University of Applied Sciences and Technology of Tehran Municipality Urban Development Policy Making 3092-653X 3 1 2027 01 01 Bararies of Investment Attractiveness in Tehran Megacity with a Comparative Approach Bararies of Investment Attractiveness in Tehran Megacity with a Comparative Approach 135 157 236052 10.22034/judpm.2025.553514.1069 FA Mahmoud Olad Ghareh Ghouz Urban Economics Researcher, PhD in Economics, Tehran, Iran 0000-0003-3808-1021 Amirhossein Azimpour PhD Student in Urban Planning, Faculty of Urban Planning, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran 0009-0009-3048-0766 Journal Article 2025 07 29 <span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'B Mitra'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: FA;">This study compares the investment attractiveness of Tehran metropolis with leading global capitals and analyzes the main barriers at the structural, economic, institutional, environmental, and political levels using international data. The results show that Tehran, despite its potential capacities, faces a serious gap in investment attraction and competitiveness due to the deterioration of infrastructure, economic instability, regulatory complexity, environmental problems, and sanctions. The construction-oriented approach and the heavy dependence of urban income on fees have made development unproductive and unbalanced. The DEMATEL method was used to measure the causal relationships between barriers. The findings show that structural barriers are the most effective and economic and institutional barriers are the most effective factors. Also, “ignoring environmental sustainability” and “sanctions” were identified as causal factors and “low quality of life” as the most important consequence. These results highlight the need to shift from a short-term revenue-generating approach to productive investment and institutional reforms to enhance sustainability and investment attractiveness in Tehran.</span> <span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'B Mitra'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: FA;">This study compares the investment attractiveness of Tehran metropolis with leading global capitals and analyzes the main barriers at the structural, economic, institutional, environmental, and political levels using international data. The results show that Tehran, despite its potential capacities, faces a serious gap in investment attraction and competitiveness due to the deterioration of infrastructure, economic instability, regulatory complexity, environmental problems, and sanctions. The construction-oriented approach and the heavy dependence of urban income on fees have made development unproductive and unbalanced. The DEMATEL method was used to measure the causal relationships between barriers. The findings show that structural barriers are the most effective and economic and institutional barriers are the most effective factors. Also, “ignoring environmental sustainability” and “sanctions” were identified as causal factors and “low quality of life” as the most important consequence. These results highlight the need to shift from a short-term revenue-generating approach to productive investment and institutional reforms to enhance sustainability and investment attractiveness in Tehran.</span> https://www.judpm.ir/article_236052_5e91f25817f655540c1d172efd756ae1.pdf