Yalda Shoohanizad - Ph.D. Candidate of Architecture, International Campus-Kish Island, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
Saeed Haghir - Associate Professor of Architecture, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

For several decades, Iranian cities are experiencing major and fast urban growth. At the top of them is Tehran, Iran’s capital city, with doubled population in 30 years from approximately 6 to 12.5 million in 2016. Undoubtedly such a magnificent raise in population has increased the need for settlements and the city has to respond to it. Today, Tehran is the center for such exogenous development while suffering from a wide range of difficulties in urban development. Since human settlement plays a critical role in urban development, it needs to be considered carefully. Currently, apartment residency is the most common type of dwelling in Tehran, as well as most of Iran’s major metropolitan areas. This article focuses on the cultural and social deficiencies of contemporary mass housing in Tehran. A survey is conducted to investigate the seven proposed concepts to promote social facilitation, social participation and cultural aspects of apartment residences. Furthermore, the concepts are aimed to promote place attachment and place identity and raise residential satisfaction as well as quality of life. The results show that, implementing these concepts will promote social and cultural aspects of contemporary residences in Tehran and consequently other fast-growing cities of Iran. Subsequently, such improvement will facilitate in achieving the social and cultural aspects of sustainable urban development in metropolitans in Iran.

Sustainable Housing, Apartment Residence, Social Well-being, Cultural Diversity, Iranian Settlements