19.5 Million Iranians Living in Dysfunctional Urban Quarters

There are 162,000 hectares of dysfunctional urban areas, including worn-out, historical and informal settlements, in Iran, where more than 19.5 million people are living, says Mohammad Ayeeni, managing director of the Urban Regeneration Company of Iran. 
“There are more than 59,000 hectares of informal settlements in the cities, which host 6.2 million people. In general, 18% of the population of Iranian cities are living in worn-out areas, 11% in informal settlements and 4% in historical areas,” he was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency. 
The disproportionate distribution of resources and infrastructures, urban poverty and migration, climate change and natural disasters [floods, earthquakes, dust storms], and failure to support low-income groups in urban and regional development plans as well as a lack of proper planning in the housing sector are to blame for the formation of informal settlements, he added.