. An institutional-organizational approach was then applied to analyze the relationships between municipalities and other local and national institutions. In the final step, the Causal Layered Analysis (CLA) method was used to identify the deeper roots of the institutional coordination crisis. The findings showed that Iranian municipalities face extensive responsibilities but limited authority. Institutional centralization, financial dependence on unstable resources, inter-organizational overlap, and negative cultural narratives have reduced efficiency and social legitimacy. The results indicate that improving the quality of urban governance will only be possible through institutional coherence, transparency, social participation, and a comprehensive coordinated approach across institutional, organizational, and cultural levels

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Geography and Territorial Spatial Arrangement
Volume 16, Issue 59
June 2026
Pages 173-216

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History

  • Receive Date: 22 December 2025
  • Revise Date: 30 April 2026
  • Accept Date: 30 May 2026

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