Davood Eyvazlu; Mohammad Taghi Razavian; Mozaffar Sarrafi; Morteza Ghourchi
Abstract
Extended Abstract
1. Introduction
In this paper, through studying the air pollution and environmental destruction of Tehran metropolis, as a political, social, and economic issue, we discuss the competitive discourse between the nation-state (the eleventh government in Iran, 2013-2017) and the local ...
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Extended Abstract
1. Introduction
In this paper, through studying the air pollution and environmental destruction of Tehran metropolis, as a political, social, and economic issue, we discuss the competitive discourse between the nation-state (the eleventh government in Iran, 2013-2017) and the local government (municipality of Tehran 2013-2017) in terms of the creation of meaning, hegemony, and the production of space. Generally, the purpose of analyzing the above-mentioned discourses in this study is to identify the aspects that a particular discourse highlights or attempts to make some aspects absent. In Iran the local government (municipality) and the nation-state are affecting the city space through policies and management system. This paper focuses on the discourse of nation-state and local government in Tehran city.
2. Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework of this article is based on discourse analysis theory and representation and otherness concepts.
Representation:
Representation is a cultural process. It is also a political process, where individuals/groups seek to persuade or coerce others into accepting their representation as the “correct” one. Representations or “ideological fictions” are necessary for the discourse –logical consistency of planning practice. They structure our transcendent ideas and ideals of what is and what should be “out there”.
Absent/ Otherness:
Law believes that debates about social and environmental justice shift between presence and absence. Some presence/absences are deferred of relations not present now, but relations yet to come. There are oscillatory distributions between the present/now and the absent/future or the absent/now and the present/future. Thus, planning is a sort of creative agonistic between presence and absence, manifest and latent.
Discourse Analysis:
Discourse is a bunch of words which belong to the same formation. Analytical activity is the description of the united shape of the bunch of words which has no place for concepts of meaning, intention, and the moment of creation. The aim of the analysis is to deal with a set of functions at lingual (verbal) level as well as dealing with the positive shape of their definition.
3. Methodology
Discourse Analysis theory of Laclau and Mouffe is considered both as a theory and as a research method. In this regard, capitalizing on the method of discourse analysis, we examine two main discourses (discourse of nation-state, i.e., the eleventh government in Iran, 2013-2017; and local government, i.e., municipality’s discourse, 2013-2017) in terms of the air pollution in Tehran.
4. Discussion
Results show that the nodal point of the local government (municipality) discourse is public transportation and the floating signifiers of the local government’s discourse are the development of metro and green spaces. On the other hand, the nodal point of the national government’s discourse is "quality and control". The interviews by government officials indicate that the nation-state’s nodal point is based on the automobile quality supervision and fuel quality. As discourses are attempting to highlight or other some aspects of the reality, the development of metro (the achievement of the local government) is absent in the nation-state’s discourse; or it is trying to undermine the discourse of municipality by challenging the urban management. On the other hand, the local government (municipality) is Othering the impact of the urban management role (such as traffic or towers) on the increase of air pollution in Tehran City. Generally, findings indicate that both the local government and nation-state’s discourses seek to represent what they would like to be present out there.
5. Conclusion and Suggestions
Discourse analysis showed that both the national government and local governments are seeking to make hegemony by highlighting some aspect of the facts, in order to pretend to the society that their representation is true and their management has been successful. The local government (public transportation discourse) is highlighting the developments in Tehran’s Metro section, and the nation-state (technology-oriented discourse) is highlighting the control and quality. On the other hand, the share of the government's aid to the urban public transportation has been marginalized in the discourse of the national government and the impact of the urban management and urban traffic caused by an inappropriate land-use planning on Tehran’s air pollution is suppressed and othered in the municipality’s discourse.
Based on the discourse analysis, we can say that the next discourse should be based on an integrated development; i.e., good governance through strengthening the role of civil society. Also, according to the principles of good governance, enhancing the transparency and accountability in both local and national levels could be the first step to begin the process of reducing environmental problems and air pollution in Tehran metropolitan.
mohammad soleimani; mohammadreza hafeznia; morteza ghorchi; Hossein mohammadian
Abstract
1. Introduction
By the passage of the industrial revolution and entrance to the post-industrial era, the change and variety in the functions of capitalistic powers, ICT revolution, and the speeding up of globalization after the 1960s have brought about renewal of the operational, spatial, and managerial ...
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1. Introduction
By the passage of the industrial revolution and entrance to the post-industrial era, the change and variety in the functions of capitalistic powers, ICT revolution, and the speeding up of globalization after the 1960s have brought about renewal of the operational, spatial, and managerial structures of cities. In line with the mentioned changes, the structural changes resulted from globalization, diminish the role of government-nation, from meaningful economic players or units to mediators facilitating “local” and “universal” relationships, and lead to the appearance of new universal players and powers, called local governments. This is the basis of the development of city roles in the new universal geography and their influence on the urban currents and hierarchies in the world. In such situations, the governments’ (federal and local) strategies and plans for achieving an appropriate standing and the city role shave exceeded local levels and attained universal positions. Attaining appropriate standing in universal urban networks relies on meeting required standards in their various components. The present study explains the globalization of metropolis local government, while emphasizing the role of urban infrastructures.
2. Methodology
The present study is carried out theoretically based on the descriptive-analytic method. The purpose of this study is to explain the theoretical framework of urban infrastructure roles in the globalization of metropolis through the agency of metropolis local government. Therefore, we reviewed the literature related to the globalization and the urban globalization processes, and the comparison between metropolis infrastructures and universal cities. Also the role of urban infrastructures in the globalization processes of cities, the relationship between the importance of urban infrastructures and urban development, and the facilitated process of city globalization, besides the role of local government as the regulator of local spaces and the major factor in local development was investigated.
3. Discussion
Appropriate infrastructure, facilities and equipment are among the requirements of the realization of urban growth and development. Urban infrastructures, which are one of the strongest symbols and representations of the material culture or the material dimension of the universalized local government’s urban structure, contain a broad range from big airports with aerial functions, advanced transportation networks, advanced information-communication infrastructures (telecommunication, Internet), cultural and educational centers with universal reputation, and professional sport infrastructures to architectural works with universal brands. From the perspective of the geographers, one of the most interesting consequences of infrastructure equipment is the distance developed between sectors, urban areas, and the public; on the other hand,, distance reduction and diminished local dimension as the products of a spectrum of social-spatial evolutions resulting from scientific and technical advances (from phone to Internet) have been realized. Therefore, the study and investigation of infrastructures that lead to decreased distances and temporal and local jams are of great importance to most of geographers. These studies are indicative of the appearance of a new stage of globalization and enhanced integration among countries due to increased temporal-local jams. To achieve the focal business status in the regional multinational centers, the universal local governments actively entered into a new course of urban infrastructure developments. In its new course, the infrastructure development contained telecommunication (telematics) development and the communication in the form of communicative establishments and transportation.
4. Conclusion
Local governments as the regulators of local spaces with special local services play their roles at local and transnational levels for the purpose of development, control, and regulation of geographical, social, and economic development of local regions. As the most important political-official players, they shape the form and content of cities at local, national, and transnational scales. Therefore, the local development emphasizes the advanced urban infrastructures such as big airports with aerial functions, advanced transportation networks, advanced information-communication infrastructures (telecommunication, Internet),cultural and educational centers with universal reputation, professional sport infrastructures, and creation of architectural works with universal brands. Moreover, achievement of required standards for realization of universal processes and the value of universal city is an essential duty of local governments in the current age; this results in the integration of cities in different continents within the communicative networks of universal cities, and confirms the role of the hierarchical complex of infrastructural networks in the integrations and national and physical relationships at transnational scales.
narges hajipanah; Seyed Hadi Zarghani; Omid Ali Kharazmi
Abstract
1. Introduction
Nowadays in most of the countries in the world there is a growing trend towards decentralization and development of local governments. One of the most cited reasons for this issue is the fact that most of the countries apply the decentralization process as a method for enhancing the ...
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1. Introduction
Nowadays in most of the countries in the world there is a growing trend towards decentralization and development of local governments. One of the most cited reasons for this issue is the fact that most of the countries apply the decentralization process as a method for enhancing the performance of public sectors and the economic development in as much as the central government without local governments faced a challenge in making relationships with the citizens. Due to the increasing expansion and variations in the duties of governments on the one hand and the increasing demands of cooperation on the part of people and private institutions, on the other hand, the governments are forced to see the political and managerial decentralization as an important and effective strategy and to reconsider the spatial pattern of power distribution in the country. The factors and grounds for the formation of local government consist of general substructures like geographical, political-legal, sociocultural and economic-financial factors. For constructing each of these substructures, there are a host of different factors which require a comprehensive analysis. The fact is that local government has been currently turned into an indispensable necessity in the world and a country like Iran, which has a centralized structure, is no exception. The present study, based on the systemic thinking approach, has explored the influential factors in the formation of local government in Iran and the main focus is on identifying and exploring economic-financial aspects. It also attempts to indicate and present the role and relationship of economic-financial factors, as one of the most important and influential components in the formation of local governments, in the form of a model based on the systemic thinking approach and by using Vensim software.
2. Theoretical framework
The increasing growth of public-oriented local institutions and their necessary function in the management of general affairs of the country have led to the consideration and emphasis of local orientations. In the implementation of local government, each country, based on its political, economic, cultural, geographic and demographic requirements, must organize the aspects of local government and enhance the efficiency of management in the local governments. In a more precise term, local governments must be formed and developed based on their own specific and unique strategic patterns. According to the ideas of scholars, the most important and influential factors in the formation and establishment of local governments can be categorized into four main categories: geographic, economic-financial, political-legal and sociocultural factors. The present study explores and identifies the effective economic-financial factors in the formation of local government based on the systemic thinking approach. The systemic thinking is a powerful method in dealing with the highly complex managerial issues. Nowadays, the dominant attitude in the management of organizations is the systemic thinking and this method is especially applied in the regional and urban planning. Based on this method and in the framework of the present study, we can describe and explain the mutual and multiple relations of economic-financial factors with each other and with the whole system. For example, the reduction of dominance of central government on economic affairs can lead to an increase in the responsibility and decrease of corruption which in turn can lead to more efficiency in the performance of public sectors and economic growth. Therefore, it can be asserted that with the formation of local government, the extent of economic power of central government becomes moderate and the accountability increases. In addition, the amount of economic corruption reduces and a condition can be provided for economic growth and efficiency of public sectors. In such a thinking, as the influence and impact of an element become high in a system, such an element must be considered as a more influential and critical element in the system. The change in this element can also affect the whole system.
3. Methodology
The present study analyzes and explores the role of economic-financial factors in the formation of local government in Iran based on the systemic thinking method. In fact, it is an applied research in terms of results and an exploratory one in terms of objectives. The main objective of the study is identifying and prioritizing the effective economic-financial factors and their relationships in the formation of local government. In addition, the existing challenges in this aspect are analyzed and these influential factors are presented and explained in the form of a model by using Vensim software. The necessary data are collected using library and field-based approaches and in the latter case the use is made of quantitative and qualitative approaches. In the quantitative phase, the sample of study are forty scholars of local government and in the qualitative phase seven of these scholars are selected for interview using the snowball sampling method. In order to identity the extent of effects of economic-financial factors in the formation of local government in Iran and to prioritize the extent of effect of each relevant factors, the researchers used independent-samples t-test and Friedman test, respectively. In order to draw and design the causal diagrams based on the systemic thinking method, the Vensim software was utilized.
4. results& discussion
In spite of the fact that economic and financial centralization has some revenues, it has some disadvantages like lower general/public supervision, higher grounds for corruption, reduction in accountability and weaknesses in economic efficiency. Therefore, financial decentralization is the pivotal solution which, from 1980s, has been welcomed by many countries as a developing strategy. In the present era, the role, function and responsibility of local governments for providing services and substructures have been increased to a great extent. Nevertheless, the local institutions and organizations are still dependent on the central government for the provision of financial resources and these resources are both inadequate and unpredictable. Therefore, the analysis and recognition of the role of economic-financial factors in the formation of local governments, because of their important and substantial role for such a purpose, are highly important. In the present study, the influential role of these factors in the formation of local government were explored and the field study findings with regard to the effective role of each of these factors and their relationship with each other and the whole system were presented in the form of a model. Therefore, by studying the literature on the issue of concern and by considering the theoretical principles the important factors like “reduction of political patronage of the local government on financial affairs, preference of qualitative growth to quantitative development, possibility of more precise reception of taxes from people, high economic centralization and the resulting disadvantages, reduction in bribery and corruption rate, reduction in the expenses of central government, decentralization as an effective tool for increasing the efficiency of public sector and economic growth” were extracted. In addition, the results of interviews add other factors like “oil income of Iran” to the identified factors. On the whole, the above mentioned factors, from the viewpoints of scholars and based on library and field-based studies, were identified as the main factors in the formation of local government in Iran in the economic-financial domain.
5. conclusions & suggesyions
After recognizing the min influential factors in the economic-financial domain, the extent of effects and functions of these factors was designed in form of a model using the Vensim software. The results of this study revealed that factors like the dominance of central government over economy, increase in the efficiency of public sector, economic growth and preference of qualitative growth over the quantitative one are among the main and critical elements in the system and, thus, have a higher degree of influence compared to the other variables. In addition, the findings of study indicated that among the identified economic-financial factors, the issues like the increase in the efficiency of public sector and economic growth, economic centralization and its disadvantages and the expenses of central government have priority over the other factors in terms of their degree of influence.
