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Analysis of Iran spatial planning zoning pattern from post-Constitutional Revolution till present. MJSP 2018; 22 (1) :85-123
URL: http://hsmsp.modares.ac.ir/article-21-25177-en.html

Introduction and Problem statement: The life of the planning system in Iran, which is based on sectoral planning, lasts about six decades. The trend of sectorial planning, especially in the decades of the first establishment of the development planning system in the country, has been influenced by the world-wide viewpoints. Implementation of economic development programs based on a sectorial planning approach in Iran, leads to regional imbalances, marginalization of some regions, loss of regional resources and capabilities, and territorial inequalities.
Surveying of the current state of the country shows that the centralization and overcoming of the sectorial planning approach has disturbed the development process of the country.
 
Theoretical and literature review: The underdevelopment of Iran has been accompanied by a degree of concentration that has reflected in the national planning system. Over the decades, the dominant planning approach was development with induction from above relying on high oil revenues. As a result, local communities have been recipients of development products in the form of the unbalanced, before they engage in the development process and acquire necessary social capacity for development.
The center of Space Science is Geography and Location, Which itself includes other dimensions of space. This science deals with two dimensions of life and its needs, and claims that these two aspects are interrelated: 1) the dimension of nature, meaning, the relationship between societies and the environment, 2) and the spatial dimension, that is, the differences within and outside the living space (regional, societies), As well as spatial relationships between different types of society that are different from the regional perspective. The connection between two types of geography is that regional differences are essentially the result of different ways of social transformation in nature. Spatial planning is considered as a tool for creating solutions with the particular purpose of organizing geographical areas.

Over the centuries, for the administration of the affairs of the country, Iran has been zoned with different intentions. In the past, zoning was largely a political, administrative or military aspect. This article tries to examine and evaluate zoning efforts in the last century, describe each zoning and indicate an overview of it. It is hoped to be the gateway to further research on zoning and spatial planning.In more than four decades of land-use studies in Iran, this approach of planning has undergone various changes in terms of both epistemology and methodology and evolved with respect to the internal and external requirements.
The concept of zoning is not a new phenomenon; its history dates back to the 19th century. Different countries in the world deal with zoning with different principles and indicators at any level (macro and micro). Indicators that are generally common in the world are shown in Table 3. These indicators are used according to the zoning level. For example, indicators based on geographic or natural attributes are most often used for natural zoning under the control of environmental organizations. Also, zoning related to economics and competitiveness is used at urban and metropolitan levels. In general, indicators are divided into four main categories, including legal, political-security, socio-cultural, and geographic-communicational indicators.
 
Materials and methodology: If the zoning is to be accepted in the first and foremost purposes and in traditional ways, then the history of Iranian habitation and civilization should be linked to it in different times and for various purposes. For a long time, the great differences in the ecological characteristics of the regions, the scope of cultural-social realms and the vastness of the land have been pushing governors to apply more power and sustain it to land zoning. The division of the country into Satraps during the Achaemenid dynasty is a sign of the long tradition of this tradition and its historic continuity in the form of states and provinces is an indication of necessity in all periods.However, in the recent century, and especially over the past decades, the zoning has taken on new dimensions because of the complexity of the nature of relations and the necessity of systematizing it in the form of space.
In this paper, the evolution of zoning studies in the last century has been reviewed and evaluated. At first, the status of the spatial planning of our country from the beginning to the present is mentioned briefly and a glimpse into the history of the spatial planning in some countries is made. Then, zoning in the post-Constitutional era is described, in which, the codified law of the Iranian system of planning appeared for the first time, and all the pre-revolutionary regions are explained. In the next step, the review and evaluation of the zoning from the post-revolutionary period to the present are conducted. For this purpose, the analytical-descriptive research and library browsing method has been utilized. In addition, using ArcGis software, all maps of this region are produced, and in the end, the challenges and defects of zoning in Iran are mentioned.
Results and discussion: results and findings of the research show that over the centuries in Iran, zoning has been based on political issues with the aim of managing and collecting taxes, military issues, and etc. After the Constitutionalism, the divisions of the states and provinces have been conducted with the same purposes, however, the divisions are smaller in size, with regard to natural and human issues. Over time, with increasing population and increasing administrative problems and demands of the people, the political (administrative) divisions in the provinces, towns, districts and villages have become smaller and smaller.
Since 1330s, especially from 1335 to 1357, non-political zoning have been established in Iran with the purpose of economic development. Their features are mainly: The purpose of these zonings was not to create new political and administrative divisions; The purpose of these zonings was the economic development of the regions with economic poles; The purpose of these zonings was more for material development of the regions; The purpose of these zonings was not to balance between the regions of the country; In these zonings, mainly people and human development and elimination of deprivation have not been important; The funding of these zonings has been based on oil revenue.
The post-revolutionary zonings also have their own characteristics. A change in the divisions of the country was in order to better manage affairs and respond to new administrative needs and demands of the people. These divisions, which are a kind of zoning, have led to the creation of new administrative boundaries. Zonings were created to eliminate poverty and general development (eliminating human poverty and regional poverty). These zoning are not intended to provide new political and administrative division; but also in the same divisions, to the socioeconomic characteristics of the regions.The orientations of planning in each land are largely due to the views and thoughts of politicians and political thinkers of that land. Without realizing the ideologies behind these planning, one cannot properly analyze the various economic, social, and cultural issues of the land.