EXCURSION & WORKSHOP, SS 2014
Dr. Somaiyeh Falahat, Dr. M. Reza Shirazi

Tehran: Community Mapping and neighbourhood re-generation 
approaches

Tehran has experienced a spectacular growth over the last 100 years from a small town to a megacity. During the rapid pace of urban transformation, the historical neighbourhoods of the old city center have faced different problems and challenges such as physical deterioration, environmental degradation, and socio-cultural degeneration. This is, at least in part, due to the ambivalence and lack of action on behalf of the city authorities and their planners, many of which still hold the view that, due to their urban texture, it is impossible to provide residents with the necessary urban services. Moreover, the structural quality of the historical fabric is considered beyond repair and a serious danger in times of earthquakes. But more recently, a policy shift occurred. Different renovation and regeneration programmes have been implemented by government and municipality to address local deterioration.

The excursion will focus on the study of bottom-up, community-based urban regeneration in inner-city neighbourhoods in Tehran. An introductory teaching block will be held to provide a theoretical overview to the subject. This will be followed by a 10- day field study excursion to Tehran (16-27 May 2014) in which the master students of TU Berlin together with a group of master students of Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) will have site-visits to ongoing regeneration projects and conduct field work in distressed neighbourhoods. The study includes analyzing and understanding the dynamics of urban regeneration/ renewal, critically reveiwing participatory methods applied, and proposing solutions and new ideas towards more inclusive planning processes.

The course is supported by the Participatory Urban Regeneration Programme (ZTG/ TU Berlin), organized in cooperation with Habitat Unit and Iran University of Science and Technology. Travel cost to Tehran will be provided to a limited number of TU Berlin Master students who are required to send a motivation letter and CV to Dr. Somaiyeh Falahat/ Dr. M. Reza Shirazi.