بررسي انسان شناختي محله آلونك نشين علي آباد مهران

An Anthropological Study of an ʹUrban Poverty Islandʹ in Tehran

One of the consequences of rapid growth of urbanization in developing countries, as a way of passing though modernity, has been the appearance of intercity slums, called here ʹpoverty Islandsʹ. In this paper we have developed a qualitative and ethnographic survey of one of these little slums: Mehran quarter situated in the 4th district of Tehran which is nearly 25 years old. Mehran is physically divided by a highway and partly destroyed, but still has a population of about 40 families originating from different Iranian ethnic groups: Azeris, Lurs, and Kurds. The ethnographical survey demonstrates that shaping and evolution of space have taken place under the influence of ethnic characteristics. In addition, this article tries to show the importance of an anthropological and ethnicity-oriented approach in help the urban policy makers in this case and other urban areas which are likely to become slums. In other words, studies like the present one aim to develop for urban policy makers, more coherent and humane ways for finding sound solutions for these kinds of populations, particularly in the Iranian metropolitan centers.