
Book Introduction: Local Democracy
Mohammad Hossein Buchani is a senior expert in urban planning from Shahid Beheshti University, who also served as an advisor in the third term of Tehran City Council. After holding roundtable discussions and conducting interviews with experts, theorists, and executive managers, he compiled a book titled “Local Democracy” which includes 15 conversations and 12 roundtable discussions on this topic. This work explores the methods of implementing the decentralization and local democracy model and the author, by gathering different perspectives, aims to find better solutions for implementing the principles of councils according to the law and shedding light on hidden aspects.
During one of the critiques and discussions of this book, Bochani mentioned the forgetting of the division of national-local tasks in the country and said: “Councils have the right to legislate like the parliament. Additionally, councils can grow and function in accordance with the constitution. Unfortunately, councils, which are essential elements of local democracy, are not given proper attention.” (IBNA, 27 March 2013)
In the introduction of the book “Local Democracy”, the author titles its publication in line with the concerns of decentralization in the management of national affairs and writes: “My strong belief is that among the central strategies and key approaches for the development of the country, decentralized democracy and attention to local capacities and capabilities (local necessities) are essential within the framework of the constitution.”
The titles of the discussions mentioned in this book include: “Urban Unit Management”, “Council, Environmental Watchdog”, “Institutionalizing Councils, Rationalizing Development”, “Comprehensive Tehran Plan for Social Issues”, “Desirable Structure of the Council System”, “Comprehensive and Detailed Tehran Plan; A New Approach to Urban Development”, “A Good Mayor on the Scale of Election or Appointment”, “Councils and a Social Approach to Planning”, “Formation of Municipal Union”, “Management, Knowledge for Councils”, “Exploring the Experience of Provincial High Councils and their Future Transformations”, “Shaky Steps of Councils in the Path of Planning”, “Relationships between Provincial High Councils, Parliament, and Government”, “Rethinking Municipal Revenue Sources”, and “Councils and Urban Health; Commitments and Challenges”.
Furthermore, “Good Council, Good Mayor”, “Urban Unit Management; Existing Image and Future Vision”, “Councils’ Relationship with Cultural Issues”, “Councils; City Planning or Urban Planning”, “Councils and Sustainable Income Resources of Municipalities”, “Training Councils; Planning and Management”, “Councils and the Necessity of Attention to Social Issues in the City”, “People’s Organizations in Interaction with Councils”, “Urban Health from the Perspective of Councils”, “Councils and Environmental Issues”, “The Role of Councils in Governance” and “The Role of Provincial Supreme Councils in Governance” are the titles of roundtables that their abstracts can be read in this work.
Among the individuals whose interviews and meetings are mentioned in the referenced book, some notable names include Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Masoumeh Ebtekar, Ahmad Masjed-Jamei, Azam Khatam, Emad Afrough, Morteza Talai, Hassan Bayadi, Jalil Habibiollahiyan, Seyed Mohammad Gharaavi, Hadi Mobarghaei, Mahmoud Saeedi Rezvani, Mohsen Beheshti Sarshat, Faramarz Babaei, Asadollah Rashidi, Abbas Haj Rasouliha, and Alireza Mosadeghnia.
Covering different perspectives and pulling in some executive managers to discussions of this kind on the other hand, has turned this book into an important source on issues surrounding city and village councils in Iran.
Book Name: Local Democracy
Author: Mohammad Hossein Bochani (edited by)
Publication date: 1391
Publisher: Ghadiani
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City and village councils Introduction to the book Local democracy Mohammad Hossein Bochani