Journal of Spatial Analysis

The City-region of Tehran is encountered with various environmental problems, including traffic, air pollution, lack of drinking water and green space, physical texture conflict, flood and earthquake. Capital accumulation has considerable role in shaping spaces which can create and intensify environmental disaster in special socio-economic situation. The second cycle is the conversion of capital to fixed and long-term assets with the aim of further benefits, which in fact produces two types of artificially environment during this process namely the built environment for production, and the built environment for consumption.

The third cycle is aiming to connect science to production and increase production capacity by investment in science and technology. When production of surplus value reduced in the first cycle, surplus value of second cycle increases through speculation and real estate transaction (real estate capital). Therefore, the owners of the lands and buildings are encouraged in production, trade and supply of these type assets.

In the courtiers that are legally and administratively encounter with tax receipt problems,  urban lands ownership is deposited to market system without any control, hosing transaction continues without any limitation, situation is moving forward to personal vested interests, asset value rises rather than production value, the price of land and construction increase severely. In the above mentioned condition, beneficiaries attempt convert the natural resources including park, mountain, river privacy and road privacy to marketable commodity and legally or quasi legally seize them. Therefore, unreasonable construction and population density increases and city-region will encounter with environmental disasters.  

The main objective of this research is to understand the underlying factors of capital accumulation through construction and its impacts on createion and intensification of environmental disasters in the Tehran city-region.

  Five different regions of Tehran were selected for data collection. "Q-methodology" was used for gathering and analyzing data. The society of communication or people whom the study sought to identify their mentality towards the research topic, were 25 experts selected through purposive sampling. To set the concourse of communication, a combination of primary (experts commented in an interview) and secondary (sources of credit) sources have been used and   34 statements have been developed. After sorting the data for analysis, SPSS software data matrix is ​​formed. Factor analysis, as main method of analyzing Q data matrix has been used based on Q logical methodology.

The results of Q analysis depicted four viewpoints with variance of 95.911 percent on the underlying cause of capital accumulation through construction and its contribution on increasing risk of natural hazards in Tehran city-region.

The first viewpoint has devoted 52.800 percent of total variances and can be titled as" Function of real estate transaction and Non-productive economic domination".

The second viewpoint which has received 18.914 percent of total variances is accordance with "commodification of land and housing". The third viewpoint is" management and monitoring of the city-region space" with 15.163 percent of total variances.  The fourth viewpoints under the title of" monitoring and control of natural resources" has assigned 9.034 percent of total variances.

As result of these processes, land and housing business have weakened society's productive capacity by extensive land use change in the urban peripheral area's due to its huge and quick profit. The above process accompany with selling excess density policy created a powerful political and economic stratum which harmed city sustainable development. The mountainous area of north, north east and west of Tehran, have annexed to metropolis as a result of above mentioned regulation and  may gardens have converted to construction by different gropes and institutions.

Q method analysis depicted that the Tehran City-Region has converted from use value to exchange value. It means that values of the city including work, security, education, leisure and welfare have been lost in favor of exchange value. In other words, the city has been converted to a commodity for exchange and selling in pursuit of profit, rising cost of urban land, building and housing. Consequently, the city-region construction site is extended to the river beds, steep slops and surrounding natural environment. This in turn is leading to rapid land use change and violation of environmental and spatial rules and regulations and intensification of environmental hazards.