Having desirable ecological conditions, the rural area of Rudbar Ghasran located in the northern part of Tehran is acted as a complementary area for this metropolitan. It has undergone radical changes in the past few decades due to counter-urbanization and prevailing urban-rural relations. This paper present functional change occurred during 1967 -2004 in this area. To do so, secondary data, field studies and questionnaires were conducted to investigate the socio-economic changes. The results indicate that new functions such as tourism and industrial activities have been developed in this area while the traditional functions of the area such as farming and cattle breeding have faded away. Unfortunately, these changes have not been based on any preplanned programs and management. This in turn has led to adverse environmental and socio-economic consequences. Considering the ecological significance of this area regarding Tehran metropolitan, implication of proper management of the socio-economic activities and preplanned programs especially in the area of second homes is of prominent importance. This in turn, may lead to a sustainable tourism per say.
Keywords: Counter-urbanization, Urban - rural relation, Functional changes, Tehran Province.
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