Shahin Shahr

Shahin Shahr (Persian: شاهين شهر, also Romanized as Shāhīn Shahr)^[2] is a city in and the capital of Shahin Shahr and Meymeh County, Isfahan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 126,070, in 33,515 families.^[3]

Shahin Shahr is Iran's first master-planned satellite city, located approximately 15 miles (24 km) to the north of Isfahan, Iran's second largest metropolitan area and its historic capital. The current population is approximately 180,000, with a high proportion of the residents being displaced Iran-Iraq war refugees originally from Khuzestan. The city is also home to many Armenian Iranians who located there before the revolution. The city's original plan envisioned 50,000 homes and a maximum population of 250,000. The city currently ranks among the 50 largest in Iran.

The name Shahin Shahr is translated as Falcon City, thought to be taken from the fact that it is Iran's first master-planned satellite city and as shaped like a falcon or eagle when viewed from above.^[4]

The city is located among the central mountain ranges of Iran to the east of the Zagros Mountains. It has an altitude of 1662 on average with a slope of 16%. It has a dry climate with very little precipitation. When it rains, the water is quickly evaporated or sinks into the ground. The variation in temperature is about 50 degrees Celsius.^[4]

History

Foundation

The city was founded in the mid to late 1960s when six brothers, from a highly regarded and well-respected local family, decided that it was more economical for them to transform the 40 million square meter (40,000 acre) Amirabad farm that they had inherited from their father, Mohammad Boroumand, from agricultural usage to a mix of residential development and agricultural usage. The main drivers for this decision were the proximity of their farm to Esfahan, the availability of plentiful water from the "qanat", or underground canal system that their father had salvaged and upgraded during his lifetime, and the demand for affordable housing. The Boroumand brothers proceeded to incorporate the Sherkat Omran Shahinshahr, and with initial funding from the Bank Taavoni Va Tozie (now a part of Bank Mellat) began the process of developing the city's infrastructure, including its roads, sewers, water, and electricity. As development and construction progressed, the enterprise, under the supervision of Engineer Haj Abdolrashid Boroumand, employed in excess of 10,000 people including accountants, engineers, architects, and laborers, and proceeded to build over 10,000 affordable homes and to provide homes to over 50,000 residents. The masterplan for the expanded new town for 300,000 people was prepared by Peter Verity (PDRc) the international architect who also prepared the detailed designs for several of the planned residential areas and a range of public buildings.

Growth

To further attract residents, the Boroumand brothers gifted over 4 million square meters (4,000 acres) of land in close proximity to the city to the Daneshgah Sanati Esfahan, Isfahan University of Technology (IUT), and gifted another 4 million square meters (4,000 acres) of land in the city to the Iranian government with the understanding that the government would build a manufacturing facility there (a helicopter manufacturing plant which was to have been built there prior to the Iranian Revolution, is now home to the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA.))

In the 1970s, numerous American and other foreign expatriates working under contract to the Iranian government and the Iranian military resided in Shahinshahr in a walled and gated compound. The Toufanian High School building of the American school of Isfahan (now a satellite campus of Malek Ashtar University) was located within the walled Shahinshahr compound during this period.

Iranian Revolution

With the advent of the Iranian Revolution of 1979, a compromised religious judge, named Omid Najafabadi, who was himself subsequently executed as a criminal by Hojatoleslam Mohammad Mohammadi Reyshahri on a variety of charges, including that of "corruption on earth", decided to take advantage of his newly found power and position, and the country's general state of lawlessness. Najafabadi proceeded to convene a sham trial and bring false charges against members of the Boroumand family. The result of that fraudulent trial was an order calling for the seizure, confiscation and sale of all of the Boroumand family's possessions, including Shahinshahr, by a newly formed entity named the Bonyad-e Mostazafen va Janbazan. In the 30 years since the Iranian Revolution, the Bonyad Mostazafan has continued to liquidate and sell portions of Shahinshahr without permission or consent and without any remuneration or compensation. A 1996 ruling by a judge Mirzai, addressing Najafabadi's fraudulent court order, was conveniently hidden from the owners in the files and ignored by the Bonyad Mostazafan.

Shahinshahr now

Shahinshahr is renowned in Iran for its excellent educational facilities and system, ranking 2nd in the whole country, a legacy of the first class schools originally built. Shahinshahr is currently home to many employees of governmental organizations, such as the National Iranian Oil Company, and a variety of educational organizations. The majority of the population is from a middle class background, and work in a range of industries including military, refineries, aerospace production as well as typical office and retail jobs. It is the most diverse city in Iran as a result of the large population of immigrants. It is also popular with non-muslim Iranians such as people following the Bahai religion and second generation Armenians (Christians).^[4]

References

Ref: Shahinshahr New Town Masterplan by Peter Verity, 1977.