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Urban Change in Iran, 1920–1941

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Eckart Ehlers and
Willem Floor
Eckart Ehlers
Affiliation:
University of Bonn
Willem Floor
Affiliation:
World Bank
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Extract

Introduction

The reforms initiated by Reza Shah's urban modernization drive led to changes not only in cultural patterns of urban life in Iran and the economic structure of the country, but even in spatial organization. The full effect of these initiatives only started to be felt under Mohammad Reza Shah, who continued to pursue the policy of his predecessor. For our specific purpose—urban change under Reza Shah—we will focus on an analysis of the development of the Iranian city, specifically the following three aspects: spatial reorganization; economic changes; and consequences of urban change.

Our basic assumption is that the city, unlike any other phenomenon, became the symbol of political and socioeconomic transformation in Iran and that, to this day, it has preserved this character of Pahlavi modernization and change like no other institution or phenomenon.

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Type
Articles
Information
Iranian Studies , Volume 26 , Issue 3-4 , Summer Fall 1993, pp. 251 - 275
Copyright
Copyright © Association For Iranian Studies, Inc 1993

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References

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