[Reader-list] Urban population : Iran

[Jeebesh]

dear all,
the slant in many writings about iran, presents a spilt between urban  
and rural, where rural is marked poor and urban as elite etc. it maybe  
worthwhile to look carefully at the urban population in Iran. It is  
about 60% and rapidly growing. It maybe worthwhile to think this  
through within the context of the present unrest.
warmly
jeebesh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Iran_cities_by_population
Iran has one of the highest urban growth rates in the world. From 1950  
to 2002, the urban proportion of the population increased from 27% to  
60%.[1] The United Nations predicts that by 2030 80% of the population  
will be urban.[2] Most internal migrants have settled near the cities  
of Tehran, Isfahan, Ahvaz, and Qom. Tehran, with population of 7.7  
million, is the largest city in Iran and is the Capital city. Tehran  
is home to around 11% of Iran's population. It is the hub of the  
country's communication and transport network.
Mashhad, with a population of 2.4 million, is the second largest  
Iranian city and the centre of the province of Razavi Khorasan.  
Mashhad is one of the holiest Shi'a cities in the world as it is the  
site of the Imam Reza shrine. It is the centre of tourism in Iran and  
between 15 and 20 million pilgrims go to the Imam Reza's shrine every  
year.[3][4]
Another major Iranian city is Isfahan (population 1.5 million), which  
is the capital of Isfahan Province. The growth of suburb area around  
the city has turned Isfahan to the second most populous metropolitan  
area (3.4 million).[5]
The forth major city of Iran is Tabriz (population 1.3 million)  
capital of the East Azarbaijan province which is the second industrial  
city of Iran after Tehran. Tabriz has been the second largest city in  
Iran until the late 1960s and one of its former capitals. The other  
major cities are Karaj (population 1.3 million), and Shiraz  
(population 1.2 million). Karaj is located inTehran province and is  
situated 20 km west of Tehran, at the foot of Alborz mountains;  
however, the city is increasingly becoming an extension of  
metropolitan Tehran.