Social Sustainability in Public Spaces of Tehran, Iran, Case Study: Haft-Houz Square

Defining social life is challenging, and social sustainability is still the least understood part of sustainable development in compare with economic and environmental sustainability. A vital factor for sustainability in an urban area, is the proper interaction between the public spaces and their users. Public spaces are the windows to the city as they bring all groups of people together and enhance the quality of city s urban areas. So, attention to the right sustainable development in public spaces is significant. Recently, political, economical and other factors have influenced social relations in Tehran, the capital of Iran, and have made it more complicated which has major impacts on the city and society. Narmak, the 8th district of Tehran, located in the East of the city, was entirely designed by French city planners, approximately five decades ago, in a checkered form with a hundred squares and Haft-Houz square is the biggest among them. Haft-Houz is named after the Persian words, Haft and Houz , which mean seven pools, indicating the number of pools in this square. The square, an area of over 10,000 sqm, is pointed as the only real urban square in Tehran by many scholars. Even though it is utilized as an elliptical roundabout for the vehicular traffic. It provides good quality spaces for a wide variety of socio-cultural events and occasions within the green area. Haft-Houz is surrounded by commercial units and a big mosque, therefore, people from different districts come to this area for various activities daily (URL 4). Based on a qualitative methodology, this research aims to use utilize reviews and observations to discuss social challenges in Haft-Houz square, after its transformation as an urban development project by the municipality of 8th district in 2011.