Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Hassan Mohammadian Mosammam ¹
• pouya Joodi Gollar ²

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Urban Planning and design, Art University of Isfahan, Iran.

² Assistant Professor, Department of Landscape Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Urban and regional planners in Iran have largely neglected one of citizens' most fundamental needs—food—which has historically served as a powerful catalyst for social change, cultural identity, and economic development. This oversight has led to an increasing socio-spatial disconnection between residents and food systems. Historically, the defense and secure control of food supply underpinned the emergence, evolution, and survival of Iranian cities, playing a central role in societal development and constituting an essential precondition for their sustainability and prosperity. In response, this study seeks to advance food security and the sustainability of the food system in the Tehran metropolitan region. Adopting a mediating ontological stance, a pragmatist epistemology, a mixed-methods approach, and a pragmatic framework, the research first conceptualizes core concepts: food security, urban food systems, spatial transformation, and the role of urban planners in food-related issues. To identify leverage points and priority intervention areas for urban and regional planners, the paper analyzes the spatial transformations in the Tehran metropolitan region and its impacts on the food system using variance-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings indicate that the region has experienced significant spatial transformations. Overall, these changes have not resulted in a net negative impact on the food system. However, negative effects are apparent in underlying subsystems—particularly physical infrastructure, activity patterns, socio-demographic characteristics, and employment structures—posing risks to the long-term sustainability of the food system. Ultimately, by synthesizing theoretical insights with the issues arising from the interplay between spatial transformations and these subsystems in the Tehran metropolitan region, the study proposes targeted policies and practical strategies to enhance and strengthen the urban and regional food system.

Keywords

• food security
• food system
• spatial transformations
• Tehran metropolitan area

Main Subjects

• Urban livability