ABSTRACT
This chapter describes different Iranian urban management systems and the role of people's participation in different historical eras. It seeks to find the mechanisms, procedures and main obstacles faced by people's participation. The chapter is ordered historically and reviews three main eras: pre-modern, Pahlavi and present time. It describes the main features of urban management and citizens' participation in the era of the Islamic Republic. When speaking of urban management in Iran, one should notice that municipalities do not have all local affairs in their hands because of the centralised structure of governance. Ahmad Ashraf divided Islamic urban life into four areas: government, religion, trade unions and city neighbourhoods. There is a need for public participation on every level of urban administration, from policy and decision-making to implementation and supervision of urban life complexities. Traditional coordination and cooperation mechanisms give their functions, such as urban management, to new organisations in modern cities.
