Demonstrating the strategic challenges of political Fragmentation in the governance structure of Mashhad metropolitan area

Document Type : تاریخ شهرسازی خراسان بزرگ

Authors

ferdowsi university of mashhad

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the “dissection aspects of fragmentation and discontinuity of political / governmental actors” (Institutions, practices and spatial domains( in metropolitan area of Mashhad. This fragmentation has been derived from diversity and divergence of actors and is created in the absence of a qualified institutional framework for policymaking and planning in this area. Methodology of this study, in terms of the purpose, is developmental – applied and in terms of research framework is analytical – descriptive based on the secondary analysis. This research through a triangulation approach analyzed the dimensions of political fragmentation, the influential governing institutions and organizations, and maintenance resources (programs, laws, and finance) as the dimensions of political fragmentation in the metropolitan area of Mashhad. Results showed that there are ever-increasing diversity and multiplicity in the overlapping territorial government, in the absence of a coordinating mechanism for the integration of development policies in metropolitan area of Mashhad. In terms of institutional fragmentation, this metropolitan area is divided mainly between the two governmental-administrative and governmental-public elements without proper governance of institutions such as Astan Quds Razavi and the private sector. Hence, the present study proposes devising a participatory structure and a development perspective based on strategic planning, an important principle in the direction of institutional, functional and territorial convergence of all actors in the metropolitan area of Mashhad.

Keywords