Introduction

For decades, the problem of unorganized urban areas in the central parts of major cities around the world has been a major urban issue, leading to the exodus of middle- and high-income populations from these areas. According to available information, 660 hectares of the central area of Mashhad constitute the historical fabric, of which 360 hectares (54 percent) are located within the Samen region of Mashhad Municipality. This article examines the institutional and organizational arrangements for the renovation and reconstruction of the historical fabric of the Samen region. In this regard, using urban regime theory, it seeks to explain the reasons for the shortcomings and problems of this fabric. The main research question is why Astan Quds Razavi has not played an effective role in the reconstruction of the historical fabric surrounding the Holy Shrine.

2. Materials and Methods

The sources used in this descriptive–analytical study include library documents, organizational reports, and official statistics. The statistical sample of the research consists of the institutional characteristics of the Astan Quds Razavi Organization (Samen Housing Company) and the physical space produced through the renovation of the historical fabric surrounding the Holy Shrine. Temporally, this research covers activities carried out since the 1990s in the Samen area of Mashhad Municipality. The variables examined in this study include the process and approach to problem identification, the approach to the growth–conservation issue, the management model, the position and share of participants and decision-makers in shaping space, the method of allocating financial resources, and the method of space allocation.

3. Results and Discussion

Mashhad, with an official area of 35,000 hectares, had a population of 3,100,189 in 2016. In addition, more than 27 million domestic and international pilgrims visit the holy shrine of the Eighth Imam (AS) annually. Beyond its pilgrimage function, this area also possesses significant spatial and identity values. According to official census data, between 1986 and 2011, the central part of Mashhad—centered on the Holy Shrine—experienced the greatest population decline among the city’s neighborhoods, with a rate ranging from minus 6 percent to minus 2 percent.

An analysis of aerial photographs from 1963 and satellite images from 2019 indicates that the outcome of several plans aimed at organizing the historical area of the Samen region has been large-scale land-use change and the destruction of the historic fabric. Overall, 51 percent of the land in the Samen region has been redeveloped or converted into vacant, cleared spaces without any functional use. In response to the disorder in the Samen region and the failure of previous plans, the city administration initiated a new study entitled Renovation and Improvement of the Fabric Around the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (AS), which served as the reference framework for organizing the region until 2017.

In line with development measures based on this plan, urban management also experimented with a new implementation approach and entrusted the management of two of the four sectors of the fabric to Maskan Sazan Samen Company (with a 35 percent ownership share held by Astan Quds Razavi). Among the various types of urban regimes, demand-side regimes are most consistent with the relationship between the position of Astan Quds Razavi and the preservation of the historical fabric in the Samen region. In this context, the central government has played an active role in major infrastructure investments, which led to the demolition of some residential buildings within the historical fabric to create suitable access routes for serving the newly developed spaces. The development of high–value–added office–commercial spaces along the edges of these routes represents another action driven by market logic (exchange value), despite the lack of proportionality between high-rise residential, commercial, or office complexes and the fine-grained, low-rise character of the historic fabric. Owing to Iran’s centralized planning system, Astan Quds Razavi—like many other stakeholders—has not formally participated in the process of plan preparation and approval. Consequently, it has been unable to utilize this institutional capacity to protect the historical fabric of the Samen region for the benefit of pilgrims and residents. From an organizational perspective, due to certain internal rules and regulations of Astan Quds Razavi, the updating and conversion of endowed properties to more appropriate uses occur infrequently and through a complex and time-consuming process. As a result, the potential of these lands and properties to contribute to the preservation of the historical fabric is largely lost because their uses and activities cannot be effectively updated.

4. Conclusions

The results of the study indicate that the regime dominating the process of organizing the fabric surrounding the Holy Shrine corresponds to a demand-side urban regime. In this context, the management model and the configuration of decision-makers within this type of regime have created conditions that structurally constrain Astan Quds Razavi from regenerating the protection-oriented character of this area. Based on the findings, the first research hypothesis—namely that under the laws and procedures governing the national planning system, Astan Quds Razavi does not have a structural and decisive role in the preparation and approval of detailed plans or in the reconstruction of the historical area of Samen—is not rejected.

Since the management of the entire project has been delegated by the central government to a private company (Samen Construction and Housing Company), all processes and outcomes have operated according to market logic. Consequently, mechanisms for the equitable redistribution of benefits or for the protection of the historical fabric and buildings have no place within this urban regime. Moreover, the manner in which endowed properties are managed, together with the slow process of updating land use under the influence of general endowment laws and regulations governing Astan Quds Razavi, has been another factor limiting the organization’s positive impact on the preservation of the historical fabric. Therefore, the second hypothesis—that the regulations and procedures governing Astan Quds Razavi do not allow for conservation-oriented intervention in the reconstruction of the historical fabric of the Samen area—is also not rejected.

5. Acknowledgment & Funding

·         The authors express their sincere gratitude to all interview participants for supporting this research.
This article did not receive any financial support from any organization.

6. Conflict of Interest

·         The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.