Development of urban public spaces using urban underground spaces: a new method to improve quality of life (QOL) in Tehran metropolis

Abstract

Abstract Once Tehran was an enchanting city garden with abundant green lands at Alborz mountain range. Now it has changed into a metropolis with many problems as a result of losing a lot of gardens, farms, and green spaces. Tehran is the capital of Iran with a population around 13 million people daytime and 8.5 million people night-time. Its area is about 730 square kilometres and in terms of population density, it is ranked 25th in the list of most populous cities. Due to the lack of public spaces required, Tehran metropolis has faced serious challenges to create a sense of life satisfaction in the residents. Due to population density and numerous amount of mass housing and high land prices, the development of public spaces required by the city has become more difficult. Therefore, one of the ways to develop such spaces is to use underground surfaces and combine them with existing surfaces on the ground. How to properly correlate and interact between the development of urban public spaces, urban underground spaces and improving Tehran metropolis citizens’ quality of life and provide solutions for it, is the main issue of this research.