Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture 12 (2018) 757-777 doi: 10.17265/1934-7359/2018.11.001 The Chronological Process of Changes in Iranian Urban Spaces – A Case Study: Tehran and Its Squares Sanaz Shobeiri School of Architecture and the Built Environment, University of Westminster, London, NW1 5LS, United Kingdom Abstract: One of the key current challenges in urban design and planning worldwide is the notion of “scale”, which is important in various levels of decision making for urban spaces such as squares. How “scale” is defined in the field of design and planning will lead to divergent approaches towards urban spaces, such as adaptation, obeying, alteration, and neglect. In order to create successful urban spaces with suitable scales that respond to users’ expectations, it is necessary to minimize the gap between the subjectivity and objectivity, and to this end, this paper studies the chronological process of such changes in Tehran and their impact on the design of one type of space: the urban square. Furthermore, this paper aims to identify if and how the subjectivity and objectivity of squares in Tehran have been changed as a result of chronological phases of transformation, particularly since the foundation of the city in 1524. The findings reveal how aspects of the city’s squares are disappearing, but need to be revived to achieve socio-cultural sustainability. The main methods applied include a review of the related literature, an appropriate analysis, and direct observation. Key words: Square, Tehran, scale, neighborhood, urban spaces, subjectivity, objectivity. 1. Introduction In the contemporary global context, one of the most important issues in the field of design and planning is the issue of “scale”, which is a factor in various phases of the entire design process, from the starting concept until the final product. This approach is necessary in order to create an artifact that is compatible with—or more precisely, responsive to—the needs and expectations of users. At the city level, the issue of scale can potentially create various and even divergent possibilities in how people perceive and behave towards urban spaces. Squares are one of the key urban spaces in today’s cities, and it is therefore necessary to consider them in terms of their scale. Some of the ways in which one can deal with designed urban spaces are adaptation, obeying, alteration, and neglect. In order to achieve an urban square that approves and improves users’ subjectivity, it is first necessary to study how the issue of scale has chronologically developed; in other words, the first step in investigating Corresponding author: Sanaz Shobeiri, Ph.D., research field: urban development and regeneration. an appropriate scale for the design of urban spaces in general and squares in particular is to study the chronological process of changes in context. It should be noted that the process of modernization and the entrance of automobiles in urban areas has affected the design of cities, and particularly the scales of these designs. This is a global challenge, and cities have dealt with this process in different ways, and therefore the issue should be studied in appropriate detail in each specific context [1-4]. This paper examines the specified context of the city of Tehran, and its urban spaces in the form of its squares. In order to investigate the issue of chronological changes of “scale” in subjectivity and objectivity in the design and planning of squares in Tehran, the paper first studies the city’s expansion and development, and the dynasties and kings who played a role in this development. This issue will be discussed in sections 2-8, after which the paper will go on to analyze how squares in Tehran have changed over time. Sections 9-10 will investigate the issue of “scale” in squares, in terms of subjectivity and objectivity. To conclude this research, section 11 will touch on the D DAVID PUBLISHING