An Analytical Reflection on Urban Environmental Sustainability in Iran Based on the Supreme Leader’s Communicated Directives

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ayoub Tayari Doorbash 1
Akbar Heydari 2
1 Department of Persian Language and Literature, University of Urmia, Urmia, Iran
2 Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
10.22034/he.2025.560614.1168
Abstract
This study aims to examine the concept of urban environmental sustainability in Iranian cities considering the Supreme Leader’s communicated policy directives and within the broader framework of the planning system of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The research seeks to elucidate the linkage between the leader’s foundational intellectual principles and the practical requirements of urban environmental management. Accordingly, the adopted methodology is based on a descriptive-interpretive analytical approach combined with a policy-oriented meta-analysis of national strategic documents. In this sense, the study is not merely a compilation of data but an interpretive reading of the “strategic logic” embedded in the country’s official documents. The data sources consist of a corpus of 45 statements, speeches, and strategic messages delivered by the Supreme Leader between 1986 and 2025, with particular emphasis on three key documents: the “General Environmental Policies” (2015), the “General Policies of Architecture and Urbanism” (2019), and the “Statement on the Second Step of the Revolution” (2018). In the qualitative section, thematic analysis (based on Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework) was applied to extract key themes. In the quantitative section, indicators related to environmental performance, air pollution, per capita urban green space, and the share of renewable urban energy were analyzed and compared against the study’s derived conceptual framework. The qualitative findings reveal that the discourse of urban environmental sustainability articulated in the leader’s thought is structured around four fundamental pillars: environmental justice and equitable distribution of urban opportunities (32% of themes), consumption reform and resource efficiency (27%), green governance and institutional responsibility of government and municipalities (23%), and environmental culture-building and the moral capital of citizens (18%). The quantitative results indicate that Iran’s Environmental Performance Index (EPI) improved from rank 82 in 2010 to 67 in 2023; however, the average per capita urban green space (9.2 m²), the share of renewable energy (1.3%), and the concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5 at approximately 35 µg/m³) demonstrate the persistence of ecological instability in several major metropolitan areas. The overall analysis suggests that achieving urban environmental sustainability in Iran requires a transition from sectoral management to integrated urban governance and the institutionalization of justice, ethics, and public participation within policy-making—rooted in Islamic-Iranian normative teachings. This approach aligns closely with the Supreme Leader’s directives and provides a conceptual foundation for shaping an Islamic–Iranian model of the sustainable city and advancing the agenda of the New Islamic Civilization.

Keywords

Subjects

1.      حسینی، م.، و همکاران. (۱۴۰۲). «تحلیل عدالت زیست‌محیطی در کلان‌شهرهای ایران». فصلنامه جغرافیا و توسعه پایدار، 3 (21). 44-21 .
2.      دفتر حفظ و نشر آثار مقام معظم رهبری (1396). مجموعه بیانات مقام معظم رهبری در حوزه محیط زیست و منابع طبیعی. تهران: انتشارات انقلاب اسلامی.
3.      رضایی، ع.، و همکاران. (۱۳۹۹). «تحلیل مکانی سرانه فضای سبز و عدالت محیطی در کلان‌شهر تهران». پژوهشنامه محیط زیست شهری، 4 (17)، 86-65.
4.      رهبر معظم انقلاب اسلامی. (1394). سیاست‌های کلی محیط زیست جمهوری اسلامی ایران. تهران: دفتر مقام معظم رهبری.
5.      رهبر معظم انقلاب اسلامی. (1397). بیانیه گام دوم انقلاب اسلامی. تهران: دفتر مقام معظم رهبری.
6.      رهبر معظم انقلاب اسلامی. (1398). سیاست‌های کلی معماری و شهرسازی جمهوری اسلامی ایران. تهران: دفتر مقام معظم رهبری.
7.      سازمان حفاظت محیط زیست کشور. (1402). گزارش سالانه وضعیت محیط زیست ایران. تهران: معاونت پایش و نظارت.
8.      سوزنچی، ح. (1398). فلسفه محیط زیست در اندیشه اسلامی. تهران: پژوهشگاه فرهنگ و اندیشه اسلامی.
9.      طیاری دورباش، الف. حیدری، الف. (1405). پایداری محیط زیست شهری در پرتو اندیشه اسلامی–ایرانی. نشریه پژوهش و نوآوری در تربیت و توسعه، 1-21.
10.  قلی پور، م. (1398). ارزیابی شاخص‌های پایداری شهری با تأکید بر کیفیت محیط زیست. نشریه جغرافیا و برنامه‌ریزی محیطی. 2 (28)، 112-91.
11.  مرکز آمار ایران. (1402). گزارش تحولات جمعیتی و شهرنشینی ایران. تهران: معاونت آمارهای اجتماعی و جمعیتی.
12.  مطهری، م. (1389). انسان و طبیعت در نظام اخلاق اسلامی. تهران: صدرا.
13.  نادری، م. (۱۴۰۱). الگوی حکمرانی محیط زیست شهری در ایران». مجله مدیریت شهری ایران، 2 (13)، ۴۵–۶8.
14.  وزارت نیرو و شرکت توانیر. (1402). آمارنامه انرژی ایران. تهران: دفتر برنامه‌ریزی و سیاست‌گذاری انرژی.
 
15.   Agyeman, J. (2019). Just Sustainabilities: Policy, Planning, and Practice. London: Routledge.
16.   Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.
17.   Carmona, M. (2021). Public Places Urban Spaces: The Dimensions of Urban Design (3rd ed.). London: Routledge.
18.   Carmona, M. (2022). Urban design and sustainability: Rethinking planning paradigms. Journal of Urban Planning and Development, 148(4), 04022034.
19.   Geels, F. W. (2018). Disruption and low-carbon system transformation: Progress and new challenges in socio-technical transitions research. Energy Research & Social Science, 37, 224–231.
20.   Hosseini, M., Shokravi, F., & Naderi, M. (2022). Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability Challenges in Iran. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 24(6), 8653–8670.
21.   Heydari, A., & Bakhtar, S. (2018). Analyzing the regional development of Kurdish border cities of Iran using sustainable urban development indices (study area: Kurdistan province). GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites, 23 (3), 797–807.
22.   Heydari, A., Janparvar, M., Hosseinzadeh, R., Safaralizadeh, E. and Bakhtar, S. (2025). From Academia to Policy-Making: Challenges and Opportunities for the Engagement of Geography Graduates in National Developmental Decision-Making in Iran. Human Ecology, 4(11), 1056-1069. doi: 10.22034/he.2025.548895.1143.
23.   IPCC. (2023). Sixth Assessment Report: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Geneva: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
24.   Kemp, R., Parto, S., & Gibson, R. (2020). Governance for sustainable development: Moving from theory to practice. Sustainability Science, 15(2), 331–345.
25.   McPhearson, T., Andersson, E., & Elmqvist, T. (2023). Urban ecosystems and nature-based solutions for sustainability. Nature Sustainability, 6(4), 347–356.
26.   Naderi, M. (2021). Assessing Environmental Sustainability Performance in Iranian Cities. Sustainable Cities and Society, 66, 102685.
27.   OECD. (2022). Green Cities and Sustainable Infrastructure. Paris: OECD Publishing.
28.   Ostrom, E. (2010). Polycentric systems for coping with collective action and global environmental change. Global Environmental Change, 20(4), 550–557.
29.   Sachs, J. D. (2015). The Age of Sustainable Development. New York: Columbia University Press.
30.   Sardar, Z. (2024). Islamic futures: Re-envisioning sustainability beyond modernity. Islamic Studies Review, 19(1), 21–46.
31.   UNDP. (2003). Human Development Report: Millennium Development Goals. New York: United Nations Development Programme.
32.   UN-Habitat. (2022). World Cities Report 2022: Envisaging the Future of Cities. Nairobi: UN-Habitat.
33.   UN-Habitat. (2023). Guidelines for Urban Environmental Planning and Justice. Nairobi: UN-Habitat.
34.   WCED. (1987). Our Common Future. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
35.   WHO. (2022). Global Air Quality Guidelines: Particulate Matter (PM2.5 and PM10). Geneva: World Health Organization.
36.   World Bank. (2023). Urban Environmental Management in the Middle East and North Africa. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group.
37.   Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy. (2023). Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2023. New Haven, CT: Yale University.
Human Ecology
Volume 4, Issue 12
Autumn 2025
Pages 1494-1505