Examining the Application of Contingency Approach in Encountering Contingencies in an Integrated Metropolitan Planning in Tehran

Urban planning systems are exposed to the diverse types of contingencies and uncertainties which can cause dysfunction or failure of and unexpected outcomes for the system. Within an integrated metropolitan planning scope, non-coordinated and non-integrated inter-organizational relations would generate and enhance the creation of urban planning problems, which in its own terms would strengthen the pre-existing complexities, in addition to contingencies, constraints and uncertainties. Based on the strategic thinking in metropolitan planning and policy-making, recognizing and coping with challenges, and specifically “contingencies”, requires both flexibility and ability to comply with the special conditions of each planning context. The application of the inherent concepts in strategic planning has led to the development of “contingency approach” to planning. To avoid the inefficiencies of the planning system and mechanism in the face of changing structures, planning systems and its environment, “contingency approach” has been applied in urban and metropolitan planning as a problem-solving method to comply with not only the ever-changing conditions, but also the contingencies, constraints and uncertainties. Disintegrated nature of metropolitan urban planning policy-making leads to inefficiencies specifically when handling urban problems, specifically the problems which have a contingent nature. The metropolitan planning of Tehran is faced with known and unknown contingencies. Such contingencies can affect the expected outcome of the entirety of planning system in Tehran but also can expose this city to risks and hazards, whether natural and man-made. These contingencies indicate the penetrating need for planning in Tehran to acquire potentialities and capacities to react properly and take pre-devised measures to be prepared for all categories of contingencies, to solve problems and to overcome the unwanted outcomes. This paper has a dual question and two sets of aims, (1) are Tehran’s policy-makers aware of the existence of contingencies in Tehran and the necessity of applying a contingent approach in their process of planning and policy-making, and, (2) how to define the manners applied by policy-makers and planning authorities in encountering the known and unknown contingencies. Accordingly, the aims are (1) to find the opportunities of applying the contingency approach plus overcoming the barriers confronted by this approach in Tehran, and (2) to trace the available opportunities in the application of contingency approach in order to enhance the functioning of metropolitan planning in the course of an integrated planning system in Tehran. Methodology adopted in this paper is a process containing two stages: the first descriptive- analytical stage concentrates on the conceptual framework of contingency approach and adopts the “systematic review” method to attain a proposed framework to be applied in Tehran. In the analytical-prescriptive stage, the application of proposed framework for applying the contingency approach in an integrated metropolitan planning approach for Tehran, the “qualitative deductive content analysis” is applied using the existing laws, regulations, instructions and planning documents of Tehran. One achievement of this paper is promoting the necessary consideration of contingencies and contingency approach to planning. Another achievement is proposing an analytical method for tracing opportunities and barriers of establishing an integrated planning approach and a proposed framework that can be applied in Tehran, specifically when an integrated metropolitan planning is to be adopted.