The Attitude of the Local Community to the Impact of Building Reuse: Three Cases in an Old Neighborhood of Tehran

ABSTRACT In the early 2000s, a wave of restoration and reuse of historic buildings began in some of Iran’s tourist cities. The aim of these reuse projects, performed by both the private and public sectors, is to transform these buildings into places for tourist, catering, cultural and residential use. A similar trend started in Tehran a few years ago, with the historic buildings mostly located on the central streets or in old neighborhoods being transformed into cafés, galleries, and cultural centers, etc. However, due to the newness of this issue, little research has been conducted on the effects of these changes on the adjacent urban fabric and the lives of local residents. The aim of this study, therefore, is to evaluate the effects of the adaptive reuse of three historic buildings from the viewpoint of local residents. These buildings are located in different parts of the Oudladjan neighborhood in the historical center of Tehran. Data about the selected cases were collected through observations and semi-structured interviews. A total of 40 individuals were interviewed. In addition to the residents, seven in-depth interviews were conducted with experts from the Heritage Organisation, municipality, and with academics. The collected data were analyzed using qualitative methods. The results of this qualitative study show that these reuses have not had any significant positive effect on the life of residents or the regeneration of the neighborhood. The most important reasons for this are: the adoption of a non-participatory, top-down approach, disregarding the needs and priorities of the local citizens, and disregarding the existing context by the authorities.