Hamideh Farahmandian: An Investigation into the Cinematic Representations of Spatial Poverty Trap in Tehran (1963–2022)

Supervisor: Professor François Penz and Dr Maximilian Sternberg

Research overview:

In the urban landscape of the twenty-first century, addressing inequality is crucial. Tehran, as a city emblematic of the Global South, illustrates a metropolis strained by overexploitation of its natural resources, historic inner-city, and working-class communities. This has led to an evolving urban fabric marked by deepening inequalities. Despite numerous plans and policies, the persistent failure to effectively tackle these issues points to a gap in the discourse on urban inequality. This study posits that the missing element lies in the official narratives, which often overlook the realities on the ground when conceptualising spatial inequality. By harnessing cinema's unique cultural power, this research proposes a novel approach to understanding and addressing the complex dimensions of spatial poverty traps in Tehran. The focus is on how fiction films portray the everyday experiences of those living in the city's most impoverished areas and how these cinematic depictions can inform and enrich urban theory, potentially leading to more effective policy interventions.

Biography:

Hamideh, is an urbanist and researcher with a background in Urban Design from Iran University of Science and Technology and an MPhil in Architecture and Urban Studies from the University of Cambridge. She is also a Trust scholar and one of the co-convenors of the Martin Centre seminars series which is the research arm of the department of architecture. Prior to her academic pursuits in the UK, Hamideh amassed extensive experience both in academia and practice, contributing to architectural offices and urban initiatives such as the Tehran Planning and Research Centre. Additionally, she has been involved in teaching urban design and planning at various universities in Iran. Hamideh's research focuses on the interdisciplinary exploration of the intersection between urban spaces and film. Her work has resulted in respective publications in this field. Currently, her Ph.D. research centres on cinematic explorations of the spatial poverty trap in cities, with a particular emphasis on regions in the global south.