A comparative study of urban resilience in coping with the crisis in the metropolises of Tehran and Mashhad

Abstract

PurposeIn recent years, cities have been facing economic, social and environmental crises that need to be prevented and dealt with. The new subject that has been brought up to improve city resistance to crises is urban resilience. The purpose of this study is to compare the resilience of Tehran and Mashhad to identify the strengths and weaknesses of these two cities for better planning in critical situations.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology is a comparative survey. The importance of the subject was manifested through a literature review. A questionnaire is designed using “the Rockefeller Foundation and ARUP’s model” and the Delphi method for testing 21 research hypotheses to evaluate resilience in the two cities (12 Delphi questionnaires and 232 urban resilience questionnaires). The data is analyzed using independent samples t-test by SPSS software.FindingsThe results show that both the cities are weak in terms of resilience indicators and sub-indicators, but Mashhad is more resilient than Tehran.Originality/valueThis paper compares urban resilience in Iran for the first time through a comparative study between two metropolises in the country. The Delphi method also is used for the first time (in Iranian case studies) to obtain the dimensions of urban resilience. By comparing the two cities, we can better understand their strengths and weaknesses.