Urban Economics and Planning

Urban Economics and Planning

Developing Economic Resilience Strategies for Iranian Cities

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Mostafa Mohammadi Dehcheshmeh 1
Ali Ashkbus 2
1 Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz
2 Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz
10.22034/uep.2025.509129.1603
Abstract
Introduction 
Urban spaces require greater attention and care due to uncontrolled changes in population growth, lifestyle shifts, and environmental and economic pressures in high-risk geographical areas. In recent decades, global institutions and organizations working on resilience have focused on achieving resilient societies. Among these, cities face higher risks due to extensive socio-economic damages and large-scale physical and infrastructural destruction.
Today, urban management worldwide has undergone fundamental transformations. Cities are managed to ensure the welfare and comfort of their residents. The role of urban management is broadly defined and significantly impacts the success of urban development plans and programs. Urban management also holds multiple responsibilities, including meeting population needs, managing traffic flow, ensuring public welfare, housing, land use, recreation, culture, economy, and infrastructure. The primary goal of urban management is to improve living and working conditions for residents across different social and economic groups. It also protects citizens’ rights, promotes sustainable economic and social development, and preserves the physical environment. In other words, urban management must address current residents’ needs and establish the necessary infrastructure for sustainable future development.
This article aims to develop a strategic model for economic resilience to achieve good governance in Iranian cities. To this end, it examines the theoretical foundations of economic resilience, research methods, findings, and ultimately, discussions and conclusions. Additionally, comprehensive and improved recommendations will be presented based on the research results.
Materials and Methods
This research is applied in purpose and descriptive-analytical in nature and method, falling under qualitative research in terms of analysis. The study aims to identify urban economic challenges in Iran and propose resilience strategies for these challenges. Expert opinions were utilized to identify these challenges, develop economic resilience strategies, and review existing theoretical frameworks and literature. The target population included 50 experts, consisting of university professors and urban managers, whose opinions were gathered in two stages.
After identifying urban economic challenges from theoretical literature and integrating them with expert opinions, 17 final challenges in Iran’s urban economy were identified, conceptualized, and categorized. Data collection involved library studies for the theoretical section and field surveys using researcher-made questionnaires. In the second stage, experts provided and consolidated economic resilience strategies through an open-ended questionnaire.
The analysis method in this research is qualitative, based on textual and research data. Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data (such as text, video, or audio) to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can be used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or generate new research ideas. In this study, components were identified after defining and framing the research problem, and a conceptual research model was designed.
In summary, the research method follows a systematic, step-by-step process, starting with problem identification and concluding with research findings. Various qualitative data collection and analysis methods were used to gain a deeper understanding of the topic and develop strategies tailored to the specific conditions of Iranian cities.
Findings
Urban economic resilience offers a new perspective on sustainable urban and regional economic development. This research analyzes the spatiotemporal evolution of urban economic resilience, examines key factors influencing it, and explores the interaction between formal city administration institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and civil society groups. It then proposes decision-making models for a resilient economy in Iranian cities.
Urban areas face sensitive economic challenges that have intensified in recent years. At the same time, cities provide exciting opportunities for growth and revitalization. The interplay of these challenges and opportunities creates critical tasks for policymakers, researchers, and urban planners. These strategies and systems are tailored to Iranian cities to overcome existing challenges:
1- Implementing an Integrated Urban Management System: The primary issue in Iranian cities is the lack of a unified urban system to address urban problems. The presence of diverse organizations with poor coordination and overlapping responsibilities has turned cities into battlegrounds for power and self-serving economic entities.
2- Implementing a Functional Diversity System: Diversifying the urban economy can enhance its ability to withstand economic crises. If one economic aspect fails, others can continue supporting urban development.
3- Implementing a Sustainable Urban Revenue Model: One of the most important economic resilience strategies for Iranian cities is a sustainable revenue and expenditure system, which is a key indicator of residents’ living standards. Urban financial capacity includes individual income and public assets managed by municipal authorities.
4- Creating an Innovation-Friendly Urban Environment: A standardized innovation environment guides cities and urban management in setting visions, strategies, policies, and innovative goals while establishing necessary processes to achieve desired outcomes. Innovation environments influence local and regional economic growth models, leading to advancements in science and technology, regional economic growth, and sustainable urban economic development.
5- Development Process System (Soft Systems Methodology - SSM): One of the system development methodologies based on problem-solving approaches is Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). Developed by Professor Peter Checkland (1997), SSM addresses issues involving social, political, and human (economic) components.
6- Open Economic System for Cities: An open system emphasizes the interaction between the environment and the internal functionality of the system.
Conclusion
Cities act as engines of economic development, providing growth opportunities while facing internal and external challenges such as poverty, migration, pollution, and natural disasters. Rapid population changes and settlement patterns have increased environmental and economic pressures in high-risk areas. In recent years, institutions and organizations have focused on achieving resilient societies, as cities face higher risks due to socio-economic losses and infrastructural damage.
Good urban governance occurs when a strong and mixed urban economic system (public, semi-public, and private) is in place, where production and distribution of goods and services operate through free-market mechanisms guided by competitive pricing (rather than planned markets).
Urban resilience—the ability of city residents to withstand economic, social, health, environmental, natural, and climatic hazards—has gained new urgency and has become a central focus in urban development discourse. Among these, economic resilience holds particular importance.
Challenges examined by researchers in urban management can be broadly categorized into physical and non-physical aspects. Physical aspects include spatial arrangement issues that traditionally concern urban planners, such as land use, transportation, infrastructure, architecture, real estate, environment, and disaster mitigation. Non-physical or socio-economic aspects include issues related to economics, sociology, political theory, public administration, public finance, crime, taxation, and social welfare.
Keywords
Economic Shocks
Economic Structure
Interdependence
Iranian City
Resilience

Subjects

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Urban Economics and Planning
Volume 6, Issue 3
Summer 2025
Pages 182-195

  • Receive Date 28 February 2025
  • Revise Date 11 June 2025
  • Accept Date 11 June 2025