The Hidden Cost of Building Permits in Tehran

Tehran faces a water shortage, yet construction there continues. Every new building can house more people in the capital, increasing demand for water and other urban services. Abbas Akhundi, former Minister of Roads and Urban Development, believes policymakers should consider this link when issuing building permits. At the fifth 'City and Water' session, he asked: 'Isn't every building permit effectively a virtual water permit?'

Housing and urban development: this meeting titled "Water crisis and the future of Iranian cities; From the issue of water to the issue of governance" and was held with the presence of Akhundi, Seyyed Mohammad Beheshti, an architect and researcher of cultural heritage, and Habib Jabari, a sociologist of economics and development. All three speakers addressed the same issue from a different angle: Why does the crisis continue despite decades of investment in water supply?

Tehran consumes less water, but it has become thirstier

Referring to a report about Tehran's water crisis in 1355, Akhundi said that since then, policy-making has been mainly focused on controlling household consumption and tiered tariffs. According to him, per capita water consumption has decreased from about 250 liters to 180 liters, but Tehran's water problem has not been solved.

He looks for the reason on the other side of the equation: Tehran has received more population in these years, construction has expanded, and with the sale of density, the city's residential capacity has increased. In such a situation, reducing the consumption of each citizen does not necessarily lead to reducing the consumption of the whole city.

From Akhundi's point of view, the main problem is that the city management first decides for development, and then the responsible institutions must provide the water it needs. He suggested that this arrangement be reversed; First, the ceiling of Tehran's water resources should be determined, and then urban development, industrial and other activities plans should be adapted to it.

Warning about the construction of towers around the metro

One of the important parts of Akhundi's speech was related to the development policy based on public transportation or TOD; A policy that is linked in Tehran with the increase of construction capacity around metro stations.

Akhundi warned that if the result of this policy is only to increase the density and build towers around the stations, more people will settle in a city whose water resources are limited. According to him, the development of public transport should help reduce the concentration of the population, not become a license for more loading.

He also called for the amendment of building regulations; From the separation of drinking water and other uses to the recycling of gray water, the use of rainwater and changing the way of watering green spaces.

Beheshti: We lack water, but we are not thirsty anymore

In the same meeting, Seyyed Mohammad Beheshti examined the issue from a historical and cultural perspective. He said that the Iranian society has lived with water scarcity for centuries and this limitation has affected architecture, agriculture and the way settlements are established.

Beheshti said, referring to the aqueducts, cities like Yazd and the traditional rules of water distribution: "We lack water, but we are no longer thirsty." By thirst, he meant awareness and sensitivity towards the value of water; The sensitivity that he believes has been weakened in the development method of the last few decades.

He explained that in the past, water was owned and divided and this issue affected the type of economic activity. According to Beheshti, "as long as water was owned, nothing was produced with this water that was less valuable than water."

Beheshti believes that in the past decades, the dominant response to water shortages has been to find new sources by digging wells, building dams, or transferring water. Referring to Khuzestan's experience, he said that interfering with the natural flow of rivers has sometimes reduced a problem, but has created new problems such as soil salinity.

His conclusion was: "In the last seventy years, we have solved more problems than solving problems."

Instead of going towards the water, the industry drew the water towards itself

Habib Jabari, a sociologist of economy and development, considered the root of the crisis in the way of planning and governance. According to him, in official reports, the number of dams, transmission lines, and the amount of investment are usually recorded, but what effect these projects have had on aquifers and the possibility of continuing life in different areas is rarely investigated.

Jabari pointed to the establishment of water-bearing industries in central water-scarce areas. He said that despite the emphasis of land planning documents on the establishment of such industries in areas with suitable resources, especially the coasts, some of the industries have been established in low-water areas, and now transferring water to these areas has become a demand.

According to him, the same pattern is repeated in urban development: first, the population and economic activity increase, and then the responsible institutions must find a solution to supply the required water.

Jabari also considered the inconsistency of administrative boundaries with catchment areas as an obstacle to water management. A watershed may be divided among several provinces, while each province pursues its own interests. The result can be the intensification of the difference between the upstream and downstream areas.

How big can the city get?

The statements of three experts finally reach a common question: should the development of cities and industries be subject to the capacity of water resources or should water supply adapt to each new decision for development?

This question is of special importance for Tehran. A city that faces both the limitation of water resources and the policy of increasing the construction capacity in some of its areas.

With the term "virtual water license", Mukhoni draws attention to a cost that is not often seen in the usual calculations of issuing building permits. The municipality may be making money from construction today, but providing water to the population that will inhabit the new buildings is a commitment that will continue for years.