Identifying Leverage Points for Implementing Participatory Governance in Urban Management: A Systems Thinking Approach (Case Study of the Tehran Municipality)

Azizi, Mahdi

doi:10.30497/smt.2026.250285.3724

Identifying Leverage Points for Implementing Participatory Governance in Urban Management: A Systems Thinking Approach (Case Study of the Tehran Municipality)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

mahdi azizi

Assistant Professor, Department of Decision Sciences and Complex Systems, Faculty of Islamic Studies and Management, Imam Sadiq University

10.30497/smt.2026.250285.3724

Abstract

This study aimed to identify leverage points for implementing participatory governance in the urban management of Tehran. Data were collected from three sources, including policy documents, academic literature, and semi-structured interviews with experts, and were analyzed using qualitative system mapping and Meadows’ leverage points framework. The findings indicated that the dynamics of participatory governance in Tehran can be explained across four domains: crisis management, institutional structures and budgeting, social capital and livability, and urban renewal and regeneration. Among the identified leverage points, strengthening information flows through the regular and accessible publication of neighborhood project performance reports, increasing institutional requirements for citizen participation in urban decision-making processes, delegating financial and executive authority to local institutions, and increasing the weight of citizen satisfaction and sense of belonging in the evaluation of urban managers were recognized as influential interventions. The findings suggest that the realization of participatory governance requires interventions in institutional rules, information mechanisms, and the strategic goals of urban management.

Keywords

Leverage Points

Participatory Governance

Urban Governance

Tehran Municipality

Systems Thinking

Subjects