Assessment of Urban Laws in Iran with Urban Health Approach

Introduction: Throughout history, cities have evolved in response to threats about health and other forms of security. Urban planning laws in England, France, and the United States were enacted to address the consequences of industrialization and poor sanitary conditions.
The examination of the reasons and the legislative process in leading countries in urban planning shows that urban planning laws were directly intended to enhance the health of citizens. Nowadays, with rapid urbanization worldwide, cities face numerous challenges. Addressing these challenges to improve urban health and quality of life involves enhancing the quality of urban environments, ensuring justice, providing infrastructure and public services, and controlling construction and density. Establishing cities and defining their boundaries, overseeing transport systems, delineating the scope of authorities and duties, and decision-making structures are all responsibilities of urban laws.
Good urban laws are the foundation of effective planning and sustainable urban development. In the absence of sound planning laws or resources to make changes in unhealthy urban areas, health outcomes can be negative. Weak laws or poor infrastructure for their enforcement can result in inappropriate policies and allow inequalities in power (financial, political, technical, and cultural) to shape planning away from supporting public health, focusing instead on land value for those who control the resources. Therefore, ensuring that planning laws function effectively often requires continuous evaluation due to changing conditions and needs. Having tools to assess the quality of legislation and identify key features or their absence is crucial.
The Purpose of the Research: This research aims to assess urban laws in terms of their alignment with the components and criteria of urban health, as well as the quality of these laws.
Methodology: The most important urban planning laws in Iran have been selected for this purpose. Although, despite scattered efforts in the last two to three decades, a comprehensive law under the title of "Planning Act" has not yet been developed, the set of selected laws in this study (such as the law establishing the Supreme Council of Urban Planning, the law on renaming the Ministry of Development and Housing, and …) serve the same function. The assessment was conducted at the national level, using both qualitative and quantitative content analysis methods.
Findings and Discussion: The results show that the average score for the performance components of the selected laws is 2.6, and the average score for the content components is 1. The combined score for content and performance in the law "defining the boundaries of cities, villages, and towns" is 1.9, the highest among the laws. Laws of "Municipality"," The creation of new cities", “renaming the Ministry of Reconstruction and Housing to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development", and "The establishment of the Supreme Council of Architecture and Urban Planning of Iran" scored above 1.5, while other laws scored below 1.5. These scores indicate that Iran's basic and principal urban planning laws have minimal differences in quality (performance) and content (urban health), with both aspects showing significant weaknesses.
Conclusion: Planning laws, planning and development control regulations determine land use and building characteristics, thus having a significant impact on individual health and safety, access to public services, and the overall built environment. Effective and efficient laws are one of the key tools for urban planning and management. The historical trajectory of urban planning laws in the country shows that the main goal of legislative authorities is focused on controlling and directing urbanization and addressing its problems in various dimensions.
Overall, the results of this study indicate that in Iran's basic and principal urban planning laws, the only urban health component considered is "The design and implementation of urban, regional, and national development plans". The low scores in the content components suggest that, except for the laws of “municipality” and “the support for the renewal and renovation of urban decay”, which directly relate to urban health, other laws have little content relevance to urban health, despite their significant impact on it. The average performance component scores reflect that the laws do not meet the desired quality. The only component that achieved a satisfactory score within this research is the accessibility of laws. The widespread use of the internet has made accessing laws and regulations easier than before.