An incomplete tale : A review of the urban development plan’s implementation challenges for the Abkooh neighbourhood in Mashhad (Iran) from the stakeholders’ point of view

One of the main challenges of contemporary cities is the implementation of urban development plans. The plans that are frequently developed and approved with good intentions for different areas of the city stay on paper, which increases public mistrust in government organisations and puts an immense financial strain on the city and its citizens. One of the neighbourhoods dealing with this problem is Mashhad’s Abkooh, a former rural centre that has gradually been integrated into the city. Over the past two decades, three distinct urban development plans, primarily following top-down methodologies, have been devised for this neighbourhood. However, none have met their anticipated objectives, encountering substantial public opposition and various legal and managerial obstacles. The paper on which this study is based initially identifies the factors affecting the implementation of urban development plans through a literature review and then employs a qualitative approach using interviews with key informants, including long-term residents and local key informants of the neighbourhood, as well as the project managers. The study employs qualitative content analysis with a summarising approach to identify the challenges affecting the implementation of the Abkooh neighbourhood plans. The findings reveal that the implementation challenges with the latest approved plan for the neighbourhood can be categorised into three key areas: political context, economic context and legal requirements, all within the framework of the urban management and planning system. Therefore, the implementation challenges in each area may lead to varying outcomes depending on the prevailing conditions and specific requirements. Ultimately, adopting a new approach to the decision-making environment in urban development plans — by implementing transparent and participatory mechanisms, enhancing coordination among responsible organisations, ensuring adequate funding and promoting bottom-up strategies — can significantly improve the chances of project success. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.