Development or Gradual Destruction?
The murmurs about issuing multiple permits for high-rise construction in Rasht and other parts of Guilan are, on the surface, presented as measures aimed at optimal land use, housing provision, and preventing the conversion of agricultural lands. However, behind these deceptive terms lie concerning realities that, with a closer look at Guilan’s social, environmental, and economic fabric, cannot be ignored.
Bitter Experiences of Neighboring Provinces: A Serious Warning for Guilan
The claim of optimal space utilization is raised while the experiences of neighboring provinces, especially Mazandaran, have shown that unplanned, non-ecosystem-based high-rise construction not only erodes social and cultural fabric but also endangers natural ecosystems. In Mazandaran, what started as development has led to land subsidence, water pollution, and the destruction of green areas. More than 50 official cases of land subsidence in urban areas were recorded just in recent years.
Environmental and Social Consequences of High-Rise Construction in Guilan
In Rasht and other northern cities, high-rise projects do not align with the region’s ecological conditions. Guilan is a land with saturated soils, active groundwater tables, and a humid climate. Constructing tall buildings with heavy foundations disrupts the natural circulation of groundwater. The result is an increased risk of land subsidence, loss of water resources, and destruction of the fragile natural balance.
Socially, this type of development disrupts traditional, low-density, locally-based community structures. Tall buildings in native neighborhoods not only alter the urban landscape but also erode cultural and social fabric, pushing longtime residents to the margins. This process leads to the loss of social capital.
Behind-the-Scenes Financial Flows: Benefits for Specific Groups
Meanwhile, the financial flows behind these projects have always served the interests of limited and influential groups. Over the past three years, more than 70% of large-scale projects in Guilan have been controlled by companies and individuals with special connections to decision-making centers in Tehran. This kind of development is not about meeting the people’s needs but rather turning Guilan into a “pleasant backyard” for a consumerist elite from the capital.
Tehran, Tabriz, and Karaj: Warning Experiences
The bitter experience of Tehran should be a serious warning for other cities. Due to unregulated growth of towers and vertical constructions, the city faced the phenomenon of “airflow blockage.” Tall structures in this metropolis act like invisible walls, preventing natural ventilation and trapping pollution from vehicles and industries inside the city. The result is poisoned air and gray days for millions. Can Tehran’s bitter experience, as well as those of Tabriz and Karaj, not serve as a guiding light for Guilan? A province that still has the opportunity, before facing similar crises, to redefine development with prudence, ecosystem-based planning, and empowering local people.
Local Empowerment: The Path to Sustainable Development
The reality is that the people of Guilan, especially in rural areas, have never considered housing shortage a critical issue. Their lived experience shows that they have had the ability to build optimized housing and pass down construction skills from generation to generation. What has been neglected is the lack of essential infrastructure: absence of proper public health, weak agricultural and handicraft education, poor rural transportation networks, and most importantly, the lack of public participation in decision-making.
If we seek true and sustainable development, the focus must change. Instead of imitating imported development models, Guilan should rely on empowering its own people. Solutions such as promoting organic farming, regionally targeted education for farmers, especially youth, to use modern technologies and natural resource management—especially through artificial intelligence—can create a serious transformation in the local economy.
Utilizing New Technologies to Upgrade Villages
With internal AI infrastructure, personalized training can be provided for farmers according to soil type, climate, and product. Establishing digital and physical public markets for direct sales of local products is another step towards participatory rural economies. Developing smart cooperatives can also help reduce production costs, increase efficiency, and maintain rural financial independence.
Future Housing Solutions in Rasht and Guilan
What we currently face regarding housing problems in Guilan, both in Rasht and villages, is not a shortage crisis but a crisis of mismatch and lack of modernization in housing production methods aligned with people’s real needs. In the past, locals were familiar with housing construction techniques and naturally passed down skills through generations. Today, forgetting these techniques and ignoring light, economical materials has become a serious problem.
Furthermore, long-term and comprehensive master plans, mostly top-down, have not only failed to solve housing problems but sometimes imposed unnecessary burdens on people. Bureaucratic decisions that overlook real needs, coupled with expensive materials, have created conditions affecting daily life.
Due to these issues, especially young locals are migrating to cities like Karaj, Qazvin, and Tehran and selling their lands to people who may not consider real regional needs. Therefore, decision-making processes in housing must change to address real needs and use native, economical materials and methods.
Conclusion: Sustainable Development Focused on People
In conclusion, without improving the quality of life for local people, no structure can guarantee development. Development that ignores social justice and environmental issues inevitably leads to deep social divides, anomalies, delinquency, and the silent destruction of human capital. Now is the time to rethink—not to build taller, but to see deeper.