The Production of Post-Revolutionary Tehran: A study of transformation of contemporary Tehran through a Lefebvrian perspective

Abstract

The present study addresses the transformation of post-revolutionary Tehran beginning with its modern construction since the mid-19th century. In so doing, Lefebvre’s theories and concepts have been employed as a theoretical framework. However, it is not only a reading of Tehran’s transformation through a Lefebvrian lens. It is, also, a modification of Lefebvre’s theory through Tehran. Enhanced by the particularity of Tehran, this aim follows by introducing new concepts such as Islamification, externalisation of the interior and internalisation of the exterior, Arbab and Ra’yaat space and so on to the Lefebvrian conceptual framework.
This research deals with three constitutive elements (economic processes, Islamification, and resistance) from three scales (global, national, and private) in three periods (pre-revolutionary, post-revolutionary, neoliberal). It is shown that Tehran in each period is characterised by constant interaction of the abovementioned elements and interpenetration of these varied scales. In this regard, not only is Tehran examined in distinct periods, but also it is proposed a logic of continuity between these analytically separated epochs. Therefore, this study reconstructs the development of Tehran through its continuities and discontinuities.
This multi-dimensional study enables us to present a holistic view of the transformation of the city of Tehran. Keeping with the idea of totality, the research suggests that while the production of Tehran contains global processes and universal forms, it is differentiated through its particular characteristics such as Islamic ideology and its position within the global order.