The role of decision making processes in urban management systems : (case study of Tehran)

Abstract

Tehran, the capital city of Iran, has grown from a small village to a giant metropolis within two centuries. The population explosion - the result of both natural growth and migration from around the country to this city- led to the growth of the city and emergence of an unplanned mega city. As a densely populated mega city (with an average 10,000 persons/square km as population density), Tehran suffers from acute problems. Undoubtedly, the task of managing a metropolis with enormous problems and challenges is complex. Some of the elements that empower city managers to address such problems include adequate political and financial power, strategic plans, long-term views for urban development, and efficient decision making processes. The present research study primarily focuses on the latter element in Tehran‘s city management system, particularly in Tehran Municipality as the front line organisation, investigating the interrelationship between the quality of decision making process and the performance of city management systems. For this purpose, the research study concentrates on three distinctive periods after Iran‘s Islamic Revolution, i.e., the period commencing from Revolution including the Iran-Iraq War (1979-1990), the 1990‘s known as Tehran‘s reconstruction or post-war period, and the period after 1999 characterised by novice city councils during the first experience of elected bodies in Iranian urban management system. The thesis initially draws the pictures of Tehran in two snapshots of time: 1990 and 1999, i.e. the beginning and ending points of the second period of investigation, highlighting the considerable advancements in this period in terms of infrastructure development and urban facilities such as transportation network, public transit, green areas, cultural spaces, and other facilities. Then, employing a multi-criteria evaluation model, it conducts a quantitative analysis and measures the relative merit of decision making process at each period using the weighting and scoring method suggested by AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process). Finding the highest score of decision making quality in the second investigated period, the quantitative analysis suggests a positive interrelationship between a qualified decision making process and an efficient city management system. Furthermore, it shows that the quality of decision making has the most significant role among other investigated managerial power elements. The outcomes of the quantitative model are supported by a qualitative analysis through which a number of key decisions made during the second period were investigated to show the instances of qualified decision making process and how they impacted the performance of city management.