Self-built settlements in Iran as an alternative to social housing : urban poor housing strategies & the state's role in the expropriation of informal spaces : a case-study of Zoorabad-Karaj
department or school: Arts, Faculty of
department or school: Sociology, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCO
creator: Behroozi Nobar, Pegah
issued: 2025-06-05T16:52:47Z
issued: 2025
related degree: Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: The housing crisis for low-income and vulnerable groups has been a significant challenge, particularly in socio-political contexts lacking social housing policies, such as Iran. In the absence of formal governmental support, the urban poor had no choice but to build their own shelters, mostly on common lands, to meet their housing needs. These self-built settlements are labeled as informal housing by state authorities. However, they have partially addressed the housing crisis for vulnerable populations. While it is the state's responsibility to adopt a custodian role and provide social housing, the Iranian government's hostile approach towards these self-built settlements needs critical examination. This research focuses on ZoorAbad, an informal housing settlement in Iran, to investigate the following questions: 1) How and through what grassroots strategies have the urban poor in ZoorAbad addressed their housing needs over the past 45 years? 2) What has been the government's response and the dialectical relationship between the state and ZoorAbad's self-built housing? Additionally, this study categorizes different groups of the urban poor in ZoorAbad and examines the power dynamics among them. A qualitative, extended-case methodology was employed, encompassing multiple layers of data collection: 1) Reviewing relevant policies, urban planning documents, academic articles, and theses on ZoorAbad and the national context; 2) Analyzing written and oral histories of grassroots neighborhood development, 3) Gathering the viewpoints of ZoorAbad's urban poor regarding their housing challenges and their interactions with the state, particularly concerning the Improvement Plan of ZoorAbad. The methods used include semi-structured interviews, walking, observing, and ethnographic analysis. Based on the extended-case method, two key conclusions emerge: 1) Self-built housing should be recognized as a viable alternative to social housing in socio-political contexts like Iran; 2) Th…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/91285
note: SELF-BUILT SETTLEMENTS IN IRAN AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO SOCIAL HOUSING: URBAN POOR HOUSING STRATEGIES & THE STATE'S ROLE IN THE EXPROPRIATION OF INFORMAL SPACES A CASE-STUDY OF ZOORABAD-KARAJ by Pegah Behroozi Nobar B.A., Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), 2011 M.Sc., Herriot Watt University, 2017 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Interdisciplinary Studies – Urban and Regional Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) June 2025 © Pegah Behroozi Nobar, 2025 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a dissertation entitled: Self-built Settlements in Iran as an Alternative to Social Housing: Urban Poor Housing Strategies & the State's Role in the Expropriation of Informal Spaces; a Case-study of ZoorAbad-Karaj submitted by Pegah Behroozi Nobar in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy . Dr. Nathan Lauster, The University of British Columbia (Vancouver) Supervisor Dr. Paul Shipley, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science Co-supervisor Dr. Kaveh Ehsani, DePaul University Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Carlos Teixeira, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Sciences Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Jonathan Cinnamon, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Sciences University Examiner Dr. Richard Harris, McMaster University External Examiner iii Abstract The housing crisis for low-income and vulnerable groups has been a significant challenge, particularly in socio-political contexts lacking social housing policies, such as Iran. In the absence of formal governmental support, the urban poor had no choice but to build their own shelters, mostly on common lands, to meet their housing needs. These self-built settlements are labeled as informal housing by state authorities. However, they have partially addressed the housing crisis for vuln…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2025-09
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0449042
language: eng
degree discipline: Interdisciplinary Studies
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Lauster, Nathanael Thomas, 1972-
contributor: Shipley, Paul
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/91285