Cities 28 (2011) 545–556

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Cities
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cities

A master plan for low carbon and resilient housing: The 35 ha area
in Hashtgerd New Town, Iran
Sebastian Seelig ⇑
Technische Universität Berlin, Hardenbergstraße 40a, 10623 Berlin, Germany

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: With 60% of the population younger than 26 years, a need of about 1.5 million residential units per year
Available online 23 July 2011 for the next 5 years and the necessity of mitigating its rapidly growing GHG emissions together with
adapting cities to the expected drastic effects of climate change, Iran’s urban agglomerations are facing
Keywords: tremendous challenges now and in the future. The paper presents interim findings of the German–Iranian
Iran research initiative ‘‘Young Cities’’ (2005–2013) that investigates approaches for these immense chal-
Climate change lenges. The project aims at developing energy-efficient and resilient housing in a real-life pilot project,
Urban planning
the 35 ha area in Hashtgerd New Town in the Tehran province. The article explores the framing condi-
Urban design
Mitigation
tions and the master plan of this pilot and identifies four key planning strategies. Besides applying cli-
Adaptation mate-sensitive urban form, the project stresses the need to develop culturally adapted building
typologies for reduced heating and cooling, an efficient public transport in a mixed and dense urban
structure and integrated water and energy systems on the neighborhood level. Simulations of these plan-
ning approaches have proven a significant reduction of energy- and resource consumption and the capac-
ity of the design to adapt to (a potentially changing) environment. These promising strategies for energy-
efficiency and resilience were transferred into a legally binding comprehensive plan commissioned in
October 2010, though the major challenge in the second phase of the project (2011–2013) will be making
these innovations a built reality.
Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction: urban growth and climate change in Iran
This article presents interim findings of the German–Iranian re-
search initiative ‘‘Young Cities’’ (2005–2013) that investigates
strategies for building energy-efficient and resilient neighborhoods
in the Tehran megacity region based on the case study of Hasht-
gerd New Town. The article focuses on the master plan for the
so-called 35 ha area, an urban design pilot project in Hashtgerd,
which has been bilaterally elaborated since 2005. The paper com-
mences with a brief overview of the current challenges related to
climate change with special emphasis on the role of the built envi-
ronment in Iran, and next proceeds to outline the 35 ha pilot pro-
ject, including its responsible stakeholders, its master plan and the
key planning strategies that were applied in its development pro-
cess. The author thus highlights promising strategies but also cur-
rent challenges to developing low carbon and resilient urban form
in Hashtgerd New Town, Iran.
In the last 30 years, Iran’s population has doubled, reaching 73
million inhabitants in 2010, with a median age of only 23.5 years.
Besides this natural demographic development, massive rural–
⇑ Tel.: +49 (0)30 314 28118; fax: +49 (0)30 314 28150.
E-mail address: seelig@youngcities.org
urban migration has led to an explosive urbanization process
(Roudi-Fahimi & Mederios, 2007) with serious social, ecological
and economic consequences (such as social segregation and gender
inequities, pollution of air and water, unemployment and a lack of
urban services) (Modarres, 2006a, 2006b). Though birth rates have
plummeted since the mid-1980s, the enormous pressure on cities
remains unchanged – in 2007 the Iranian Ministry of Housing
and Urban Development estimated the need for about 1.5 million
new housing units per year until 2013. This deficit and a lack of
alternatives for long-term investments in Iran are certain to keep
the construction sector booming in the years to come. Thus the
quality of current and future building activities will affect Iran’s
energy consumption and GHG-emissions for decades: 30% of the
country’s entire energy consumption can be traced to the residen-
tial sector, and an additional 27% to the closely related transport
sector (see Fig. 2) (World Resources Institute, 2009). Energy con-
sumption in Iran has steadily increased during the past century,
with domestic primary energy consumption doubling every decade
since the 1950s. Because 99% of the country’s primary energy
needs are met with oil and gas, carbon emissions have also in-
creased continuously (Bakhtiari & Shahbudaghlou, 2000). On a
world wide scale Iran accounts for approximately 1.3% of total car-
bon emissions, ranking number eleven among global CO2-emitters
in 2007 (Boden, 2010).

0264-2751/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.cities.2011.06.001
546 S. Seelig / Cities 28 (2011) 545–556
Due to the rising energy demand and the impact of the built envi-
ronment on GHG-emissions, sustainable housing is crucial for miti-
gating climate change in Iran. At the same time, adaption to
climate change is also a critical challenge for the country since 82%
of its territory is located in arid and semi-arid climate zones and dra-
matic impacts are expected (Amiri & Eslamian, 2010). It is estimated
that if the CO2-concentration doubles by the year 2100 (based on sce-
narios IS92a, IS92c, IS92e), the average temperature in Iran will in-
crease by 1.5–4.5 °C, causing significant changes in water
resources, agriculture, land use and energy demand. The effects will
be severe, especially regarding water and energy supply, for example
to cover increased cooling needs. The demand for electricity is esti-
mated to increase by about 20,000 MW in the next 50 years (Climate
Change Office of Iran, 2007). Minimizing GHG-emissions and
enabling the newly constructed urban fabric to adapt to changing
environmental conditions therefore requires major attention now
and in the near future.
Tehran Metropolitan Region, which is one of the most rapidly
growing agglomerations in the Middle East, exemplifies these tre-
mendous challenges. In 2006 the region had approximately 13.4
million inhabitants (Statistical Center of Iran, 2006) who held
70% of Iran’s economic and financial powers, making it the politi-
cal, economic and cultural center of the country (Fanni, 2006). De-
spite the fact that the city of Tehran only occupies 1.2% of Iran’s
total landmass, it houses 20% of its population and about 35% of
the country’s industries (Tehran Geographic Information Centre,
2004). More than half of Iran’s CO2 is emitted by the transport sec-
tor and by power plants, and most energy is consumed by indus-
tries, transport and the residential sectors (see Figs. 1 and 2). It is
therefore safe to assume that Tehran province is responsible for a
large share of the country’s total CO2-emissions, though empiri-
cally sound data is currently not available.
The role of the built environment in Iran’s rising GHG-emissions
A closer look into practices and policies concerning Iran’s built
environment reveals the main drivers and defines the starting
points for reducing GHG-emissions within the presented research
project. Energy consumption related to buildings holds the highest
share in the country (see Fig. 2) due to fast and cheap construction
practices often without building insulations or double-glazed win-
dows (Kari & Fayaz, 2006). On the urban scale, insufficient urban
design aggravates the problems. Since the 1930s traditional urban
patterns, which were entirely adapted to the country’s climatic
conditions, have increasingly been abandoned (Kheirabadi, 2000).
This transformation is rooted in the modernization process that Ir-
an’s cities underwent especially under Reza Shah Pahlavi, which
was characterized by imported Western designs without consider-
ation of local characteristics or climatic conditions (Mazayan &
Diba, 2004). This modernist approach also heavily encouraged
automobile use by adapting urban form to the new technology
(Madanipour, 1998; Modarres, 2006a, 2006b). Due to the absence
of functional public transportation systems this has made the
transport sector one of the major energy consumers in Iran as well
as the largest emitter of CO2 (see Figs. 1 and 2) (World Bank, 2003).
Widespread use of inefficient vehicles has added to the significant
Transportation
8.70%
Power Plants
27.50%
15.10%
Industries
Household/Commercial
24.40%
Fig. 1. Emission of CO2 by main pollutants in 2003. Source: Sabetghadam (2006).
Industry
4% Transport
27%
30% Agriculture
Commercial
Residential
8% 4% 27% Non Energy
Fig. 2. Energy consumption by sector in 2005. Source: World Resources Institute
(2009).
levels of pollution in Iran’s cities. In Tehran, vehicles account for
more than 70% of air pollution, making it one of the most polluted
cities on Earth (Muir, 2007). Modernization not only affected urban
form and infrastructure but also policies and regulations, especially
since the 1950s, when comprehensive planning was introduced
based on existing American models (Farhoodi, Gharakhlou-N,
Ghadami, & Panahandeh Khah, 2009). This technocratic approach,
which still prevails in Iran, overemphasizes physical planning
and operates from the top down. Besides lacking possibilities for
stakeholder participation, plans often fail to consider economic
and social goals (Madanipour, 1998). These instruments leave little
room for innovation and are therefore not suitable for the multilay-
ered, complex problems related to climate change. Numerous Ira-
nian building regulations were also elaborated according to
Western models. For example the ‘‘mass and space’’ regulation that
is common in Tehran prohibits buildings to cover more than 60% of
their plot. This has greatly influenced the city’s building form by
fostering the construction of higher, extroverted apartment
buildings that are not adapted to the local climate and culture
but that have nevertheless become the dominant housing type
(Mirmoghtadaee, 2009). Energy systems also contribute to rising
GHG-emissions; most houses in Iran are heated and cooled with
individual devices that are powered by electricity supplied by
highly inefficient central oil driven plants. Energy-efficient supply
systems are barely employed and the use of renewable energies
is negligible (Atabi, 2004). In addition excessive energy
consumption in Iran is fueled by high energy subsidies, estimated
to be the highest in the world (total of US$ 55 billion in 2007,
Daneshdoust, 2010). Subsidy rates of the different energy carriers
vary between 62% and 98% with the transport and residential
sectors being the most heavily subsidized sectors (International
Energy Agency (IEA), 2005). This has left a legacy of inefficient
energy use and excessive fuel dependence – problems that the gov-
ernment is recently trying to address with the so-called ‘‘economic
evolution plan’’. The plan will gradually eliminate subsidies and
simultaneously provide cash to poor inhabitants in order to
mitigate the impact of rising utility bills, which are expected to
increase by at least 40% (Erdbrink, 2010). Consequently energy-
efficiency has suddenly become a high priority on the Iranian
government’s political agenda.
Young Cities – approaching energy-efficient and resilient
housing in Iran
Observing the drastic impacts of climate change to be expected,
examining the huge mitigation potential and considering a rising
political awareness for energy-efficiency in the Tehran–Karaj re-
gion, the ‘‘Young Cities’’ project aims at developing methodological
and applicable solutions for low carbon and resilient housing in the
specific climatic, cultural and economic context of Iran. On the
German side, the project is directed by Technische Universitaet
Berlin, in cooperation with two further Berlin-based universities,
and various companies and consultancies. On the Iranian side,
the project is directed by the Building and Housing Research Center
(BHRC), which is directly subordinated to the Iranian Ministry for
 S. Seelig / Cities 28 (2011) 545–556
Housing and Urban Development. The New Towns Development
Corporation of Iran (NTDC), the Housing Investment Company
(HIC) and a range of consulting companies, academic institutions
and NGOs supplement the Iranian consortium. Research within
the ‘‘Young Cities’’ project focuses on four main fields (see Fig. 3),
ranging from urban development (first ‘‘Strategic Dimension’’) to
infrastructure systems (second ‘‘Strategic Dimension’’) and archi-
tecture (third ‘‘Strategic Dimension). A fourth module works on
crosscutting issues such as project management, environmental
assessment and capacity development (see Fig. 3).
Their main research questions are:
 Which strategies and methodologies are needed to create
energy-efficient and resilient housing in Iran?
 How can they be applied in concrete planning and design solu-
tions in Hashtgerd New Town?
 Which instruments are viable for replication in other parts of
Iran and the region?
The research project expects to produce the following outcome
after its full 5-year duration:
 Criteria and objectives for energy-efficient and resilient urban
development in Hashtgerd New Town and other semi-arid
regions on the neighborhood scale.
 Appropriate planning and design strategies tested on the basis
of pilot projects, including their evaluation according to the pro-
ject goals.
 Policies for urban planning and design for climate change in
Iran that might result in adapted or new planning codes on
the local, regional and even national level.
The project follows a ‘‘research-by-design’’ approach, in which sci-
entific results are derived from the planning and realization process of
various pilot projects that will successively be implemented in Hasht-
gerd New Town, a settlement that lies 80 km west of Tehran. The pilot
projects include a number of single buildings such as the ‘‘New Qual-
ity’’ residential building, which was inaugurated in July 2010, as well
as larger urban design projects such as the 35 ha area settlement.
The city of Hashtgerd is located in an arid climate zone with
semi-arid characteristics and an annual mean temperature of just
below 18 °C (Koeppen, 1900). The area lies at a relatively high alti-
tude of 1350 m in direct vicinity of the Alborz mountains, and
therefore in winter receives significant precipitation (average of
280 mm/year). Thus Hashtgerd’s climate can be characterized by
cold winters and warm and dry summers (Nasrollahi, 2010).
With a target population of 500,000 inhabitants, Hashtgerd
New Town is the largest of Iran’s new towns (Ziari, 2006). It was
planned in the 1980s, and is the built manifesto of the govern-
ment’s ambition to attract migration away from Tehran and Karaj
Fig. 3. Set-up of the Young Cities project. Source: TU Berlin.
547
into the surrounding new towns. Hashtgerd was supposed to at-
tract diverse income groups and economic activities in order to
keep pace with the area’s residential development. In addition,
the government also aimed at ecological qualities by promoting
public transportation and offering green spaces (New Towns
Development Corporation of Iran, 1993). As a result the master
plan proposes 25 neighborhood units for 20,000 residents each,
that are separated by large green spaces and equipped with facili-
ties such as shopping centers, leisure centers and a university, all of
which are organized in a grid pattern (see Fig. 4). However, after
20 years, the New Town’s development has not lived up to these
ambitious plans: mono-functional five-floor apartment blocks that
are separated by vast open spaces dominate the city. Housing is
strictly organized in terraced buildings with a North-to-South ori-
entation that creates uniform urban spaces that lack a spatial hier-
archy (see Fig. 5). The city’s unattractive image is due to a serious
lack of infrastructure (such as poor public transportation), a num-
ber of unsolved environmental issues (such as the absence of a lo-
cal wastewater treatment plant), and its slow economic
development, most notably its lack of sufficient employment
opportunities. These shortcomings have significantly slowed
Hashtgerd’s growth, so that in 2008 it only had approximately
16,000 inhabitants (Paykadeh Consultants, 2008).
The 35 ha area as central demonstration grounds for the Young
Cities project
The Young Cities research project plans to build an energy-
efficient and resilient urban settlement within Hashtgerd. The
35 ha area in the southern part of Hashtgerd (see Fig. 4) was
chosen by the Iranian partners for development as the central
demonstration area of the Young Cities’ research results. The pilot
project aims at demonstrating a range of innovations in the areas
of urban planning, urban design, architecture, landscape planning,
transportation planning, climatology, water-, waste water- and en-
ergy management, participation, and environmental assessment.
The joint planning process is expected to also enhance the capaci-
ties of the partners on both sides. The main goals of the pilot are:
 To develop approaches in all involved dimensions for minimiz-
ing energy consumption (and thus the emission of CO2) and
adapting to the expected effects of climate change in Hashtgerd
New Town.
 To arrive at concepts that minimize technical complexity and
costs.
 To enforce solutions, which are adapted to the cultural, climatic
and social context and that build on the traditional regional
knowledge of energy-efficient and resilient settlements.
 To plan in an integrated manner, creating as many closed
resource loops as possible.
548 S. Seelig / Cities 28 (2011) 545–556

Fig. 4. Hashtgerd New Town master plan. The 35 ha is marked in black. Source: TU Berlin.

Fig. 5. Hashtgerd New Town. Source: TU Berlin.

 To implement solutions that are economically viable and
include a wide group of potential residents.
 To support all planning activities with awareness raising and
capacity building measures.
According to the effective master plan of the New Town
(approved in 1993 and revised in 2009) the 35 ha area is projected
to become a neighborhood with 2000 housing units for 8000
inhabitants. The master plan defines strategic social, economic,
and environmental development goals and designates land uses
and densities, and is therefore the central instrument for Hasht-
gerd New Town’s development. Since the Young Cities project aims
at respecting effective national, regional and local regulations, the
existing land use regulations and quantities for the 35 ha area were
 S. Seelig / Cities 28 (2011) 545–556
adopted with only one exception concerning the category of mixed
uses. The proposed land uses on the 35 ha include:
Land use Details Share on
35 ha area (%)
Residential Min. 35a
Mixed-use Residential, commercial, Max. 10a
social
Office New Towns Development 3
Corporation Office
Retail 2
Education Kindergarten, primary 4
school, secondary school
Culture/ Mosque, library 1
religion
Open space Including constructed 32
wetlands
Infrastructure Streets, parking 13
a
Mixed-use areas combined with residential areas; a maximum share of 10% of
other than residential uses of the total residential areas is permitted.
The Young Cities project connects research and realization
activities, which is why research institutions and practitioners
are involved on both sides. The Iranian research consortium is
led by BHRC, which coordinates all activities in Iran and is respon-
sible for all research related issues in Iran. Another important
stakeholder on the governmental level is the Ministry of Housing
and Urban Development (MHUD) that is responsible for the
Iranian New Towns program, including the formulation of its
development goals and monitoring implementation (Ziari, 2006).
The Iranian New Towns program aims at managing and control-
ling the rapid population growth in the large cities by offering
new employment opportunities, overcoming urban housing prob-
lems and preventing the formation of informal settlements (Atash,
2000). By 2002, 18 New Towns were under construction in Iran
(Ziari, 2006). The ministry also oversees the NTDC, which is the
central development agency for the new towns program through-
out Iran. This national holding forms the third important Iranian
partner within the Young Cities project. NTDC headquarters
establishes a local branch in each New Town that is developed.
This local NTDC acts like a municipal authority in all issues
concerning the town’s development by bringing together the
responsibilities of all relevant national ministries and local admin-
istrative actors. This includes issuing building permits, defining
rules and standards of construction, providing urban services,
supervising construction and concluding the sales and transfer of
properties. The local NTDC manages the New Town until it is
handed over to the relevant municipal organizations, which usu-
ally takes approximately 25 years (Assmann, 2007; Ziari, 2006).
The local NTDC branch in Hashtgerd forms the fourth important
partner in the project.
Site development on the 35 ha area pilot project
Two processes of site development are common in Iranian New
Towns. The first process, which prevailed during the first decade of
Hashtgerd’s development, leaves the responsibility for infrastruc-
ture provision with the NTDC. After selling the plot to the (private,
half-governmental or governmental) developer, NTDC was respon-
sible for developing the site including all necessary technical and
social infrastructures. Infrastructure provision was financed by
selling the land to a developer. In recent years the NTDC has
increasingly adopted an alternative ‘‘partnership’’ approach, in
which large portions of land are distributed to one developer,
who constructs the site’s infrastructure. Since the NTDC provides
549
the construction site all revenues are shared after the units are sold
at arranged rates (Assmann et al., 2007). This partnership arrange-
ment is also intended for the 35 ha area which is owned by NTDC
but shall be distributed to HIC. The HIC is an Iranian public joint
stock company and one of country’s largest mass constructors.
The project will be financed by the HIC but presumably supported
by governmental subsidies since a recent internal feasibility study
(Faulenach, 2010) showed that building costs will be substantially
higher than in common housing developments in Hashtgerd New
Town. This is due to the quality of construction and the complexity
of infrastructure solutions. It is currently being discussed within
the Young Cities project whether or not to enlist in the ‘‘Mehr’’
scheme, a governmental program that was launched in 2007 with
the aim to provide housing for the low and middle income sections
of Iranian society. Developers in this scheme receive the construc-
tion site for free in order to erect residential housing for first-time
home owners on the basis of 99-year lease contracts.
The division of labor between Iranian and German partners for
the 35 ha development follows the same logic in all phases of the
35 ha – though responsibilities vary in each pilot project. Within
the 35 ha the German side develops conceptual ideas, transforms
them into technical concepts and elaborates their basic design in
close coordination with the Iranian partners. They, especially the
partners at MHUD, NHRC and NTDC generally hold the power of
decision-making and facilitate the planning process. They are final-
ly responsible for the detailed and approval planning as well as for
realization, which is supported by Iranian consulting engineers.
Moreover the Iranian side finances all construction activities. Sci-
entific monitoring and support is shared between TU Berlin and
BHRC according to interest and expertise. The work flow is secured
in frequent workshops and meetings in Hashtgerd New Town,
Tehran and Berlin, and by sharing an online-based data sever and
an online-GIS-platform.
The first two years after the research project’s initiation in 2005
were used for its set-up, including development of the project
structure and building partnerships. During this phase the
German–Iranian teams discussed common goals and project strat-
egies for the 35 ha area and elaborated initial planning scenarios.
From 2007 to 2009, one planning scenario was developed into a
full master plan by the German side. In 2010 the German and Ira-
nian partners elaborated a legally binding comprehensive plan
(Persian: ‘‘Tarh-e Tafsili’’) together, which was commissioned in
October 2010. Transferring the master plan into the ‘‘Tarh-e
Tafsili’’ revealed the need for strong instruments to maintain inno-
vations in effective planning law. It also showed that comprehen-
sive plans in Iran mainly concentrate on technical planning
elements such as land use and plot ratio, but lack the necessary
depth of control and the integration of objectives concerning
climate change, such as the use of renewable energy sources or
gray water recycling. Thus a range of regulatory possibilities were
identified in the comparable German planning instrument, and the
‘‘Tarh-e Tafsili’’ was enhanced with several energy and resource-
related regulations, though the planning document and process
followed Iranian planning law. In a next step the ‘‘Land Prepara-
tion Plan’’ (‘‘Tarh-e-Amadehsazi’’) and the architectural plans will
be elaborated. The Young Cities project aims to start constructing
the first buildings in 2011.
Low carbon planning strategies in the 35 ha pilot project
The following section presents the master plan for the 35 ha area,
concentrating on the design strategies and criteria, with reference to
the responsible partners in footnotes. Before the pilot project is
explored in more detail, the main characteristics of the traditional
Iranian city and their climatic advantages shall be briefly
550 S. Seelig / Cities 28 (2011) 545–556
Fig. 6. 35 ha area master plan. Source: TU Berlin.
summarized, which form the underlying spatial rationale of the ur-
ban design:
 The access system in the historic city based on pedestrian
movement that is composed of different sized pathways facili-
tates a clear spatial hierarchy from public to private spheres
(Kheirabadi, 2000).
 The introverted courtyard house, omnipresent in the traditional
Iranian city, combines privacy, social interaction and protection
against climate, in addition to providing light in the interior
(Manzoor, 1989).
 The compact, attached housing arrangement minimizes the
amount of exposed surfaces (reducing cooling and heating
demand) and provides thermal comfort by creating external
spaces sheltered from direct sunlight (Kheirabadi, 2000).
 Narrow lanes bordered by high walls in the densely built tradi-
tional city structure create well-shaded spaces during hot sum-
mer afternoons and protect inhabitants against harmful winds
(Kheirabadi, 2000).
 In the historic cities of Iran the proximity of land uses, though
functionally separated by the access network, provides an
appropriate amount of privacy and easy accessibility of services
at the same time (Manzoor, 1989).
These characteristics can be found throughout the region of
‘‘Islamic Urbanism’’ (Ehlers, Bonine, Krafft, & Stober, 1994), and
form the basic principles for the 35 ha area’s urban design, though
they were adapted to contemporary needs e.g. concerning path
dimensions and building sizes.
Climate-sensitive urban form1
Climate-sensitive urban form based on passive design bears
considerable mitigation and adaptation potentials by reducing en-
ergy consumption especially for cooling and heating without losing
thermal comfort. The 35 ha area exploits this potential by referring
to the traditional Iranian city whose characteristics translate into a
dense and compact urban form with a clear hierarchy of public,
semi-private and private spaces and access systems in a ‘‘low-rise
– high-density’’ design (see Fig. 6). Twenty-nine compact neighbor-
hood clusters that are organized in four rows and are located on the
ridges of the hills on the site stretch from north to south (see Fig. 7).
Every cluster (approximately 100 m by 60 m) is defined by a cen-
tral courtyard (15 m by 30 m) and four building groups arranged
around it. The courtyard forms the inner center of each cluster
and works as a shaded semi-public space for the inhabitants. The
1
Results cited in the following paragraph have been elaborated by members of the
research team. The copyright of the concepts and of the results is with the following
persons: Dimension Urban Planning and Design: Chair for Urban Renewal, Prof. Elke
Pahl-Weber, Dipl.-Ing. Sebastian Seelig, TU Berlin; Dimension Urban Design and
Architecture: Chair for Urban Renewal, Prof. Elke Pahl-Weber, Dipl.-Arch. Philipp
Wehage, TU Berlin; Dimension Energy Management: Chair for Building Services
Engineering, Prof. Dr. Nytsch-Geusen, M.Sc. Dipl.-Ing Jörg Huber, Universitaet der
Künste Berlin; Dimension Climatology: Institute of Meteorology, Dr. Eberhard Reimer,
Dr. Sahar Sodoudi, Dr. Ines Langer, Freie Universitaet Berlin; Dimension Landscape
Planning: Chair of Landscape Planning and Development, Prof. Dr. Stefan Heiland, Dr.
Bernd Demuth, TU Berlin and Dimension Environmental Assessment: Environmental
Assessment and Planning Research Group, Prof. Dr. Elke Bruns, Dipl.-Ing. Holger
Ohlenburg, TU Berlin.
 S. Seelig / Cities 28 (2011) 545–556 551

Fig. 7. 35 ha massing model. Source: TU Berlin.

Fig. 8. Shading analysis of one neighborhood on 35 ha. Source: UdK Berlin.

clusters are accessible via narrow 6-m wide streets that connect
the neighborhoods from north to south and east to west (see
Fig. 6). Except for service and emergency purposes, cars are not
supposed to enter the neighborhoods. Parking is provided in under-
ground parking lots below the neighborhoods units – thus creating
direct accessibility in otherwise car-free neighborhoods.
Three main factors that contribute to reducing energy consump-
tion were identified in a series of simulations conducted with
ECOTECT by the Chair for Building Services Engineering at
Universitaet der Künste Berlin, which compared the urban design
on the 35 ha area to alternative scenarios elaborated. The results
show that urban form alone can have a remarkable influence on
energy consumption (Klempert, 2010; Ljubijankic, Nytsch-Geusen,
& Unger, 2009):
 Compactness contributes to the reduction of direct solar radia-
tion and to the reduction of thermal loss. Minimizing exposed
building surfaces by minimizing the surface-area-to-volume
(SA:V) ratio is of major importance. The SA:V-ratio on the
35 ha area is 0.47 (mean value).
 Building configuration influences the cooling demand by pro-
ducing shaded areas. On the 35 ha area this effect reduces cool-
ing demand by a maximum of 6% in shaded buildings compared
to non-shaded buildings (see Fig. 8).
 The orientation of each building has the largest influence on
energy demand. The predominant north–south orientation of
the buildings reduces the cooling demand by up to 23% and
heating demand by up to 16% compared to unfavorable building
orientations on the 35 ha site.
By configuring buildings and open spaces (open space planning:
Chair of Landscape Planning and Development and the Environmen-
tal Assessment and Planning Research Group of TU Berlin with
Strein/Fenk) according to sun, wind and vegetation, climate sensitive
urban form not only reduces energy consumption but also creates
outdoor thermal comfort, which is extremely important considering
Iran’s rising mean temperatures. Micro-climate impacts were
simulated by the Institute of Meteorology of FU Berlin (Langer &
Schartner, 2011) with the micro-climate model ENVI-met (Bruse,
1999), using information from the master plan and different
552 S. Seelig / Cities 28 (2011) 545–556

Fig. 9. Wind rose for Hashtgerd. Source: Paykadeh (2009).

Fig. 10. 35 ha area neighborhood layout. Source: TU Berlin.

vegetation scenarios (Langer & Schartner, 2011). The results were
compared.
 In semi-arid climates protection from solar radiation is extre-
mely important in summer, and can be achieved by integrating
vegetation and favorably arranging the geometry of buildings.
Due the 35 ha area’s geographic location the degree of shading
is rather low. Flexible blinds were proposed for this reason.
 The arrangement of building aims at blocking the prevailing
western and northwestern winds as well as the hot and dusty
winds from the southeast in summer. At the same time it allows
the cool north–south winds from Alborz Mountains to channel
through the site (see Figs. 7 and 9). The simulation results
showing calm wind in inner courtyards measured at a height
of 2 m support this hypothesis. The reduction of the building
height to three floors and the flat roofs – also being integral part
of traditional Iranian architecture (Manzoor, 1989) – allow for
free movement of air and for fresh air supply.
 Another factor of importance is the vegetation with its poten-
tially positive effects on the microclimate in summer months.
The increase of unbuilt areas in the 35 ha and the increased
greenery (compared to the original land use program of the site)
 S. Seelig / Cities 28 (2011) 545–556
Fig. 11. Mixed Use District with potential small-scale mixed use areas. Source: TU Berlin.
fosters cooling by vegetation and an increase of air humidity
through trees’ evaporation. Simulations have shown that plant-
ing vegetation on the road sides such as trees leads to a
decrease of the soil temperature of 3 K compared to scenarios
with no plants. This indicates the importance of vegetation in
mitigating rising mean temperatures.
Culturally adapted building typologies for reduced heating and
cooling2
Energy demand is also significantly influenced by housing types
(Santamournis, 2006). The courtyard house supports ventilation and
permits natural cooling (Fathy, Shearer, & Sultan, 1986), while
reducing direct exposure to the sun. At the same time its introverted
building form reduces the amount of exposed surfaces. The court-
yard house is also culturally sensitive because it creates private
and introverted spaces in dense urban form, which is why it is the
prevailing housing type in the traditional Islamic city. The urban de-
sign for the 35 ha Area (urban planning, design and architecture:
Chair for Urban Renewal of TU Berlin) makes use of these potentials
by introducing a contemporary interpretation of the courtyard
house (see Fig. 10). It proposes two to three story stacked courtyard
house buildings with widths of between six and fifteen meters. The
2
Results cited in the following paragraph have been elaborated by members of the
research team. The copyright of the concepts and of the results is with the following
persons: Dimension Urban Design and Architecture.
553
majority of plots have a north–south orientation and are between 20
to 35 meters depth so as to maximize energetic potentials. In order
to increase solar radiation for energy production, the building vol-
umes have terraces and niches in the upper floors. The dominant
vertical organization of the building volumes provides sun for every
residential unit. The orientation of the living zones within the units
around the courtyard combines the need of privacy with microcli-
matic advantages (Seelig, Wehage, & Pahl-Weber, 2011).
Public transport and dense mixed-use neighborhoods for
reducing transport energy3
Density, land use and the availability of public transportation
systems indirectly affect users’ mobility patterns and thus can
reduce individual energy consumption (Jenks & Jones, 2010). The
35 ha Area proposes an average floor area ratio of 1.6, which is
equivalent to 228 persons per hectare. This relatively dense urban
form is complemented by an integrated network of public trans-
portation lines, footpaths and bicycle lanes. In addition, a higher
capacity transport system that connects the site to the planned
Hashtgerd–Karaj–Tehran metro line and to Old Hashtgerd is
3
Results cited in the following paragraph have been elaborated by members of the
research team. The copyright of the concepts and of the results is with the following
persons: Dimension Urban Planning and Design, Dimension Urban Design and
Architecture with Dimension Transport and Mobility: Center for Technology and
Society, Dr.-Ing. Wulf-Holger Arndt, Technische Universitaet Berlin.
554 S. Seelig / Cities 28 (2011) 545–556
Fig. 12. Mixed use zone in courtyard. Source: TU Berlin.
envisaged in order to ensure horizontal spatial integration. The
neighborhoods themselves will be served by a minibus whose
stops will be distributed at a distance of no more than 250 m from
any residential unit.
The proposed transport concept elaborated at the Center for
Technology and Society of TU Berlin is combined with a mixed land
use concept (see Fig. 11). Aside from an increased urban vitality
and flexibility, mixed land uses in compact urban environments
offer high potentials for the reduction of fossil energy use and
therefore GHG emissions. This is mainly related to shorter travel
distances and to the increased use of public transportation, and a
greater incentive for walking and cycling (Bundesamt fuer Bauwe-
sen und Raumordnung (BBR), 2000). These assumptions translate
into a two-layered land use concept that proposes a center with
larger social functions in the heart of the site and a fine mix of
smaller commercial uses with residential units at the neighbor-
hood level. For the latter, the project has also developed appropri-
ate housing typologies – so called ‘‘vertical mixed units’’ – which
provide space for small scale commercial and social units on the
ground floors of the residential buildings that are concentrated
around the courtyards (see Fig. 12). Distances between housing,
work, supply infrastructure and social infrastructure are kept short
by the quality of the mixed-use zones, their integration of larger
social functions within walking distance and the connection to
the city-wide public transportation system, as well as to walking
and cycling routes. This combination of measures aims at achieving
a modal shift and thus reducing CO2 emissions. Preliminary traffic
simulations conducted at the TU Dresden with VISUM show that
the land use concept for the 35 ha Area has the potential to reduce
the traffic volume in general: individual car trips are reduced by 3%
and trips with public transportation by 7% as compared to a func-
tionally separated land use concept; the impacts of the measures
on the model split of the transport modes have not been explored
yet. All elements of this proposal are part of the ‘‘Mixed Use Dis-
trict’’ (MUD) as defined for the 35 ha Area in the ‘‘Tarh-e Tafsili’’.
The MUD is a model district with special regulations that allows
for more regulatory flexibility in land uses than otherwise common
in Hashtgerd.
Integrated infrastructure systems at the neighborhood level4
Furthermore, the compact mixed-use urban form is inter-
connected with innovative infrastructure systems, mainly in the
areas of wastewater and energy. The waste water concept, elabo-
rated by the companies of inter3 and p2m reduces energy and
fresh water demand without compromising comfort. This flexible
concept proposes separate collection, treatment and reuse of gray
water in decentralized constructed wetlands as well as co-fermen-
tation of black water and organics for biogas production. The gray
water is generated from domestic equipment such as showers,
sinks and washing machines, the black water comes from the
water closet. After treatment in the constructed wetlands on site,
the quality of the gray water is sufficient for the use in artificial
water bodies such as ponds, as non-drinkable service water in
the courtyards (e.g. for cleaning of surfaces) and for the irrigation
of the site’s green spaces (Mohajeri & Vocks, 2011). The design of
the green spaces within the 35 ha area is sensitive to the need
for reducing water consumption for maintenance and preservation
measures, for example by selecting suitable vegetation and by
limiting the scale of water-intensive green areas (see Fig. 13)
(Mohajeri & Vocks, 2011).
The use of various energy technologies and components is cur-
rently being considered for the area’s energy concept, elaborated
by the Chair for Building Services Engineering at Berlin University
of the Arts. They are based on locally available non-renewable re-
sources (such as natural gas and oil) and regenerative energy
sources (such as solar irradiation, and biomass from wastewater
treatment). Several concepts for central, semi-central and de-cen-
tral thermal energy supply have already been designed using de-
tailed simulation models in ECOTECT and ENERGYPLUS and
MODELLICA. A possibility that is currently being discussed pro-
poses a central heat supply system and decentralized solar cold
air production, that would need only one central thermal distribu-
tion network and otherwise use separate decentralized absorption
chillers and solar thermal collectors (Ljubijankic, Nytsch-Geusen, &
Unger, 2009).
Conclusion
This paper concludes that Iran’s urban agglomerations and spe-
cifically the megacity of Tehran face tremendous challenges due to
urbanization processes and their social, ecological and economic
consequences. These are increasingly related to the effects of cli-
mate change such as extreme weather events, water scarcity and
increasing energy demand. In the face of current building and plan-
ning practice in Iran and the pressure on the Iranian housing mar-
ket new approaches towards energy-efficient and resilient housing
development are urgently needed.
The German–Iranian research initiative ‘‘Young Cities’’ aims at
contributing a series of innovations to the housing sector in Iran, that
will be implemented and monitored in a 35 ha pilot settlement in
the new town of Hashtgerd. The site’s master plan includes key plan-
ning strategies for energy-efficiency and resilience designed for the
specific socio-economic and climatic context of Hashtgerd. This pa-
per highlights the importance of non-technical, low-cost strategies
4
Results cited in the following paragraph have been elaborated by members of the
research team. The copyright of the concepts and of the results is with the following
persons: Dimension Water and Wastewater Management: Dr. Sharooz Mohajeri,
Dipl.-Ing. Tamara Nuñez von Voigt, Dr. Martin Vocks, inter3, p2m, Berlin; Dimension
Landscape Planning; Dimension Environmental Assessment with Dimension Energy
Management.
 S. Seelig / Cities 28 (2011) 545–556
Fig. 13. Extensive landscaping for reduced water consumption. Source: Strein/Fenk.
for urban form such as orientation, compactness and building con-
figuration that have the potential to reduce cooling and heating de-
mand and ensure thermal outdoor comfort on the basis of mere
planning measures. The ‘‘low rise – high density’’ approach that is
founded on the principles of traditional Iranian urban form also re-
flects the cultural importance. This vernacular approach is combined
with a mixed land-use model that effectively reduces the incidence
of individual motorized traffic if linked to a public transportation
system. In order to reduce resource consumption, the master plan
also proposes a sustainable water management concept based on
water recycling in constructed wetlands, which serve for irrigating
the open spaces. Through this measure, an estimated 50% of water
can be kept in the local cycle, which is especially important given
the area’s water scarcity. Numerous simulations have shown how
the proposed concepts save energy and create resilience to the ef-
fects of climate change.
Their actual effectiveness, however, will only be proved by real-
izing and monitoring the pilot project. At this point, realization is
still linked to a number of open questions, most importantly the
financing of the project. Nevertheless, the approval of the legally
binding land use plan for the pilot site is a highly significant step
in the right direction, which was mainly achieved due to the
involvement of high-ranking Iranian partners, all of whom hold di-
rect decision making powers even over the allocation of financial
resources, and who were open to the implementation of innovative
solutions. Moreover, the pilot site’s location in a new town greatly
facilitated the planning process, because the local NTDC brings to-
gether all municipal competencies in all fields of urban develop-
ment, which greatly accelerates approval procedures. It is worth
mentioning that (other than originally intended) this top-down
planning process does not endorse many participative elements.
Hence the project collaborates closely with a number of Iranian
and German Masters, PhD, and post doctoral students who serve
as highly appreciated alternative reference persons. With this pro-
ject set-up and scientific network the project team hopes to further
elaborate the concepts and realize the first buildings on site from
2011 onwards.
555
Acknowledgment
The work presented has been substantially supported by fund-
ing from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research
within the program ‘‘Sustainable Development of the Megacities
of Tomorrow’’.
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