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The present of a troubled valley called “Farahzad”


There are many obstacles that have been created by the movement of people on the chests of the hills towards Farahzad Valley. Behind the wall of every house that leads to the valley, there are traces of traffic that line the hills. Problems are rampant in this northern corner of the city, and the natives are bored.

According to ISNA, “Hamshahri” newspaper further wrote: Although two years ago, city managers and other institutions started the implementation of the “Eco Park” project in the capital, but it has not been organized here yet. There are many obstacles in the way of implementing this plan. However, the residents are waiting for the implementation of the abandoned plan to revive Ruddareh and return safely to the old Farahzad area. Of course, it is said that urban management seeks to review its design and implementation; As in recent weeks, a number of members of the Tehran City Council have visited Farahzad and are aware of the situation. In this regard, Narges Madanipour, the head of the council’s health and environment commission, said that the issues of this city area and the ecopark project will be discussed in the council in the near future. We also went to this troubled valley to see what the Farahzad Valley is like now.

Why don’t managers think about us?

“Large-scale projects that are run by several institutions in the city are always delayed. It is as if time has stopped in this valley and it is not going to prosper so soon and we will see the color of happiness. “Farahzad alleys and streets are filled with contaminated syringes, blankets and sacks, material hiding under mulberry and walnut trees, black soot left on the soil and ruined walls, garbage dumping and even the untimely movement of people.” These are the words of Reza Farahzadi, who continued: “Once upon a time, Farahzad was like the village of Pasqaleh, a village with old trees. In those years, our mothers and grandmothers used to go from the village to their valleys and gardens without fear or apprehension and started gardening with gardeners and farmers, but for a long time, addicts set foot in this valley and now Farahzad’s condition is such that no man or woman is in it anymore. He cannot go to the old mosque or shops every hour of the day and night, and the situation is getting worse every day. In the past few years, Austin city managers have stepped up their efforts to build a garden similar to the previous phases of Nahj al-Balaghah and to improve the current situation with the implementation of the Ecopark project, but this project remained unfinished for various reasons. Some of the properties around the valley were bought by the municipality and now the same properties have been destroyed and turned into a place for all kinds of crimes. Some citizens dump their garbage in these dilapidated properties or at the foot of centuries-old trees. “Unfortunately, it has become a place for children to play with children during the day and a cozy place for the homeless and the waste of collectors at night.”

Residents are waiting for the Ecopark

According to some historical sources, Farahzad dates back to 700 years and in the past was part of Tehran’s District 1, where pilgrims used to cross the valley to go to Imamzadeh Davood. There were gardens and orchards along the river. Due to the development of urbanization, the residential fabric of the city clung to the Farahzad Valley and the gardens. The main damages are in the area of ​​Khoshmaram bridge to Hemmat highway. “If the authorities want to implement a plan in our area, none of the old residents will oppose it and welcome it, but the residents here have the right to Abogol and it should not be right or wrong,” said one of the elders. For many years, without observing the rights of residents with the presence of addicts, foreign nationals and proposing various projects, we are not happy. Another problem is that there is a hangout for selling drugs, which many people come here to prepare and consume drugs, and the most famous are the hangouts of Genghis, Mammaddaraz, Khazaei, Almas, Chehel Pele, Iron Bridge and Khormak. Most of the old and several hundred year old walnut and fig trees of the gardeners have dried up, which has many reasons. Former managers promised a lot that if they demolish the illegal construction, they will collect the garbage after 2 months so as not to create a problem for the riverbed; Whereas, 2 years ago, addicts lost their lives in the flood in the same rubbish and abandoned properties that the municipality bought from gardeners. “Every once in a while, the directors of different institutions go to the valley to sort out the secret situation, and small measures are taken, and again, they do not reach an agreement with other institutions to continue working, and the project is forgotten.”

“In order to get rid of the problems, the houses that have been built illegally must be identified as soon as possible,” said another resident. Single houses are rampant here, and 50-meter rented houses have been rented out to 30 to 50 people. “It is enough for an earthquake to happen here and we will have the most casualties.”

The renovation lock will be unlocked

The urban design of Farahzad neighborhood has been referred to the Information and Communication Technology Organization of Tehran Municipality (ICT) for implementation in the detailed design system, and the renovation lock will be unlocked soon. Farahzad neighborhood faces several problems such as incomplete road network, low service per capita, lack of title deed and property wear, high slope, inability to provide parking and lack of access to some parts by rider; Thus, due to the problems of this area and the old structure of this neighborhood, considering the urban capacities and environment adjacent to Farahzad River, city managers have taken good measures to design Farahzad neighborhood.

Hamidreza Saremi, Deputy of Urban Planning and Architecture of Tehran Municipality, said about the local plan of Farahzad neighborhood: Accordingly, the preparation of the plan began in 1994, which was completed in 1400. In fact, in 2015, planning and preparing Farahzad’s local plan was on the agenda of Tehran Municipality, and then using the knowledge and ability of urban planning consulting engineers and forming a specialized working group at the regional level, local service offices and the deputy for urban planning and architecture, the plan was prepared. Finally, in 2017, the local plan of Farahzad’s valuable area was approved by the Article 5 Commission of Tehran. The issue of “organizing the Farahzad urban axis” after the approval of the plan in the Article 5 Commission, in September 1397, the Supreme Council of Urban Planning and Architecture of Iran was examined and defined by defining fixed principles and new restrictions based on environmental, legal and social sensitivities for the valuable area. “It happened.” Saremi added: “According to the resolution of the Supreme Council of Urban Planning, the mass model of this neighborhood should be prepared only in accordance with the organic pattern of the texture and in an integrated order with the whole texture. For this purpose, Review neighborhood design guidelines. “Finally, after reviewing the relevant reports in several meetings of the technical working group and making the necessary amendments, this plan was presented in the meeting of the Article 5 Commission and was approved in September of this year.” The Deputy Mayor of Tehran, stating that the urban design of Farahzad neighborhood has been prepared and compiled with a focus on the residential area and with the aim of protecting the valuable texture of this neighborhood, continued: The neighborhood should be mass-grown according to the organic pattern and the revitalization and revitalization of the old rural texture should be achieved with an economic approach based on sustainable tourism along with the continuation of the historical pattern and identification of valuable historical buildings. Also in this plan, the criteria of architectural formation and mass formation of buildings in accordance with the characteristics of the desired texture along with the completion of lines and construction of metro stations have been considered. “With the approval of the local urban design plan of Farahzad neighborhood, after many years, the construction and architecture criteria of this neighborhood were determined.”

Mehdi Salehi, Mayor of District 2: Ecopark is a priority for the municipality

We have been pursuing funding for the Ecopark project and with the coordination of the mayor of Tehran, this issue has been considered as a priority project. In fact, we have tried to get a credit line in the budget amendment, and the result has not been determined yet, but we hope that the project will start from the beginning of 1401. Farahzad Valley is one of the valuable capacities mentioned in the detailed plan of Tehran as the natural heritage of the city. We are looking for a serious planning today. One of the obstacles was the detailed plan of Farahzad region, which had been blocked from construction for several years, and finally in June 1400, the notification was removed. Another obstacle was the issue of ownership documents of some properties. Few residents have a title deed that can obtain a building permit. To solve this problem, we need the support of other agencies, including the Executive Headquarters of Imam Khomeini (as), so that it can be implemented sooner in accordance with the measures considered, and we will witness modernization and up-to-date and modern constructions. Detailed plan for the issue of Farahzad’s constructs has formed a committee that requests and reviews every week, but due to the problem of the document, we do not have much output. One of the approaches of urban management in the physical part of the Farahzad Valley river reorganization plan is to preserve the ecosystem and nature; Therefore, to implement this plan, cooperation with agencies such as the Water and Sewerage Organization is needed. In some parts of the region, there are high pressure towers that should work together to increase the quality of life of all institutions.

There are also valuable old trees in this area that we move if possible, otherwise we try to have the least interference in its nature. Also, the issues of Farahzad neighborhood are in several physical and socio-cultural sections, which are tried to be resolved through coordination and cooperation between the relevant institutions and agencies. Unfortunately, this valley is facing social problems such as the existence of drug addicts, which has turned this valuable urban opportunity into a threat; In this regard, with the cooperation of the police, the cleansing of addicts was carried out in several stages and is still ongoing. In the physical part, funding is important and this requires the support of the city council to organize the river in the budgeting of future plans of the municipality.

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