Tehran , the 200-year-old capital | Pirouz Hanachi | TEDxUniversityofTehran

Choosing Tehran as the Capital

• The city of Tehran is being discussed in the context of its 250-year history as the capital of Iran, dating back to the time of Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, who defeated Lotf Ali Khan Zand and became the ruler of the entire country (31s).
• After a month-long siege, Lotf Ali Khan Zand was captured and brought to Tehran, where he was imprisoned, and his tomb can still be found in the Imamzadeh neighborhood of Tehran's market (1m16s).
• Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar ordered the exhumation of Karim Khan Zand's remains, which were then buried under the stairs leading to the throne, symbolizing his victory over the Zand dynasty (1m35s).
• Following his experiences in the wars of the Safavid and Afsharid periods, Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar was searching for a suitable location for his capital, considering factors such as security and development potential (1m55s).
• He rejected Tibriz, Qazvin, and Isfahan as potential capitals due to their past experiences with invasions and lack of development capacity (2m5s).
• Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar ultimately chose Tehran as his capital due to its natural security features, including the Alborz mountains, which provided protection from the north, and the fertile plains and abundant water supply from the mountains (3m9s).
• The name "Tehran" was first mentioned in the Farsnameh in the third century AH, and prior to that, the city of Rey was the prominent metropolis in the region (3m34s).
• Tehran's climate, water supply, and fertile soil made it an attractive location, and it has been mentioned in historical accounts since the pre-Mongol invasion era (3m52s).

Tehran's Early Development and Expansion

• Tehran had a wall built during the Safavid era, known as the Tahmasbi wall, which was encountered by Agha Mohammad Khan when he arrived in the city (4m27s).
• The city of Tehran during the Safavid era had four or five neighborhoods, including the Oudlajan neighborhood, the Bazaar neighborhood, the Sanglaj neighborhood, the Chal Meydan neighborhood, and the Bazaar (4m46s).
• The initial development of Tehran during the Qajar era was still contained within the Safavid-era wall, but the city eventually expanded beyond it, and the population grew from around 15,000 people (5m20s).
• The old wall of Tehran had five gates, named after the five holy figures in Islam, while the new wall built during the Qajar era had 12 gates (5m28s).
• The expansion of the city from the Tahmasbi wall to the Naseri wall can be seen in images, showing how the old walls were destroyed and replaced with the current streets of Tehran (5m39s).
• The Naseri wall eventually replaced the Safavid-era wall and became the central historical part of the city, with the gates becoming part of the city's historical memory (6m22s).

Documenting Tehran's History Through Photography

• The emergence of photography and filmmaking in Iran during the late Qajar and early Pahlavi periods allowed for the documentation of the city's development (6m40s).
• Walter Emil Hölster, a Swiss pilot and entrepreneur, is considered one of the pioneers of photography in Iran, and his work provides valuable documentation of the city's history (7m1s).
• Iran has a collection of 2000 glass plate photographs, some of which are now in the Golestan Palace, showcasing various scenes and events from the past (7m35s).
• These photographs were taken by an individual who, upon their death, had their belongings, including the photographs, sent to Germany, where they were discovered in a basement by chance (7m48s).
• The photographs were later published in the form of books and films, providing valuable insights into Iran's past, including aerial views of the country (8m12s).
• Marion I. Holster, a photographer, took aerial photographs of Tehran by bringing a camera on board an airplane, capturing images such as the Bagh Shah and Kamali Street (8m31s).
• The photographs also depict the gates of Tehran, which were closed at night, and the city's fortifications, which were the primary means of security at the time (9m6s).

Tehran's Streets and Gates

• Lalezar Street was the first street built in Tehran during the Qajar period, following the monarchs' trips to Europe (9m27s).
• Although many of Tehran's gates, such as the Customs Gate and the Dolab Gate, are no longer standing, their names are still remembered (9m42s).

Tehran's Natural Features and Water Supply

• Tehran, as a city, has been the capital of Iran for over 200 years and is known for its natural characteristics, but its positive features are often overlooked or forgotten (9m57s).
• Tehran is a city where nature is within reach, with the city's mountains and natural scenery being just a 30-minute drive away, regardless of where you are in the city (10m31s).
• The city receives 240 million cubic meters of water annually from the surrounding mountains, which feeds dozens of qanats (traditional Iranian water supply systems) (10m45s).
• However, these qanats have become a source of trouble in modern-day Tehran, causing massive holes to open up in the ground as they naturally guide water downhill and create new paths when blocked (11m1s).
• The city's natural water supply is also threatened, as the water flowing from the mountains quickly becomes wastewater and is directed downhill (11m30s).

Tehran's Potential and Growth

• Tehran has the potential to become a global city, with its unique capacity and characteristics (11m41s).
• The city's Valiasr Street, which stretches for 220 kilometers, is lined with 18,000 90-year-old plane trees and connects the southernmost points of Tehran to its northernmost points (11m46s).
• Over the past 200 years, Tehran has expanded rapidly, with significant growth occurring in the years 1270, 1300, 1320, 1334, 1342, and 1357, and continuing into the present day (12m17s).
• Despite its growth, Tehran still has the potential to be a suitable capital city, but its current development approach is unsustainable (13m13s).

Addressing Tehran's Challenges and Learning from Global Experiences

• The current method of managing the city has not been correct, and the biggest task is to prevent incorrect actions from happening and to pay attention to values and invest in them (13m35s).
• The global experience shows that the problems of a metropolis can be solved, as seen in London in 1952 when the city faced inversion and pollution due to the use of coal for heating, resulting in 30,000 deaths in one day and 100,000 hospitalizations (14m1s).
• After this incident, the people of London quickly realized that the city could not be managed in this way, and recently, it was announced that the use of coal in England has come to an end for industrial consumption and in cities (14m47s).
• Closer experiences also exist, such as in Beijing two decades ago, which was one of the most polluted cities in the world, but today the United Nations refers to Beijing as a new global phenomenon (15m28s).
• In Beijing, fossil fuel buses are no longer seen, taxis and cars are electric, and motorcycles have been converted to electric, and a major economic surgery has taken place, including the closure of an iron smelting factory near the city (15m35s).

Solutions for Tehran's Future

• If asked whether it is possible to reform the metropolis, the answer is yes, by creating poles of attraction and providing conditions that allow people to move voluntarily, which will certainly happen and be a blessing (16m10s).
• In Tehran, with a budget of 999 million, one can barely afford to rent or buy a 50-50 meter apartment in the city, but 50 kilometers away, it's possible to own a villa with a yard, highlighting the need for social and economic policies to address transportation and infrastructure issues (16m39s).
• The government should provide transportation services to connect distant areas to the city, as seen in other parts of the world, such as France, where the development of the railway system connected distant points to Paris, facilitating growth and development (17m11s).

Cultural Heritage and Ethical Governance

• Iran is a culturally rich country with a long history, and many of its literary works, such as those by Saadi and Hafez, contain solutions to today's problems, emphasizing the importance of ethics and morality in addressing current challenges (17m41s).
• Hafez's poetry advises against doing wrong and seeking what is unlawful, and instead, promotes unity and equality among people, regardless of their social status, highlighting the need for a moral approach to governance and decision-making (18m8s).
• In times of economic hardship, it's essential to avoid making things worse and instead, focus on finding solutions that promote the well-being of all members of society, rather than just a select few (18m29s).
• The key to resolving Tehran's problems lies in investing in the quality of life, proper city management, and addressing the city's challenges, rather than just focusing on short-term gains or personal interests (19m0s).

Appreciating Tehran's Quality and Slowing Down

• A famous Persian song, "Salam Aliakom," is mentioned as an example of the country's rich cultural heritage, with the lyrics emphasizing the importance of respect, kindness, and compassion towards others (19m20s).
• In the city of Isfahan, there was a revered figure who would walk through the market, and people would greet him with "salam" so frequently that it became a continuous rhythm, illustrating the importance of slowing down to appreciate the city's quality (19m40s).
• To think about the quality of a city, one must reduce the speed of movement, as high speeds, such as 100 kilometers per hour, prevent people from noticing the city's details, whereas walking or cycling allows for a better appreciation of the city's aspects (20m13s).
• The goal is not to reduce the speed of movement for those living in the city but to increase the development of public transportation, rather than high-speed roads, which is the key to improving the quality of cities (20m49s).
• As a result, pedestrian and cycling paths are being expanded to allow people to understand the city's details and human relationships at a moderate speed (21m2s).

The Question of Relocating the Capital

• Tehran can remain the capital and should remain so, and in the global experiences of transferring capitals, no ordinary transfers have occurred since 1960, with some countries, like Japan, studying the possibility of relocating their capital, Tokyo, for 50 years without making a decision (21m19s).
• Countries that have relocated their capitals have done so for various reasons, such as political factors, like the former Soviet Union, or geographical factors, like Kazakhstan, which moved its capital from Almaty to Astana to be in the center of the country and away from earthquake-prone areas (21m51s).
• There are more rational and cost-effective ways to address the issue, rather than relocating the capital (22m14s).
• The decision of the capital is left to God. (22m21s)