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This book explores the tenacity of Iran´s informal settlements against the backdrop of the World Bank´s USD 80 million loan for physical upgrading. Arefi seeks to identify and unravel the distinctive models, policies, processes, and outcomes associated with it, and explains why-despite obvious challenges-informal settlements remain popular in Iran, and also how understanding them in a broader theoretical context helps rectify existing redevelopment policies in order to develop more effective ones.

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1. Introduction 2. Revisiting the Informal Settlement Phenomenon 3. Informal Settlements and Urban Management in Iran 4. The World Bank´s Slum Upgrading Programs in LDCS 5. Five Iranian Target Cities 6. Empowering Slums in Iran 7. Data Collection 8. From Goals to Outcomes 9. The Four Failures (Challenges) 10. The Empowerment Paradox

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Mahyar Arefi is Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, USA. As a recipient of several awards and scholarships, he writes extensively on planning and urban design issues, and his latest book, Deconstructing Placemaking: Needs, Opportunities and Assets was published in 2014.

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