Reconstruction has a long history in Iran, because of numerous natural disasters such as earthquakes, and man-made events, in particular, wars. Most of the territory is on the earthquake belt; and, also, due to the geographical features and historically, the people were faced with devastating warfare.
The war between Iran and Iraq (1980–1988) was the one of the most important wars in Iran and resulted into the vagrancy of more than one million Iranians with a mass migration from war-torn cities (Rabani, 1997). The government recognized that reconstruction did not simply mean the repair of war damages, but also includes government programs designed to satisfy some of the popular aspirations for greater economic and social justice (Hooglund, 1989). According to the government’s plan that defined the approaches for reconstruction and renovation of war torn regions in 1982, Khorramshahr reconstruction process was divided into two stages during- and post-war reconstruction period. The first step of reconstruction began with a cabinet meeting in May 1983 10 days before the liberation of Khorramshahr. Reconstruction during the war commenced on five war provinces to achieve the integration of urban population, prevent mass migration, and give confidence to war victims. The Plan and Budget Organization approved methods and administrator department of war zones as the following guidelines indicate:
i. Considering to public participation in all phases of reconstruction and renovation.
ii. Trust in the public institutions to implement the reconstruction and redevelopment plans.
iii. Fair and equitable distribution of public aid based on the needs and priorities of war torn residences.
iv. Fulfilment of government policies at all stages of reconstruction.
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v. Cooperation between all governmental, semi-governmental, and public organizations and departments.
vi. Integration of the current organization to prevent expiation of involving sector, which is led to mismatching distribution.(Reconstruction Plan of Iran, 1983)
The first phase of during–war reconstruction was implemented effectively in the damaged cities. A number of cities were not considered during-war reconstruction due to the risk of re-occupation. Regardless of all the legislation and effort to implement reconstruction during the war, the most significant share of reconstruction was delayed to the end of war remarkably in terms of occupied cities like Khorramshahr.
The main impetus for reconstruction was begun after the war when the definition of priorities for reconstruction became politically contested in the Iranian regime. Since August 1988, Iran has turned its attention to the enormous task of reconstruction, whether it is war, industrial calamity, or natural disaster (Hooglund, 1989).
a) Policy for the Reconstruction Plan
Different political groups sought to have their own social and economic programs that were reflected in the reconstruction strategy. The debate centred on the following three issues, including 1. Rebuilding the military, 2. Reinvigorating the national economy, and 3. Reconstructing war-damaged areas. Conservative and pragmatist factions believed that economic growth should guide reconstruction, and these views came to dominate official policy. As a result, most reconstruction efforts are devoted to strengthening market mechanisms, privatization, and liberalization of trade (Motawaf, 1989). The Supreme Council for Reconstruction and Renovation of War-Damaged Areas is the highest-level body responsible for reconstruction. It made strategic decisions and oversaw efforts to promote public financial contributions. Another body, the Central Headquarters for Reconstruction, set priorities, made policies, supervised
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project implementation, and coordinated the work of other organizations. The various sectors in the Reconstruction Headquarters coordinated reconstruction work with the planning committees and supervised projects implemented by contractors. Finally, the Provincial and County Reconstruction Headquarters are responsible for a variety of tasks, including prioritizing the reconstruction projects for implementation. These governmental institutions are assisted by other public and private organizations, such as the Housing Foundation, the Ministry of Reconstruction Crusade (Jahade Sazandegi), and supporting centres for particular projects or cities such as Khorramshahr, philanthropic organizations, and revolutionary foundations.
The role of government is limited to investing in job-generating productive units, supervision of reconstruction processes, provision of technical services, and financial assistance. In all cases, site preparation is a public responsibility. The government is also responsible for equipping public offices with adequate equipment and skilled labour as well as for delivering basic construction materials to the project sites.
b) Architecture Guidelines of the Reconstruction Plan
After the war, architectural guidelines from the reconstruction plan focused on upgrading building quality, transportation infrastructure, and local materials. Previous experience in Iran indicated that using new methods in construction like prefabrication were not popular among those contractors whose first need is a place to live3. Therefore, reconstruction policy recommended endogenous techniques that use more local or national resources and materials. In rural areas, the housing foundation is primarily responsible for the quality of the construction materials and buildings (Amirahmadi, 1992).
In addition, attempts were made to enforce Islamic building codes and architecture.
Some financial assistance is available to homebuilders that take the form of grants,
3Comprehensive plan for the reconstruction of Khorramshahr Naghshe Jahan Pars Consulting Engineers. (1988).
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credit, or bank loans. Nevertheless, the emphasis on self-help makes homeowners responsible for design and construction and encourages them to rely on local technology and resources.
c) Urban Reconstruction and Priorities
During the reconstruction process of the post-war regions in Iran, cities are being reconstructed on their previous sites and with an eye towards modernization while mixed land uses are maintained in most cases, and industrial and commercial zones are separated from residential areas4 . This policy led to significant changes in landholding patterns within reconstructed urban settlements. The Iranian government does not relocate Khorramshahr, when the policy is to rebuild post-war cities on their original sites in most of the war regions. This was intended to minimize costs, save time, and, in particular, to prevent unnecessary conflict between the people and the government. In an applicative experience, one of the options for the rebuilding of Khorramshahr was building a new city in a new and safer place as well as making the ruined city into a war museum. However, residents did not agree to relocate the city (Rabani, 1997).
In reconstructing population centres, the first priority was for residential units, commercial units, and factories producing construction materials followed by other employment-generating activities, in particular, in agriculture and small industries. The government also avoided certain actions such as reconstructing residential complexes and houses before the owners returned to the settlements because of questions of ownership (Amirahmadi, 1992).
Urban reconstruction focused first on the reconstruction of productive sectors of the economy in war damaged cities and then on infrastructure, housing, and services as
4 Comprehensive plan for the reconstruction of Khorramshahr Naghshe Jahan Pars Consulting Engineers. (1988)
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bottlenecks develop in those areas. The new strategy is intended to bring about a gradual re-population of damaged settlements, adjusted to the rate at which housing and jobs are available.
d) Infrastructures
The provision of heat, water, electricity, roads, infrastructure, educational and health services, communication links, and urban amenities are also given a high priority in the reconstruction process. There were three levels of reconstruction plans. The "National sector" plans (bakhsh-e melli) include large industrial and infrastructure projects that are implemented by government ministries. The "Popular sector" plans (bakhsh-e mardomi) deal with reconstruction of residential and commercial units by their owners. The
"Regional sector" plans (bakhsh-e mantaqehei) encompass regional development plans and urban or rural service projects. They are implemented by reconstruction offices in the damaged areas.
At the national level, special priority has been attached to reconstruction of large industrial units such as petrochemical complexes, oil refineries, and power plants.
Implementation of reconstruction of non-emergency infrastructures begins when the Ministry of Health and the Red Crescent Society (Helal-e Ahmar) finished disinfecting a war-damaged area. At that time, an area manager was appointed to oversee the rebuilding of houses. However, the area manager must work within the framework of the relevant provincial development plan and coordinate activities with provincial officials and activities. In addition to area managers, other agents were involved in the task of housing reconstruction and include the owners of houses, auxiliary work groups, and provincial representatives of the Housing Foundation.
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