II.

Tehrān and Its Metropolitan Area

The city of Tehrān covers about 600 sq km (about 240 sq mi) and lies within Tehrān Province, of which it is the capital. Tehrān Province has an area of about 28,000 sq km (about 11,000 sq mi) and consists of seven counties that include the capital and its more than 20 rapidly growing satellite communities. Most of the growth is channeled along an east-west axis and toward the south; to the north, the city is constrained by the steep Elburz Mountains.

Most commercial and government buildings are located in the center of the city. Residential structures predominate elsewhere. Many older houses were built for a single family, mostly from wood and brick, and were one or two stories tall. As the city grew, a few high-rise apartment complexes were built to house government employees and lower- and middle-class families. Eventually, the government allowed people to build multistory houses on smaller lots and in areas where such houses were not previously allowed. As a consequence, many owners of one-story homes have added extra stories to their homes or have replaced their homes with multistory buildings. Construction in already dense sections of the city is common, and the city’s skyline is chaotic.

Within the city, nearly all of the houses have electricity and piped water, while only about a third have access to a telephone. These percentages are typically much lower in the suburbs, and services, both inside and beyond the city, are often erratic. Water is particularly scarce in Tehrān. Nearby sources of water, including four rivers that have been dammed or diverted, are estimated to be sufficient for the needs of 5 million people, less than half the total metropolitan area population. During summer, households are encouraged to conserve water, and the flow of water is often shut off for several hours in parts of the city. The water shortage, combined with the conversion of rural land to urban uses, has hurt the surrounding farming sector.

Tehrān also lacks an integrated sewage-disposal system. Every building has its own well, or septic tank, that discharges untreated water and human waste into the ground. Because the land is porous and generally slopes southward, water and waste can permeate the ground; however, the unsanitary process threatens the homes and health of residents in the southern districts and slums, especially when the water table rises.