HOUSING POLICY FORMULATION FOR LOW-INCOME URBAN FAMILIES WITH RESPECT TO THE SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF URBANIZATION: A CASE STUDY OF MASHAD, IRAN

The housing conditions of the poor and low-income population of Iranian cities are characterized by ugliness, poor sanitation, overcrowding of buildings on the land or of people within the dwellings. The shortage of housing in Iran is being associated with political, economic, social, and environmental variables which have increased housing needs for the large sections of Iran's population.;This study was based on materials obtained from formal and informal interviews with residents and government officials, distribution of a questionnaire among two low-income areas of the city, and observations personally made by the author in these two areas and the city itself.;This research has calculated that by 1986 and 1991 about 148,575 and 210,952 dwelling units are needed respectively to house the inhabitants of Mashad. These estimates referred to were made for the base year 1976 and then projected to the years 1986 and 1991.;The result of this study has shown that to understand the problems and technical issues involved in housing, it is necessary to know: (1) The economic system, social framework and environmental factors within which the housing problems are dealt with; (2) The existing housing situation and the phase in dealing with the housing problem; (3) The government's housing policy and organization; and (4) The long-term social and political aims connected with housing.;This dissertation, in responding to these problems, sought to provide the necessary information by analyzing the political, economic, social and environmental aspects of urbanization in Mashad which is the capital of Khorasan province and lies in the country's extreme northeast corner where Iran, Afghanistan and the Soviet Union meet. In other words, the study is conceived to be a model for a broader effort that would involve a national housing policy for the whole country. It has done this by: (1) A determination of the kind of physical housing, neighborhood, and community environment that low-income groups in the study area want. (2) A formulation of a series of housing policies to assist low-income urban families obtain satisfactory housing with direct government participation.