Chronic Housing Crisis: From Wound to Treatment

Today, a large fraction of the Iranian population have experienced difficulties related to housing and living conditions. 
According to unofficial statistics, up to 50% of the population of Tehran are living in rented homes, which figure stands at 40% for the whole country. In addition, 40% of the population are living in poor housing conditions, which do not have adequate amenities. Many homes are not safe to withstand natural disasters such as earthquakes. On top of that, the citizens of large cities are also suffering from poor urban transportation and traffic congestion. 
It is natural that when a large group of citizens are struggling to find proper housing, the current situation cannot be described as “housing problem”; we need to speak of “housing crisis”. These were stated by Nasser Zakeri, an economist, in a write-up for the Persian daily Shargh. A translation of the text follows: