Urban Heritage Planning in Tehran and Beyond

Front matter

Solmaz Yadollahi

URBAN

HERITAGE PLANNING IN TEHRAN AND BEYOND

Part Two Assembling urban heritage in Tehran: Collecting heritage fragments

An introduction to Tehran's historic centre and its spatial-economic setting .. 147 Short stories around renewal, beautification, and place-making in Tehran's

Eje e c ne A EE EEEN 154 IDCM 215 Urban heritage assemblage in Iran: A sequence of ephemeral territorialization

A note on dates, translations, and transliterations

The presentation of dates, translations, and transliterations in this book is influenced by several considerations. To begin with, the Iranian solar calendar's initiation on the 21st of March, which distinguishes it from the Gregorian calendar, could potentially perplex non-Iranian readers. As a solution, I have used Iranian dates sparingly and instead opted to incorporate corresponding Gregorian dates obtained through a calendar calculation platform. I utilized time.ir, a platform that generates the calendar based on computations provided by the Calendar Centre at the Geophysics Institute of the University of Tehran.

To enhance comprehensibility for a wider audience, I deliberately minimized intricate transliterations and diacritical marks. Rather, I focused on presenting words in their familiar Persian pronunciation. This approach is consistently applied to technical terms commonly utilized within the realm of conservation in Iran. For example, I substituted the widely recognized Persian pronunciation 'miras' for the term 'heritage' in Farsi, eschewing the Arabic pronunciation ’mirath’. Similarly, the term'maremmart,, prevalent among conservation professionals and academics in Iran, is employed for the concept of ‘conservation’. Likewise, 'hefazat' is used interchangeably with ‘preservation.

When it came to formal titles, I stayed true to the official version of their translation and transliteration. This means that names of publications and organizations subject to transliteration by relevant authorities or editors maintain their original transliteration and translation. For instance, the journal Athar retains its established transliteration, rather than adopting the Farsi-pronounced Asar. Also, the term Awqaf, which employs the officially recognized. Arabic pronunciation instead of the common Persian pronunciation 'Owqaf', exemplifies this approach.

I must also highlight that throughout the text, when introducing a non-English term for the first time, I enclose it in brackets alongside its English equivalent. Subsequently, I rely on the English translation to ensure clarity and to avoid overwhelming readers, particularly those unacquainted with Farsi. When citing non-English publications, I transliterate the original title, followed by enclosing the English translation within brackets. This approach reduces the necessity for an extensive glossary within this section. Nevertheless, I furnish a concise compilation of frequently employed non-English terms in the book.

Glossary

Anjoman Arg Awqaf

Azadi Baladiyeh Baz zendeh sazi

Bazafarini-ye shahri

Bonyad Enghelab Farhang Golha

Hosseineh

Imam Jum'a

Council Citadel

Assets obtained from donations, inheritance, or acquisition and placed in a trust for charitable and social aims, all under the supervision of religious authorities. In Persian technical and administrative texts, the term 'Awqaf is often employed to refer to both the organization and the assets under its management.

Freedom The municipality, also related to the municipality building. Revitalization

Urban regeneration

Foundation Revolution Culture

Aradio programme that aired on Iranian National Radio spanning from 1956 to 1979. The term means ‘flowers’.

A religious institution or building in Iran primarily used for Shia Islamic rituals and gatherings.

A high-profile religious figure, normally appointed by the Supreme Leader, who leads the politically symbolic Friday prayers in Iranian cities.

Iranshahr

Khaneh Konkur Maremmat

Maremmat-e shahri

Meidan Miras

Musalla

Nafayes Nosazi Sazman Setad Taghut

Takiyeh

Zibasazi

Traced back to the pre-Islamic Sassanid Dynasty (3rd century AD), the term refers to their expansive political domain, spanning from the Oxus to the Euphrates. Certain academics and political figures drew upon the historical governance traditions of Iranshahr to propose a model for contemporary governance in Iran.

House The annual university admission competition in Iran. Conservation

Urban conservation

Square Heritage

An Arabic term referring to a large area typically used for congregational prayer, especially at outdoor gatherings or religious events.

Irreplaceable treasures Renovation Organization Headquarters

A Quranic word referring to the disbeliever and oppressive rulers.

A place where Shia Muslims gather during the month of Muharram to commemorate the death of Husayn ibn Ali, their third Imam.

Beautification

List of Abbreviations

BOT CBO HCAUP HDCC HEC

HUL ICHHTO ICHO IRGC MCHHT MHUD MHUP MRUD NCM NDO NOPHM PBO TCHO URC

Build-operate-transfer

Community-based organization

High Council of Architecture and Urban Planning Housing Development and Construction Company

Higher Education Centre (part of the Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization)

Historic Urban Landscape

Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism

Ministry of Housing and Urban Development

Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning

Ministry of Roads and Urban Development

National Council for Monuments

Neighbourhood Development Office

National Organization forthe Preservation of Historical Monuments Planning and Budget Organization

Tehran Cultural Heritage Organization

Urban Regeneration Company

List of Figures

The overlapping spheres of influence in urban heritage: planning. ..« eee doeet aya eror rre here ORE E EE es 30 Persepolis, Gate of All Nations, photographed during the 1939 excavation SEASON... 2... eee eee este eee eee mm mee 42 Public exhibitions in Fars (left) and Qazvin (right) on the occasion

Monument Relevé programme for undergraduates,

Image captured by Walter Mittelholzer in 1925, showing Naqsh-e

An announcement regarding the admission of students to the conservation programme under an agreement between Farabi University and NOPHM. The third individual from the left is Bagher Ayatollah Zadeh Shirazi, who led the NOPHM' Technical Office in Isfahan during that period. Following the 1979 Revolution, he assumed the directorship of NOPHM until its

The Second Symposium of Iranian Architecture in Tehran (1015). iode et stated toad aeree EE 54

An aerial picture of Tabriz Bazaar and its

Figure Tl:

gure 19:

gure 21:

zt zn gure 20:

gure 22:

gure 23: gure 24:

Dariush Borbor, Architect and Urban Planner, presenting the

Urban Renewal of Mashhad City Centre to the Shah, Alam

(Ministry of the Royal Court), Eghbal (Chairman of the National Iranian Oil Company), and Valiyan (Governor of Khorasan and In 1978, Tamasha Magazine published an interview with architect and designer Keyvan Khosravani about protecting Tehran's old A public exhibition of original sketches by architect,

Keyvan Khosravani in the Oudlajan neighbourhood of Tehran in

the late 1970s, calling on the government to save the

neighbourhood: 3:24. Rar REP Rb ERR eve 62 Iraqi war prisoners forming a choral group at Tehran's Evin

Prison, performing on a stage that features the monarchy's

downfall and the collapse of the pillars of the pre-Islamic

The initial plan proposed for the musalla was inspired by the Islamic Republic's emblem and covered the historical Arg under Its:gigantic:dome.- etre rec e re RR ex ER p eR 7$ The ‘Hello Commander’ [Salam Farmandeh] chant at the

gathering ceremony near the Imam Khomeini Musalla and in

President Hassan Rouhani visiting the House of the Constitution

UN; LADEIZ 3. sits cease E 86 General Qasem Soleimani visiting the Alavi Shrine project in

Najatin 2018. 1. ce sais eso meg n ERES GE CER EAR 93 The 2004 International Workshop on the Recovery of Bam's

Cultural Heritage... onere ert Rn pete 97 Yazd, an aerial VIEW 1... os eee ner cnr tae n ne 99

List of Figures

Ahmadinejad at the World Heritage listing ceremony for Tabriz Bazaat- Josep vt eve eee dp e nee ee 109 The courtyard of the Urban Dialogue House of Tehran, also known

as Vartan House, decorated with a mural depicting an epic story from the Shahnameh about the legendary Iranian prince, Siavash A cartoon of Zarghami, the Minister of Cultural Heritage

submitting his approval to General Ghalibaf, the Chairman of the Parliament, for the demolition of historic neighbourhoods,

A frequently shared photograph of Reza Shah, which gained significant traction on social media after the Trans-lranian Railway was added to the World Heritage List. The image captures Reza Shah and his son, the Crown Prince, framed within

The location of the Safavid (red) and Qajar (blue) boundaries in

The spatial-economic setting of the historic centre of Tehran ...152 The fading remains of a once stately entrance to a historic house

The Borazjan area in Oudlajan and Mirza Hamid's murals on its

FUIS ecce nexo ERR E PR EA clos RE Ee DO ERA PEERS ae 158 A skyline view of Sangeladge looking west from the rooftop of

Examples of beautification works in Marvi, the bazaar

ZH mb LE zu zi zr zn gure 43: gure 44: gure 45: gure 46: gure 47: gure 48: gure 49:

gure 50:

gure 5l:

gure 52:

gure 53:

gure 54: gure 55:

gure 56: gure 57: gure 58: gure 59: gure 60:

gure 61:

Top, Vida Movahed in front of France Pastry and bottom, the

Two visitors sitting in front of the bakery's picture of the 1960s .. 177 Pastry boxes of France Pastry, left: Fifth Shiraz Art Festival and right: Reconstruction of the censored box based on the original

The city centre's pedestrian network as outlined in the 2006

Instances of social media content within the sphere of boundary action, aiming to bridge the gap between collective memories

Posts of the official Instagram pages of the municipality and city

Poster of a ‘Bukhara Evenings’ event about Toopkhaneh Square with the picture of the demolished Telegraph Building

A scene featuring Lalehzar from the 'Hezar-dastan' series filmed

A scene from the 'Shahrzad' series featuring the 1953 events in Ely rc E 202 Cinema lran arriera a aaan P 206

‘The tank in the city’, an illustration of Khabaronline News Agency A cognitive map of Vali-e Asr Street created by a participant (Fatemeh Mahmoudi Panah) in the Minaee House workshops, exemplifying the discussed attempts to blend Tehrans official

List of Figures 17

Figure 62: Disrupted efforts to territorialize urban heritage planning in Iran from the Constitutional Revolution of 1905 to the unified rule of

Acknowledgements

Writing this book has been a transformative journey, and I owe my heartfelt gratitude to all those who have played a significant role in making it possible. Without their support and encouragement, this endeavour would not have been as fulfilling and successful.

First and foremost, I express my deepest appreciation to the German Research Foundation (DFG) for granting me the invaluable opportunity to immerse myself fully in this investigation. Their support allowed me to dedicate time and focus to this work without the burden of academic career uncertainties, far from my homeland. I express my sincere gratitude to the anonymous reviewers of my DFG grant proposal for their constructive feedback, which proved invaluable in guiding me through my research journey.

I extend my gratitude to Professor Christiane Hipp, Vice President of Research (at the time of writing the grant proposal for this research), and Dr. Katrin Weise, DFG Research Funding Advisor, for their unwavering support, which allowed me to present and write a proposal for this research. Their belief in the significance of this work motivated me to strive for excellence throughout this process. In this vein, I extend my sincere appreciation to the Open Access Brandenburg initiative and the Equal Opportunities Office at the BTU for their instrumental co-funding of the publication costs of this book.

I am deeply grateful to Professor Silke Weidner, Chair of Urban Management at BTU, for creating a nurturing environment for my research to thrive and for her constant support. I extend my sincere thanks to Professor Klaus Rheidth, former Chair of Architectural History and

Spokesman of the DFG Research Training Group 1913, for his generous advice and guidance right from the early stages of formulating the grant proposal. His insights and encouragement laid the foundation for this book, and I am truly grateful for his mentorship. I am immensely grateful to the DFG Research Training Group 1913 for providing a nurturing space where I could exchange ideas and thoughts with international colleagues from diverse research fields, including architectural history, archaeology, and philosophy. Their support fostered an enriching environment that greatly contributed to the development of this work.

During challenging times when travel restrictions hindered my progress, Mr. Hossein Bayat provided indispensable help with archive research. His dedication and assistance were instrumental in overcoming the obstacles caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and advancing this project. I extend my wholehearted thanks to all 29 interviewees, both anonymous and named, for their invaluable contributions to this work. Their time, openness, and patience in answering my questions enriched this study and added a human dimension to the research. Additionally, I wish to extend my appreciation to Lara Bastajian for not only her dedication in editing the final draft but also for providing valuable and constructive feedback.

Lastly, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to my family in Tehran. Their encouragement and presence have been a constant source of strength throughout this journey, and I cherish the bond we share, even when miles apart.

Concluding this journey, I express my profound gratitude to everyone who has provided direct or indirect assistance along the way. While their perspectives may not have always corresponded with the standpoints laid out in this book, their invaluable contributions have significantly influenced its creation. Thank you all for being a part of this adventure.

During the initial phase of my research, I engaged in an interview with Mohammad Mansour Falamaki, an eminent figure among the early generation of Iranian urban and architectural conservationists whose impact on the field dates back to the early 1970s. When I inquired about the evolution ofthe field of conservation in Iran, Falamaki characterized it as an overwhelming story, one that would shock any reasonable person. Through my comprehensive examination of the legal, administrative, and social trajectories ofthe field in Iranian cities, I have discerned arecurring tendency whereby accumulated resources and structures are deliberately dumped, only to be rebuilt in subsequent cycles. Speaking of shocking, Falamaki was, in a way, alluding to this tendency.

I started my investigation without any preconceived assumptions about heritage planning in Iran and relied solely on empirical observations to interpret my findings. Nevertheless, the deeper I delved into my investigation, the stronger my conviction became that the evolution of urban heritage planning in Iran exemplifies the thesis put forth by the historian Homa Katouzian about Iranian society. In the broader domain of Iranian socio-political history, Katouzian has identified a similar pattern: Iran is a "short-term society" resembling a *pick-axe", in other words, a near-crumbling building subjected to constant teardowns and reconstructions based on the transient desires of its rulers.' Katouzian

1 Homa Katouzian, ‘The Short-Term Society: A Study in the Problems of Long- Term Political and Economic Development in Iran’, Middle Eastern Studies 40, no. 1 (2004): 2.

asserts that the arbitrariness of the states and societies in Iran has created a history consisting of "a series of short runs", interrupted by successive waves of groups in political and economic power. In other words, it is a pick-axe society undergoing a recurring cycle of revolutionary detachment from established structures, re-establishment of new structures, and detachment once again. Every governing authority endeavours to dismantle the prevailing system and institute a fresh one, yet paradoxically, this very process perpetuates the cycle.

The historical trajectory of conservation and urban heritage planning in Iran throughout the past six decades is characterized by a series of fragmented aspirations, transient accomplishments, and iterative fresh beginnings. This pattern endures, whether instigated by revolutionary upheavals, transformative shifts in governmental power, or reconfigurations in city administrations.

The academic scope of the book

Conservation research has brought attention to the intricate link between conservation and urban development, elucidating how national policies pertaining to urban development have influenced the politics surrounding conservation.^ The field of conservation has been urged to reconsider its methodologies and strategies in order to strengthen its role and flexibility in response to contemporary urban problems.? Given

2 Gregory) Ashworth and John E Tunbridge, 'Old Cities, New Pasts: Heritage Planning in Selected Cities of Central Europe’, GeoJournal, 1999, 105-16; Gregory John Ashworth, ‘Conservation as Preservation or as Heritage: Two Paradigms and Two Answers’, Built Environment (1978-) 23, no. 2 (1997): 92-102; Max Page and Randall Mason, Giving Preservation a History: Histories of Historic Preservation in the United States (Routledge, 2004); John Pendlebury, Conservation in the Age of Consensus (London: Routledge, 2008).

3 Ashworth, ‘Conservation as Preservation or as Heritage: Two Paradigms and Two Answers’; Hans-Rudolf Meier, Denkmale in Der Stadt--Die Stadt Als Denkmal: Probleme Und Chancen Für Den Stadtumbau (Dresden: TUD press, 2006); Pendlebury, Conservation in the Age of Consensus; Francesco Bandarin and Ron van Oers, the diversity of national and regional planning contexts, the exploration of case studies is thus imperative to unveil the various scenarios that may emerge during the practical execution of conservation policies.*

In studying cultural heritage and conservation policy and practice, researchers have analyzed the discursive processes of significance production and the power dynamics involved in defining heritage and determining what elements are deemed worthy of conservation. While acknowledging the importance of discourse, researchers have emphasized the material aspects of cultural heritageó and how empirical fac-

Reconnecting the City: The Historic Urban Landscape Approach and the Future of Urban Heritage (Wiley, 2014); Stephanie Ryberg-Webster and Kelly L. Kinahan, 'Historic Preservation and Urban Revitalization in the Twenty-First Century', CPL Bibliography 29, no. 2 (2014): 119-39.

4 Randall Mason and Erica Avrami, 'Heritage Values and Challenges of Conservation Planning, in Management Planning for Archaeological Sites, ed. Gaetano Palumbo and Jeanne Marie Teutonico (Corinth: Getty, 2002), 13-26; Helaine Silverman, ‘Heritage and Authenticity’, in The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Heritage Research (London: Springer, 2015), 69-88; Jeremy C Wells and Barry L Stiefel, Human-Centered Built Environment Heritage Preservation: Theory and Evidence-Based Practice (New York: Routledge, 2019).

5 Laurajane Smith, Uses of Heritage (London: Routledge, 2006); David C Harvey, ‘The History of Heritage’, in The Ashgate Research Companion to Heritage and Identity, ed. Brian). Graham and Peter Howard (Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2008), 19-36; John Pendlebury, ‘Conservation Values, the Authorised Heritage Discourse and the Conservation-Planning Assemblage’, International Journal of Heritage Studies 19, no. 7 (2013): 709-27, doi:10.1080/13527258.2012.700282; Silverman, 'Heritage and Authenticity'; Heike Oevermann, Eszter Gantner, and Sybille Frank, Stádtisches Erbe — Urban Heritage, Informationen Zur Modernen Stadtgeschichte (Berlin, 2016); Christoph Bernhardt, Martin Sabrow, and Achim Saupe, eds., Gebaute Geschichte: Historische Authentizität Im Stadtraum (Gottingen: Wallstein, 2017).

6 Rodney Harrison, 'Conclusion: On Heritage Ontologies: Rethinking the Material Worlds of Heritage’, Anthropological Quarterly, 2018, 1365-83; Rodney Harrison et al., Heritage Futures: Comparative Approaches to Natural and Cultural Heritage Practices (UCL press, 2020).

tors such as professional, economic, and educational conditions can influence conservation practices."

This book centres its attention on Iran's historical development of conservation and heritage planning.) Within this context, both discursive and material processes involved in conservation and heritage planning are examined, with their dynamics explored across multiple spheres, including the administrative, academic, professional, and social realms. This investigation primarily focuses on research inquiries at the convergence of conservation and urban studies. The book investigates socio-spatial processes of policymaking and practice regarding the maintenance, restoration, and reuse of urban spaces.

Addressing conservation within an urban context gives rise to a fundamental inquiry: What defines urban conservation or urban heritage planning? The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has classified heritage sites according to the physical scale ofthe built or natural features they cover, including monuments, groups of buildings, or cultural landscapes (settlements of both cultural and natural significance).? In practicalterms, and notably in large cities of Iran, the conservation ofan entire urban area is seldom achievable due to the scarcity of preserved historic

7 Wells and Stiefel, Human-Centered Built Environment Heritage Preservation: Theory and Evidence-Based Practice.

8 Ashworth distinguishes between conservation and heritage based on their respective objectives, methods of work, selection criteria, and strategies. Accordingly, this book employs the term ‘conservation’ to describe the preservation of the built environment with the aim of safeguarding its intrinsic value, which includes its age and artistic significance, while adhering to the methodological traditions of the architectural conservation profession. On the other hand, the term ‘heritage’ is used when approaches in handling the built environment, history, and memory are tailored to meet the current economic and sociopolitical objectives, rather than focusing on the inherent value of specific monuments. See: Ashworth, ‘Conservation as Preservation or as Heritage: Two Paradigms and Two Answers’.

9 The World Heritage Committee, ‘Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention’ (UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Paris, 2021), chap. Il.

fabric. Does this suggest that urban conservation or urban heritage planning are almost nonexistent in Iranian cities or similar urban contexts?

Under the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, the understanding of an urban area has transcended the confines of the conventional categories mentioned above.?

HUL encompasses the geographical setting, the natural and built aspects, as well as the intangible cultural and socio-economic features of the urban structures under consideration. In my investigation of conservation processes, I adopt a comparable multifaceted perspective. However, to maintain a focused. scope, I choose to include only those conservation processes that demonstrate urban-scale significance, thereby avoiding an overly broad perspective that could arise from applying the HUL approach to the notions that I explore in this book. Adopting a relational perspective on the notion of scale thus provides an effective framework for explaining the practices I observed in my research of conservation projects in Tehran. In essence, I focus not on the size ofthe objects being conserved, such as monuments or urban areas, but rather on the scale of their influence during or after the preservation process.

Storper and Scott argue that not every phenomenon occurring within a large city can be considered an urban phenomenon. The label of "urban phenomenon’ or a constituent element of the city is appropriate only when it "influences urban land nexus dynamics" and contributes to shaping the city’s form. " For instance, let us consider repurposing a museum. If our concern lies primarily with its internal arrangements, such as interior architecture and structural stability, we are operating within the realm of architectural conservation. However, if we are addressing its placement within the city’s socio-economic relationships, including variables such as human and vehicular traffic, parking capacity, the emergence of amenities such as cafes and bookstores, or the utilization of municipal funds that may influence other city projects, we are discussing urban heritage planning. According to this approach,

10 WHC UNESCO, ‘Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape’, 2011. 11 Michael Storper and Allen J. Scott, ‘Current Debates in Urban Theory: A Critical Assessment’, Urban Studies 53, no. 6 (2016): 1114-36.

individual buildings, beautified facades, or, as I will discuss in the case study chapter, graffiti art that leaves a socio-spatial mark on the city's engagement with its past can be considered elements of urban heritage planning.

Underlying concepts

Urban heritage assemblage

To fully comprehend the evolution of the academic and professional field of conservation, it is necessary to examine the material role played by historic places, urban spaces, urban infrastructure, and the environment, in addition to analyzing heritage discourses. Within the field of urban planning, scholars have situated heritage planning processes within socio-spatia

I? assemblages.” Also, scholars in heritage studies have studied heritage assembled within national and local socioeconomic contexts,“ and as discursive-material processes.”

When assemblage theory is utilized to examine cities and the social processes within them, it takes into account both the social and spatial elements involved. Consequently, it perceives urban processes as socio-spatial processes. See: Manuel DeLanda, A New Philosophy of Society: Assemblage Theory and Social Complexity (London & New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2006).

Jean Hillier, ‘More than Meat: Rediscovering the Cow beneath the Face in Urban Heritage Practice’, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 31, no. 5 (2013): 863—78; Shulan Fu andJean Hillier, ‘Disneyfication or Self-Referentiality: Recent Conservation Efforts and Modern Planning History in Datong’, in China: A Historical Geography of the Urban (Springer, 2018), 165-91.

Sharon Macdonald, ‘Reassembling Nuremberg, Reassembling Heritage’, Journal of Cultural Economy 2, no. 1-2 (2009): 117-34; Pendlebury, ‘Conservation Values, the Authorised Heritage Discourse and the Conservation-Planning Assemblage’.

Solmaz Yadollahi, ‘Prospects of Applying Assemblage Thinking for Further Methodological Developments in Urban Conservation Planning’, The Historic Environment: Policy & Practice 8, no. 4 (2 October 2017): 355-71; Harrison, ‘Conclusion: On Heritage Ontologies: Rethinking the Material Worlds of Heritage’; Har-

These approaches are grounded in the framework of assemblage! and actor-network" thinking, which posits that non-human actors also hold agency within social processes. An assemblage can be described as a symbiotic gathering of heterogeneous players, whether human or non-human, co-functioning and forming alliances for a period of time.

In this book, I present the trajectories of conservation and heritage planning in Iran as an assemblage unfolding and changing over time. Like other assemblages, academic and professional fields are historical socio-material entities.? Hence, the field of conservation and heritage planning is presented as the evolving assemblage of urban spaces, heritage discourses, communities of practitioners and scholars, organizations, research- and practice-oriented laboratories and workshops, and finally, the common public that engages with urban heritage.

In this context, knowledge of the field comprises two dimensions—knowing that', acquired through the teaching of conservation theory, and 'knowing how', an embodied knowledge that relies on the material medium and practical experience.^? The book sheds light on specific sites that, owing to their distinct local material characteristics, have played a pivotal role in shaping the technical know-how of conservation in Iran. These locations have served as workshops and laboratories where the craftsmanship of working with stone and mud brick has been taught and learned. For instance, cities like Isfahan, Yazd, Shiraz, and Bam have been instrumental in training numerous rison et al., Heritage Futures: Comparative Approaches to Natural and Cultural Heritage Practices.

16 Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus, trans. Brian Massumi (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1987); DeLanda, A New Philosophy of Society: Assemblage Theory and Social Complexity; Manuel DeLanda, Assemblage Theory (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2016).

17 Bruno Latour, Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Networh-Theory (Oxford university press, 2005).

18 — Delanda, Assemblage Theory.

19 Ibid.

20 DelLanda explores various forms of knowledge and highlights the significance of the material medium in the process of acquiring knowledge. Ibid.

practitioners and scholars who later pursued careers elsewhere in the country. Consequently, the material and discursive contributions of these places have profoundly influenced the preservation of spaces throughout the country. In essence, these sites have co-worked with heritage discourses, influencing the field's scope of interest, as well as its methodological traditions.

To ensure a more coherent and articulated investigation and presentation, the book directs its attention towards distinct domains of where the key players tend to be present. The first domain centres on the overarching socio-economic politics in the state, which operate independently at a higher level than urban planning and heritage policies. The second domain includes the official urban heritage planning policymaking sphere, encompassing the dynamics within the parliament, organizations, and ministries. The third domain pertains to academia, and the fourth domain explores the intersection of official policies with everyday urban life, often involving implemented conservation projects.

Visually thinking (see Figure 1), we can identify how these four key domains intersect at certain areas along their boundaries. These areas serve as arenas where actors from different domains interact. Within these arenas, we often find the presence of players such as places, social media platforms, professionals, and local branches of governmental institutions. Actor-network-inspired policy researchers believe that institutions sometimes use ‘boundary objects’ to reduce tensions between two or more distinct domains." The arenas in which boundary objects can link actors from different domains to each other are at times intentionally created by the government; at others, they emerge spontaneously as a result of socio-economic and political transformations. Throughout the book, I use the term ‘boundary action’ to describe

21 See: Susan Leigh Star and James R Griesemer, ‘Institutional Ecology,Translations' and Boundary Objects: Amateurs and Professionals in Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 1907-39’, Social Studies of Science 19, no. 3 (1989): 387-420; Linda Fox-Rogers and Enda Murphy, ‘Informal Strategies of Power in the Local Planning System’, Planning Theory 13, no. 3 (2014): 244—68.

intentional and spontaneous activities occurring within intersecting areas.

For instance, in some sections of the book, I employ this concept to explain the episodic strategies that the government adopts to encourage the participation of non-governmental actors. Boundary action helps to explain how the government tends to employ social media accounts, historic buildings, and local private consultants in non-governmental settings as a means to engage with actors who would normally be sceptical or distrustful of the government.

The concept is also related to a method that I frequently use to investigate the intersection of policymaking and the implementation of projects. Throughout the book, I make references to certain influential scholars as ‘bureaucrat-academics’, highlighting their dual role within both academic and governmental domains. I attempt to estimate the disparity between theory/policy and practice by triangulating the data obtained from various sources, including academic publications of bureaucrat-academics, their statements in newspapers, on television and radio programmes, academic events, my interviews, and empirical observations of project outcomes in the city. Regarding the term ‘bureaucrat-academic’, I draw upon sociologist Mohammad Fazeli’s concept of the 'sociologist-bureaucrat'.^" Fazeli employs this term to characterize sociologists who are actively involved in public administration. By identifying as one himself, Fazeli asserts that although these individuals may not possess the freedom to openly criticize the government, they can contribute valuable insights into the intricate workings of the governance system.

22 Mohammad Fazeli, Iran Bar Labe-Ye Tigh, Goftar-Ha-Ye Jameshenasi-Ye Siyasi va Siyasat-e Omumi [Iran, on the Edge of the Blade Essays on Political Sociology and Public Policy] (Tehran: Rozaneh, 2021).

Figure 1: The overlapping spheres of influence in urban heritage planning

The domain of socio-economic politics within the state

"Ihe legal-administrative domain of urban ii)

< Y + Boundary action

The domain of everyday urban life

A ‘Body Without Organs’

Assemblage theory offers a valuable perspective for comprehending the behaviours and tendencies of socio-material formations while avoiding generalizations. Drawing on the concept of stratified and smooth space introduced by Deleuze and Guattari,” Manuel DeLanda contends that in social relationships, including those that shape cities, we can consistently detect variations between organized, coded structures and those that are spontaneous and flexible.”

DeLanda proposes a concept involving an imaginary knob that researchers can utilize to describe the level of rigidity observed in socio-material formations.” By using this metaphor, I analyze the interplay between various actors, both human and non-human, as they