ABSTRACT
Iranian urban regeneration policy evolved during the nineties from an authoritarian and top-down intervention system that was initiated, planned and implemented by the government to merely partnerships with the private sector leaving no major role to the people. As the result of the chaos in the years following the Iranian Revolution, an informal settlement began to shape in Farahzad. The chapter illustrates a picture of the Farahzad neighbourhood and explores the roles of different players in the neighbourhood. While defining the projects, the facilitators had to clarify any obstacles in the way of socioeconomic development of the neighbourhood and seek ways to overcome them. Although the facilitation office was assigned by the municipality of Tehran Greater Area to work in the neighbourhood, throughout the life of the facilitation office, the major absent player was the municipality. The facilitators had reasons to conclude that the steering committee was not reluctant to benefit from the dominating chaos in the neighbourhood.
