Editing Tehran (section)

==== Pahlavi rule ====
[[File:ETH-BIB-Teheran aus 400 m Höhe-Persienflug 1924-1925-LBS MH02-02-0085-AL-FL.tif|250px|thumb|Aerial view of Tehran in 1925]]
After [[World War I]], the [[constituent assembly]] elected [[Reza Shah]] of the [[Pahlavi dynasty]] as the new monarch, who immediately suspended the Baladie law of 1907, replacing the decentralized and autonomous city councils with centralist approaches to [[governance]] and planning.<ref name="Vahdat Za-2011" />

From the 1920s to the 1930s, under the rule of Reza Shah, the city was essentially rebuilt from scratch. Several old buildings, including parts of the [[Golestan Palace]], [[Tekyeh Dowlat|Tekye Dowlat]], and [[Toopkhaneh|Tupkhane Square]], were replaced with modern buildings influenced by classical Iranian architecture, particularly the buildings of the [[Bank Melli Iran|National Bank]], the police headquarters, the telegraph office, and the military academy.

Changes to the urban fabric began with the street-widening act of 1933, which served as a framework for changes in all other cities. The [[Grand Bazaar, Tehran|Grand Bazaar]] was divided in half and many historic buildings were demolished and replaced by wide straight avenues,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chaichian |first1=Mohammad |url=https://archive.org/details/towncountryinmid0000chai/page/95/mode/2up |title=Town and Country in the Middle East: Iran and Egypt in the Transition to Globalization |date=2009 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-0-7391-2677-6 |location=New York |pages=95–116 |url-access=registration }}</ref> and the traditional texture of the city was replaced with intersecting cruciform streets that created large roundabouts in major public spaces such as the bazaar.

As an attempt to create a network for easy transportation within the city, the old citadel and city walls were demolished in 1937, replaced by wide streets cutting through the urban fabric. The new city map of Tehran in 1937 was heavily influenced by modernist planning patterns of zoning and gridiron networks.<ref name="Vahdat Za-2011" />

During [[World War II]], Soviet and British troops entered the city. In 1943, Tehran was the site of the [[Tehran Conference]], attended by U.S. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], Soviet Premier [[Joseph Stalin]], and British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]].

The establishment of the planning organization of Iran in 1948 resulted in the first socioeconomic development plan to cover from 1949 to 1955. These plans not only failed to slow the unbalanced growth of Tehran but with the 1962 land reforms that Reza Shah's son and successor [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|Mohammad Reza Shah]] named the ''[[White Revolution]]'', Tehran's chaotic growth was further accentuated.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Tehran developed rapidly under Mohammad Reza Shah. Modern buildings altered the face of Tehran and ambitious projects were planned for the following decades. To resolve the problem of [[social exclusion]], the first comprehensive plan was approved in 1968. The consortium of Iranian architect [[Abdol-Aziz Mirza Farmanfarmaian|Abd-ol-Aziz Farmanfarmaian]] and the American firm of [[Victor Gruen|Victor Gruen Associates]] identified the main problems blighting the city as high-density suburbs, air and water pollution, inefficient infrastructure, unemployment, and rural-urban migration. Eventually, the whole plan was marginalized by the [[1979 Revolution]] and the subsequent [[Iran–Iraq War]].<ref name="Vahdat Za-2011" />
[[File:Tehran_IMG_20191219_122637099_(49550671088).jpg|thumb|The [[Azadi Tower]] was built in 1971]]

Tehran's most famous landmark, the Azadi Tower, was built by the order of the Shah in 1971. It was designed by [[Hossein Amanat]], an architect whose design won a competition, combining elements of classical [[Sasanian architecture|Sassanian architecture]] with post-classical Iranian architecture. Formerly known as the ''Shahyad Tower'', it was built to commemorate the [[2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire|2,500th anniversary of the Imperial State of Iran]].