Exploring the challenges of culture-led urban regeneration in District 16, Tehran: A qualitative analysis

Valipour, Edris; Mansori, Mansor

doi:10.22034/uep.2026.588200.1934

Exploring the challenges of culture-led urban regeneration in District 16, Tehran: A qualitative analysis

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Edris Valipour ¹

Mansor Mansori ²

¹ Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran

² Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Technical and Vocational University (TVU), Tehran, Iran

10.22034/uep.2026.588200.1934

Abstract

Culture-led urban regeneration is widely recognized as an effective approach to revitalize dilapidated urban fabrics; however, implementing it in the complex context of metropolises poses multidimensional challenges. This study aims to analyze and identify the challenges of culture-led urban regeneration in District 16 in Tehran from the perspectives of urban experts and policymakers. Using a qualitative approach, the study collected field data through in-depth interviews and analyzed them using thematic analysis. The validity and reliability of the research were verified using Lincoln and Guba’s four evaluative criteria, alongside Holsti’s agreement coefficient, calculated at 0.86. The findings revealed that barriers to culture-led development in this district can be categorized into three main themes: first, the “political economy of space and the failure of collaborative governance,” stemming from institutional fragmentation, the dominance of a speculative approach, and poor integrated policymaking; second, the “reproduction of spatial inequality and socio-cultural alienation,” manifested through the risk of gentrification, the commodification of heritage, and the erosion of social capital; and third, “morphological decline and the collapse of the urban framework,” which includes severe physical constraints, fine-grained plots, spatial fragmentation caused by major arterial roads, and infrastructure poverty. Consequently, achieving the goals of culture-led regeneration in metropolitan dilapidated fabrics requires a transition from reductionist, physical-centric interventions toward institutional capacity building, genuine citizen participation, and balanced infrastructure development relying on endogenous local assets. These findings provide significant practical implications for urban planners and managers.

Keywords

Culture-led urban regeneration

distressed urban fabric

qualitative analysis

spatial inequality

Tehran District 16

urban governance

Subjects

Urban planning

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