a national guideline for transit-oriented development: challenges and prospects for the iranian edition

The outstanding consequences of transport land-use integration under the label of transit-oriented development (tod) approach in pioneer countries have spurred several newcomers to apply such a policy. of which, iran with a centralized planning system has recently provided a tod national guideline with the purpose of curbing traffic-caused challenges. this study attempts to describe the process applied for the guideline preparation and discover operational challenges and prospects for successful tod implementation, offering a native edition in iran. the research has a qualitative approach, based on the case study. the critical analysis of iran's existing situation, together with the review of a five-year process which ends up with the final approval of the guideline, are basic tools applied to investigate the situation. the results demonstrated that although the guideline, as a turning point, pinpointed the integration policy in iranian policymaking efforts, there are still several barriers to realize tod policies in iran including inconsistent urban policies, profit-making from tod potentials, no practical experience, lack of public support and weak local authorities. this study also offers some lessons for those countries with a similar system of urban planning and/or policy challenges, which are planning transport and land use integration.