An Analytical Review of Rural Housing in Iran

This research presents a statistical analysis on the national survey conducted in 2003 by the Housing Foundation of Islamic Revolution throughout rural areas of Iran. This analysis employs a set of two-tiered indicators to derive meaningful information from the collected data. The four key themes for data classification include physical aspects (stability and spatial factors); access to facilities and amenities; livelihood activities and economic aspects of rural housing; and environmental aspects.Development of two-tiered indicators leads to a rating of diverse provinces into four grades with respect to the four main themes. An overall rating was also made by employing a combined indicator. The results revealed a significant diversity in the rural housing conditions in different provinces. It was also demonstrated that the central provinces, especially those close to the capital province, enjoy a significantly better condition than border provinces. Sistan and Baluchistan Province on the southeast border has the worst condition in the country, being the least ranking province in all themes, as well as the overall indicator.