Abbās Ābād is a large north-central neighborhood of Tehran, Iran, designated within the Seventh Municipal District of the capital.
History
Abbas Abad was originally conceived in the 1950s and 60's as a housing and residential center for members of various branches of the military, especially for the ground forces. Later on, the district grew and its boundaries blended with other expanding nearby neighborhoods. The capital's first television broadcast stations were situated on Abbas Abad Hills. By the early 70's, the district was experiencing exceptional growth, partly due to its location and the availability of land on still-barren Abbas Abad Hills, which eventually became the site for the never-materialized mega project of Shahestan Pahlavi. To fund further growth, the government in 1971 issued the largest urban development bond-offering to that date, worth approximately $110 million, with 9% annual interest rate and a 7-year maturity. These bonds were initially traded on Tehran Stock Exchange prior to their repurchase at maturity in 1978-79.
Urban planning
The district's city planning grid was modern and geometric with perpendicular wide avenues and narrower side streets, and most residential plots were subdivided into regular lots of 7 meters wide by 30 meters deep, or 14 meters wide by 30 meters deep. A number of novel and useful practices were used in the residential development of Abbas Abad, which was among the recent districts to be designed anew from the start. For example, the apartments on the northern lots of each street were set back to allow for a front-yard, and those on the southern side were to be built adjacent to the street to allow for a backyard, so each building would get the maximum privacy and use of natural sunlight while providing the necessary space for the planting of a garden, greenery and/or trees for each house. The original building code allowed for the construction of two-family houses, although later on the code was modified to allow construction of apartment complexes of up to five floors on the larger lots, with strict limits for the location and number of such apartments for each street and avenue.
In late 1980s and especially in the 1990s, Abbas Abad saw rapid redevelopment as construction codes were relaxed so to raise taxes and fees, allowing for the development of many apartment and even high-rise complexes. As such, Abbas Abad moved away from its somewhat uniform residential roots and became a corporate and business hub as well. Presently, many domestic and foreign firms are headquartered and have large business operations in the district, partly due to its convenient location as a mid-way point between the more affluent northern Tehran and older business districts to the south, access to multiple intercity highways, and a metro station.
Mosallā Complex
Currently, Iran's largest ceremonial mosque is located in Abbas Abad, and on several occasions, parts of it are used for cultural festivals or fairs as well. For example, for the past few years, the annual Tehran International Book Fair, usually held in May, took place there. This mosque remains mostly closed except for a few annual events.
Street names
Below are the current and former names of some of the main thoroughfares in Abbas Abad:
Given that Abbas Abad was originally developed to house members of the military, some of the district's streets were named after high-ranking officials of the time who had contributed to the planning and development of Abbas Abad. By the 1970s many of the avenues had names, while most of the streets were numbered. In the mid-seventies and by the order of the government, a group of renowned planners and architects designed the multibillion-dollar Grand Abbas Abad Development Plan to house embassies, government ministries, residential and commercial high rises over 550 hectares of open space. The plan, however, never materialized due to a number of issues and events, most notably the Islamic revolution. The sole remnant of that mega-project is Jahan-e Koodak highway, which was designed to function as its connecting road axis. Another, more recent project that never materialized was by the Iranian Architect Farshid Moussavi, currently a Professor in Practice at Harvard's Graduate School of Design, who was commissioned to design a modern theater complex of 8 large-screen theaters for the district in 1997, but its construction was not approved by the authorities of the Ministry of Culture.
Diplomatic presence
Currently, the embassies of Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, and Japan are located in Abbas Abad.
