The evolution of contemporary urban planning thought indicates a gradual paradigm shift from dominant physical and engineering-driven approaches toward human- and place-centric models. This paradigm shift is rooted in a profound rethinking of the nature of the relationship between humans and the urban environment. While modern urbanism initially emerged from a mechanistic and reductionist perspective—viewing the urban environment primarily as a mere assemblage of physical elements adjustable through engineering interventions—practical experiences and the theoretical critiques of thinkers such as Jane Jacobs demonstrated that this approach is fundamentally inadequate for addressing the complexities of urban life. Consequently, recent decades have witnessed the emergence of an approach that positions human beings, lived experiences, and the quality of urban life at the very core of policymaking and planning.

Within the framework of human- or place-centric development, the city is no longer defined merely as a collection of physical infrastructure and structures; rather, it is conceptualized as a dynamic and meaningful space forged through the continuous interaction among people, place, experience, identity, and collective memory. This approach conceptualizes urban development beyond mere physical growth, linking it intrinsically to economic, social, and cultural dimensions, as well as spatial justice, transportation, urban governance, livability, public health, resilience, and environmental sustainability. Through this lens, the city serves as a foundational platform for the manifestation of lived experiences, the production of meaning, and the reproduction of social and cultural capital.

However, the philosophical roots of the dominance of physical-centric approaches can be traced back to post-Renaissance epistemological shifts. During this period, the marginalization of metaphysical discourses and the subsequent focus on entities (“beings”) rather than existence (“Being”) reinforced an instrumental and exploitative view of the world. The continuation of this trajectory, coupled with Cartesian dualisms such as mind/matter and subject/object, led to reductionism and fragmentation in understanding complex phenomena like the city, thereby laying the groundwork for the emergence of positivist and physicalist approaches in urban planning.

In Iran, one of the most significant impediments to the transition toward human-centric paradigms is the institutionalization of the “Master Plan” theory as the dominant, and almost ideological, framework in urban planning—an approach that primarily defines the environment and humans as elements to be controlled and regulated through a top-down mechanism. Therefore, the realization of place-based and humanistic development necessitates a fundamental revision of the theoretical and methodological foundations of urban planning, alongside a definitive departure from the physical and reductionist paradigm of the Master Plan.