Megamall development in Tehran city: a study of the development process from the perspective of structuration theory

Tehran, Iran's capital, has witnessed a boom in megamall development, resulting in significant social and environmental challenges. This trend contradicts the anti-consumerism values of Islamic ideology, particularly during a period of severe economic sanctions. Despite these contradictions, developers continue to invest in megamalls, supported by the municipality and popular among citizens. This paper, through the lens of structuration theory, seeks to explore the conditions providing the development of megamalls in Tehran. The constructivist grounded theory approach is adopted, and the data are collected through 61 semi-structured interviews. The findings highlight the dialectical relationship between agents and structures in this process. It reveals that dysfunctional structures, including regulations on capital and urban development (rules), spatial resources and power distribution (resources), as well as identity and lack of critical discourses in society (ideology), have provided conditions for urban agents to be involved in this process, which, in turn, reinforces structures.