Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Mohammad Mehdi Azizi ¹
• Samane Soltani ²

¹ Professor, School of Urban Planning, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran

² MSc in Urban Management, School of Urban Planning, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran

Abstract

The management of metropolitan buffer zones (peri-urban areas) faces complex conflicts arising from spatial conservation imperatives, private property rights, and urban development pressures. Prevailing planning approaches and management instruments, which primarily focus on physical control and land-use regulation, often fail to account for or manage the social, institutional, and legal dynamics governing these spaces. While certain frameworks utilize tangible indicators such as population density, economic activity, and land use as analytical benchmarks, other studies emphasize qualitative dimensions, including community, identity, and structural interdependencies. This conceptual divergence highlights a significant gap in urban and regional planning knowledge regarding the management of peri-urban spaces.

Consequently, the primary objective of this research is to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the formation of spatial and property conflicts in metropolitan buffer zones and to identify effective criteria and indicators for their integrated management. Adopting a qualitative approach based on Grounded Theory (the Corbin and Strauss model), this study focuses on the buffer zone of Tehran’s District 13 as a case study. Data were gathered through an analysis of laws and regulations pertaining to buffer zone management, a review of urban planning documents, and semi-structured interviews with landowners and key stakeholders. Data analysis followed a multi-layered strategy to explain the interplay between institutional structures, planning policies, and the experiences of local actors.

The findings indicate that the institutional framework for buffer zone management is primarily rooted in a logic of physical control and lacks transparent mechanisms for resolving property rights, providing compensation, or ensuring stakeholder participation in decision-making. As a result, the gap between the objectives of development plans and the institutional capacity for their implementation has led to legal ambiguities and spatial conflicts. Data analysis led to the identification of “legal uncertainty of land status” as the core category. Accordingly, by proposing criteria and indicators for integrated management, this research emphasizes the necessity of transitioning from control-oriented approaches toward participatory, transparent, and rights-based governance models in the management of metropolitan buffer zones.

Keywords

• Peri-Urban Areas Management
• Property Rights Conflicts
• Institutional Ambiguity
• Grounded Theory
• Tehran Metropolis

Main Subjects

• Urban Planning