Introduction: In contemporary discourse, philosophical concepts such as the right to the city and spatial justice have garnered significant attention within urban planning literature. These ideas emphasize equitable access to urban resources and services for all citizens and seek to establish spatial justice. Despite this intellectual emphasis, these concepts have not yet played a substantial role in urban planning both in theory and practice. Although current plans are not fundamentally flawed in their content, their limited effectiveness can be mainly attributed to external factors such as structural misalignments between these plans and the intrinsic characteristics of Iranian cities, inadequate realism regarding existing conditions, and the ongoing political and economic transformations prevalent in Iran.
Materials and Methods: This study employs a descriptive-analytical approach with a mixed-methods design. The main variables were identified through a comprehensive review and coding of library sources and expert opinions. The qualitative portion included available documentation related to the right to the city and urban development plans, while the quantitative part involved specialists familiar with Iran’s urban planning system who have engaged with the concepts of the right to the city and urban development. The primary variable is the formulation of a “Right to the City” model, with dependent variables including the spatial distribution of urban services and space production. Space production is also treated as an endogenous variable. Key codes were derived through semantic categorization, overlap analysis, and expert consultation. Ultimately, nine independent variables were identified: philosophical thought, the right to the city, citizenship rights, space production, political thought, governance, economic conditions, social conditions, and cultural conditions. These variables formed the basis for developing the proposed research model.
Results and Discussion: In traditional urban planning, per capita service estimates are derived from demographic and spatial data and then benchmarked to propose new standards, which are subsequently integrated into planning documents. However, decades of experience in Iran demonstrate that this approach diverges substantially from theoretical principles, often leading to unbalanced physical expansion, peripheral neighborhoods, poverty, declining living standards, shortages of service centers, and social inequalities. Therefore, this study adopted a rights-based approach to the city to identify key influential variables, followed by hypothesis formulation and testing. The results indicate that, despite advancements in the content and theoretical framework of urban planning discourse, these reforms have yet to foster the capacity to create an ideal urban environment that effectively meets citizens’ needs. Focusing on two critical dimensions service distribution and space production the research examined factors across economic, political, social, cultural, governance, citizenship rights, and philosophical paradigms many of which remain inadequately integrated within the context of the right to the city in urban planning.
Conclusion: This research emphasizes the strategic importance of prioritizing the "Right to the City" as a guiding approach for developing equitable and responsive urban spaces. The findings indicate that, over recent decades, Iran’s urban policies and development programs have undergone substantial conceptual and theoretical reforms, with major deficiencies progressively addressed. However, these reforms have yet to fully foster the creation of ideal urban environments or establish spatial justice. The motives and mechanisms necessary to operationalize citizens' rights and spatial justice within urban planning remain insufficiently realized. Currently, the "Right to the City" lacks a clear, influential role as a determinant in urban design and development, remaining mainly in theoretical discourse. Therefore, policymaker and planner-ship should undertake comprehensive structural and procedural reforms within Iran’s urban system. Such reforms are crucial for translating philosophical and legal principles into practical implementation, ultimately fostering more just, equitable, and responsive urban environments.