Walkability : the case of the Central Jannat Abad neighbourhood, Tehran

In recent years, urban scholars and town planners have become interested in the concept of ‘neighbourhood walkability’ and have tried to operationalize and measure it and make cities more walkable. Interest in walkability, and seeing it as a positive urban quality has not yet blossomed among Iranian scholars and town planners the way it has internationally. Iranian urban scholars have scarcely investigated the meaning of walkability in the Iranian urban context, while town planners have failed to significantly improve the walkability of Iranian cities. This thesis is an early attempt to fill this research gap and investigates walkability in Tehran. First, it develops a method to evaluate walkability and an indicator to measure walkability. Second, it applies this method and index to measure the walkability in the neighbourhood of Central Jannat Abad in Tehran. Finally, it explains the low walkability in Central Jannat Abad. The methods applied in this thesis have been analysing statistics, official reports, maps, aerial pictures, and above all by walking, measuring distances and observing the entire neighborhood of Central Jannat Abad, from alley to alley. The findings show that while some characteristics of Central Jannat Abad, such as mixed land use, urban parks, and a sense of safety and closure contribute to the walkability of the neighbourhood, many other factors, such as lack of quality sidewalks and bike paths, an over-abundance of space for cars, aesthetics of the neighbourhood, and the lack of space for social interactions contribute to an overall low walkability of the neighbourhood. This thesis concludes that the privatization of land, along with a long-standing public policy in Tehran prioritizing cars over pedestrians, are the main reasons explaining the poor walkability of the Central Jannat Abad neighbourhood