Title: [Insert Title of the proposal]

RESEARCCH PROPOSAL

1 INTRODUCTION

Human being has different needs throughout his life which conducts contemplation and
organization in order to satisfy those needs . According to Maslow’s pyramid of needs, a
shelter to rest comprises one of the most vitally important needs. the significance of shelter
was documented in in Article 31 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, , which
explicitly states that having the right to housing is the right of every Iranian and holds the
government responsible to meet such a need, especially for the impoverished. “Having
adequate housing is the right of every Iranian individual and family. The government is
obliged to prioritize the underpriviledged, especially the villagers and low wage workers, by
implementing such a principle”. Cleary, due to the rapid population growth that has taken
place in Iran in the last few decades, the government has not been able to achieve this goal
and a large percentage of people, especially the low-income, suffer from housing shortages or
have sufficed to poor quality accomodations. Therefore, with regard to this issue, the
government aims to find solutions to the issue of the housing, by implementing policies such
as social housing as well as lack of accommodation, especially for the low-income social
class. In this study, as such, an attempt has been made to examine social housing policies
(conditional ownerships) and demonstrate that, both quantitatively and qualitatively, to what
extent, the housing problems are solved/ will be solved,.

2 MOTIVATION OF THE RESEARCH

The Industrial Revolution initiated in the UK and the need to the workforce for modern
factories/infrastructure has contributed to the rapid growth of European cities which triggered
a shift in the people's lifestyle from ‘rural’ to ‘urban’. Increasing population growth and
world demographic changes indicate a day-by-day increase in urban population compared to
rural population, which is much pronounced in the developing countries. Accordingly, as of
the 2007, for the first time in human history, the majority of the world's population lives in
cities (Sclar et al., 2005). With the growth of the urban population, demand for new housing
was felt more significantly and in the 20th century, with the rapid increase of this demand,
governments took responsibility for provision of accommodation for the people by
introduction of new housing policies. However, considering the housing issues in the
developing countries reveals that either the necessary measures to provide housing for low-
income class have not been dealt with or the implemented policies have not been
commensurate with the economic and cultural structure of this vulnerable class. As a result,
not only has the issue of housing for this class remained unsolved over time, but also,
unfortunately it has become more acute, causing evolution and growth of slums in the
suburban areas, leading to serious physical, social, and health consequences in metropolitans..
As organization and preparation is mandatory to plan and execute every policy, the need for

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planning and development to tackle the housing issues is ever increasing. The need for
housing planning and provision for low-income classes is necessary for the following
reasons:
1:To provide housing for all Iranians according to Article 31 of the Constitution
2: To prioritize low-income classes due to their vulnerability and needs
3: To strive to achieve social justice in the city
4: To reduce crime and social stigma/sterotyping by solving the problems of homelessness
and poor housing qualities.
5: To Create and expand suburban lifestyle and tackle its challenges if the low-income class
is not provided with housing

Although the slum dwelling, to the extent observed in metropolitan areas of the developing
countries (need reference) does not exist in Tehran and metropolitan cities of Iran have not
encountered this problem in critical extent, poor housing qualities exists in the outskirts of
Tehran with majority of those living in the capital are categorized as low-income class,
The second economic, social and cultural development plan p defines social housing as:
“these types of housing are primarily developed based on social goals and acceptable
minimum thresholds, and perhaps qualitatively lower than the standardized patterns of
housing. Beneficiaries of this type of housing are young couples, low-income groups,
homeless families and alike which cannot afford proper accommodation available in the
market similar that they cannot afford to buy or ability to provide adequate housing in the
market”.
In recent decades, provision of proper accommodation, for all classes of the society-,
particularly the low-income one, has been one of the most fundamental problems in Iran,
whereby the whole population is struggling with it. Some of the most important aspects of
poor miserable housing situation in Iran are follows as:
1. Significant dailyincrease in rent, property and land prices
2. Lack of the supply of housing in contradistinction with the soaring demand
3. High vacancy rate, especially in large cities with housing problems
Some of the major causes of this condition are described as follows
1. High population growth rates, whcihhas led to increased demand for housing
2. High migration to cities
3. Insufficient investment by the private sectors
4. Low financial authority of families
5. Surge in construction materials prices
6. Low number of rental units
7. Reducing the share of housing in bank credits and low amount of loans paid by
banks
8. Lack of support for producers of rented housing
9. Strong desire to own housing in the country and an inappropriate view of renting
10. Failure of the government to fulfill its promises in the field of construction of
social housing and Mehr house and excessive delay in their production.

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The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has adopted various methods and policies
to address the deficiencies to provide optimal housing for different social classes, in
particular, the low-income one, the uppermost of whichare, currently the Social Housing and
Mehr Housing policies.

Consequently, the development of this type of housing in the format of conditional

owenership to rental housing is underway in some cities of Tehran province, especially its
newly developed towns. According to the population and housing census, the population of
the country reached 70 million in 2006, of which 68 percent (more than 48 million people)
live in cities and the occupied area of the cities will be vaster due to population growth in the
upcoming years, as a result, housing demands will increase. In Tehran province, with a
population of 13.4 million in 2006 (1385) and Family dimension of 3.6- according to the
percentage of urbanization (91. 3% ) -there are 3,444,000 households in urban areas and the
number of housing units in Tehran amounts to 3343,000 (General Population and Housing
Census, 2006).
The available data show a shortage of almost more than two million housing units in the
country, with this shortage, the maximum construction capacity of the housing units is
800,000 per year, which reflects the complexity of the housing problem. (Jahani, 2007, 1).
Changes in family dimensions and the tendency to shrink it, the obsolescence of conventional
lifestyles, and the separation of the dwelling places of married individuals from their parents
are other aspects of the housing problem. These changes, along with increasing people's
expectations of living in independent housing, have exacerbated the need for housing.
Given that the Robat Karim town is located near the Tehran and the Parand town which acts
as a population spill over target place while the majority of its population consists of
impoverished people, the issue of providing housing for these people an essential one. The
problems associated with housing shortages and the high demand for them especially by low
income people, it turns out that the issue of providing housing adjusted to fit the needs of low
income people is one of the main issues that governments face, thus, the following o are
raised in order:
2.1 Research questions:
1- To what extent has the Social Housing Policy been able to improve the housing situations
for the low income class in Robat Karim city?
2- Has the Social Housing been allocated to the target group, i.e. the low income class of
Robat Karim city?
2.2 Research hypotheses:
1- It is hypothesized that, due to the high growth of the low income class population coupled
with the slow progress in the construction of Social Housing, this policy has not been able to
meet the its objectives in Robat Karim city.
2- In Robat Karim city, more social housings seem to have been allocated to the middle class
of society (Public sector employees).

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2.3 Research Objectives:
1- Evaluating and identifying methods aimed to provide housing for low income class,
especially for those living in the city.
2- A quantitative and qualitative study of thesocial housing conditions in Robat Karim city
3- Evaluating the current policies in this field, selecting pragmatic and practical methods and
providing suggestions to in this field.

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3 RESEARCH METHODS
This study is a descriptive-analytical one and the available information has been collected via
three methods as follows. Within the scope of this research, a comprehensive literature
review is conducted in Persian and English to acquire relevant information on to theoretical
foundations and internal and external experiences. This study also utilizes a survey, in which
a questionnaire are devised for sampling method, whereby a sample population of is selected
and generalized to the entire statistical population.
Foremost in this study, social housing policies were to be examined in the province of
Tehran only. However, given that the social housing legislations are the same across the
whole country and the construction methods of these houses remain unchanged, accordingly
they are constructed in the same way in all cities in the province of Tehran and these
residential units are delivered according to statutes. Therefore, it is preferred that a smaller
sample, namely Robat Karim city, one of the cities close to Tehran and Parand new city,
which is part of the total overflow of Tehran, to be selected as a case study. Also, some of the
information has been collected in the field through interviews and observations.

Aspects of newness and innovation

The history of housing planning in the world dates back to two centuries ago, when cities
demanded rapid expansion to align with the demands following theindustrial revolution,
facing housing shortages. In Iran, this process dates back to nearly 50 years, while in the case
of social housing, to only two decades ago at the time of the developing the Second
Economic, Social and Cultural Development Plan of the Islamic Republic of Iran. So far, no
comprehensive research has been done on the issue of social housing for the low-income
group in Tehran province. This study attempts to investigate the issue of low-income housing
in Robat Karim city with a focus on social housing.

4 STUDY BACKGROUND
Extensive research has been carried out in the field of housing so far. The book "Housing
Planning" published in 2000 by Mahammad Reza Reza Dalal Pormohamadi is one of
pioneering resources in this field . This book has 9 chapters, in the first chapter, the author
pays attention to the definitions and concepts related to housing. In other chapters of the
book, the objectives related to housing planning, planning methods and estimates related to
housing needs, standards, housing investments and housing strategies are evaluated.
The book "experiences of different countries in the field of housing" was published in the
form of a research project by Zahra Ahari and Shahla Amini in 795 pages. This book
evaluates the experiences of 13 European, American, African and Asian countries (including
Iran) in providing housing.
The book "economic dimensions of housing" is presented in the form of 4 analytical articles.
The title of the first article is "Housing Construction model for Iran" presented by Tofigh
Firoz, the title of the second article is "providing housing for vulnerable groups" presented by
Jamshid Pazhohan, the title of the third article is "characteristics of economic housing in

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urban areas of Iran" presented by several engineers in the field of architectural and urban
planning consulting and finally, the title of the fourth article is "the process of construction,
amortization and demolition of urban and rural residential buildings" presented by Hamide
Omkachi. In the introductory part of the article "housing construction pattern in Iran", there is
this statement: "readers of this article will get acquainted with a new and comprehensive
model related to housing planning". In the second part of the book, entitled "providing
housing for vulnerable groups", the need for housing for vulnerable groups and strategies
related to government support for these groups are evaluated. In the third article, the optimal
dimensions of housing and achieving the characteristics of different types of housing are
evaluated and in the fourth article, the factors affecting the process of depreciation and
demolition of housing units and the depreciation rate in the provinces are evaluated. Also the
book "13 articles" (articles presented in the first specialized conference on housing) was
published by the national land and housing organization affiliated to the Ministry of Housing
and Urban Development in 1997. The content of this book is taken from the specialized
housing conference in the second development plan and future perspectives.
Housing programs were evaluated in the second development plan and future necessities and
perspectives in the field of housing were discussed. In this book, the author of an analytical
article discusses the mechanism of population projection in housing programs in the
introduction: Is the reason for the harms such as suburbanization and the city's growth outside
the framework of its approved plans, the lack of proper understanding of demographic
changes in cities, or is the lack of proper assessment and identification of the target
population? Also, a part of the population is not basically in the target group due to the
exclusion process. Since the program's negligence in addressing a part of the country 's
population does not eliminate their need for shelter, this forgotten group will naturally
provide their housing and shelter in another form outside of the program's framework,
resulting in environmental damage such as marginalization and so on. The main purpose of
the book "Minimum Housing", which has been researched and compiled by four housing
experts, is to identify the different dimensions of housing to achieve appropriate and
acceptable patterns, criteria for planning, and practical design of minimal urban housing in
Iran. In this study, minimum housing pays attention to the residential requirements of low-
income families, such that, on one hand, the provision of these residential needs is no less
than the vital-residential minimum and on the other hand, it should be appropriate to the
facilities, affairs and social rights of the individual and his family. The most important
remnants of research in the field of housing and urban housing is a collection of numerous
articles and seminars that have been published since 1994 by the Ministry of Housing and
Urban Development. The book of the seminar's series of articles on housing development
policies in Iran has been published in two volumes, in the first volume of which the articles of
38 researchers have been written. In the first seminar, housing development policies in Iran
were the main topics of discussion: housing market, housing rental system and factors
affecting it, rural housing and related issues, the role of cooperatives in providing housing,
housing consumption pattern in Iran and optimal housing.

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(ADD REFERENCES, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT APPEAR IN THE TEXT)