The growing trend of illegal construction, as a deep-rooted and expanding phenomenon, has posed serious challenges to urban management and planning in Iran. Accordingly, this study aimed to identify, extract, classify, and develop a conceptual model of the categories associated with the causes and consequences of construction violations. The research adopted a qualitative systematic review approach based on 38 selected studies retrieved from the Magiran, Google Scholar, and SID databases. The selected studies were analyzed through qualitative content analysis using open, axial, and selective coding procedures. The findings indicate that more than 60% of the reviewed studies were published between 2013 and 2022, with a predominant focus on megacities, reflecting the growing severity of the issue and the increasing need for integrative research approaches. The qualitative analysis resulted in the extraction of 75 codes, which were classified into four clusters of causal factors (economic-demographic, institutional-managerial, structural-legal, and socio-cognitive) and four clusters of consequences (physical-spatial, economic-land market, socio-quality of life, and institutional-managerial). Analysis of the relationships among these clusters reveals that economic pressures and weak regulatory oversight interactively create conditions that facilitate construction violations. Accordingly, construction violations have emerged within a context of institutional and managerial deficiencies, while their consequences, through weakening supervision and urban planning systems, reinforce and reproduce the phenomenon over time. This vicious cycle undermines institutional effectiveness and poses serious challenges to urban governance. Therefore, effective confrontation with this issue requires reforming municipal financial structures, revising urban planning regulations, and strengthening institutional monitoring systems.
Extended Abstract:
Introduction
Construction violations have become a deeply rooted and increasingly widespread phenomenon in Iranian cities, posing serious challenges to urban management and planning systems. These violations—including unauthorized construction, illegal land-use changes, excessive density and height violations, and non-compliance with safety standards—have generated extensive physical, economic, social, and institutional consequences. Despite the growing body of research on this issue, there remains a lack of an integrated conceptual framework capable of systematically explaining the causes and consequences of construction violations in Iran. Accordingly, the present study seeks to identify, extract, classify, and conceptualize the underlying causes and consequences of construction violations in Iranian cities.
Methodology
This study adopts a qualitative research approach using a systematic review method. Following a comprehensive search in the Magiran, Google Scholar, and SID databases, and after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 38 studies were selected as the final sample. The collected data were analyzed through qualitative content analysis using three stages of coding: open coding, axial coding, and selective coding.
Results and discussion
The descriptive findings indicate that more than 60% of the selected studies were published between 2013 and 2022, with the majority geographically focused on the metropolitan cities of Tehran, Tabriz, Isfahan, and Mashhad. During the open coding stage, 83 initial codes were extracted. The selective coding process ultimately led to the identification of four causal clusters and four consequence clusters.
The causal clusters include:
1. Economic–demographic factors (land market pressures, population growth, informal settlements and marginalization);
2. Institutional–managerial factors (weak supervision, managerial inefficiency, and municipal dependence on revenues generated through fines);
3. Structural–legal factors (legal deficiencies and weak enforcement mechanisms); and
4. Socio-cognitive factors (low public awareness and the normalization of violations).
The consequence clusters consist of:
1. Physical–spatial consequences (excessive density and reduced urban safety);
2. Economic–land market consequences (inflation in land and housing prices);
3. Social–quality of life consequences (declining quality of life and spatial inequality);
4. Institutional–managerial consequences (normalization of violations and weakening of institutional authority).
The relational analysis demonstrates that construction violations in Iran represent a structurally reproduced phenomenon. Institutional-managerial weaknesses and economic pressures create the conditions for violations to occur, while the resulting consequences further undermine supervisory systems and reinforce a vicious cycle of continuous violation reproduction.
Conclusion
This study presents a comprehensive conceptual model of the causes and consequences of construction violations in Iranian cities. The findings reveal that construction violations should not be understood merely as isolated individual deviations; rather, they emerge from the complex interaction of institutional deficiencies, flawed municipal financial structures, economic pressures, and legal shortcomings. Addressing this issue effectively therefore requires structural reforms in municipal financing systems, revision of urban planning regulations, strengthening of monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, and enhancement of public awareness.
Keywords
Construction violations; Illegal construction; Urban management; Systematic review; Causes and consequences, Iran.