Pathology of Integrated Urban Management for Tehran in view of Policy and Decision Making

Integrated urban management means adopting a holistic approach to urban management and designing appropriate mechanisms for this approach’s requirements in practice. The integration of the urban activities brings together organizational , structural and institutional activities and action in which the urban development is supported. In order to achieve integration, It is essential to Identify factors affecting fragmentation and non-integration. One of the most important levels of urban management is urban policy and decision making which are prone to fragmentation since they include various elements and activists. Urban policy is generic vision of city administration which directs urban decision making. using an integrated approach can be helpful for policy-making, planning, and managements. In this study , first, The urban management ,integrated urban management, Urban decision making, urban policy making and urban governance theory literatures have been reviewed and then effective factors in integration of policy and decision making in urban management have been identified by research analytical model and then it has been evaluated through suitable Quantitative Method. Three major factor have been identified in research analytical model which play important role in fragmentation and non-integration of Tehran urban management in terms of policy and decision making. 1. Plurality of different associated elements and actors which leads to intergenerational policy and decision making fragmentation, 2. Structure of power distribution between policy and decision making actors, 3. Factors related to power resource and tools in field of policy and decision making which include: current urban rules and regulations, information and communication infrastructures, financial capacity of urban management. The study results are based on analysis of 50 Tehran urban experts and managers (works for Tehran Municipality, Tehran City Council, Ministry of Interior ,Ministry of Road and Urban Development, Parliament of Islamic Republic of Iran). Statistical analysis of questionnaires has been done with three different tests: Wilcoxon Test for analysing of agreement rate for importance of non-integration of Tehran urban management, Friedman Test for analyzing and ranking of factors affecting non-integration of Tehran urban management, t-test for comparison of two different groups: members of Tehran city council and Tehran Municipality VS. Other selected Tehran urban management authorities. Moreover, t-test has been used for comparison between urban managers and urban experts. The study results confirm that all three presented factors play effective roles in non-integration of Tehran urban management. Nonetheless, Tehran institution of urban management (City council and Tehran Municipality) respondents, unlike others from other Tehran management organizations(Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Road and Urban Development, Parliament of Islamic Republic of Iran), take power distribution factor as the most important and influential factor in non-integration of Tehran Urban policy making. This study shows that considering all three mentioned factors, reform and balancing of power system for actors in city level lay the groundwork for Integration of urban policy and decision making. Finally, the study results offers some suggestions for enhancement and and adjustment of urban power and policy making system, urban management tools and facilities and adopting urban governance approach for Tehran city and metropolitan administration.