Spatial preferences of the creative class as driving forces to development in metropitan Areas; Case study of Tehran metropolis.

Objective: In the era of globalization and competitiveness of urban centers, the creative class is considered as one of the main driving forces of growth and development of metropolises. In this regard, attracting and retaining this elusive social group, by identifying and satisfying their spatial preferences, has been included in the spatial development planning agendas of cities and metropolises. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to (1) explain the relationship between the creative class as driving forces and spatial growth and development as an achievement, and (2) to identify the various spatial preferences of creative classes in the metropolitan area of Tehran by residential, leisure, activity and communication needs. Methods: This research is methodologically in the category of combined research (qualitative and quantitative) based on the analysis of objects based on official statistics and the analysis of mentalities by different creative groups; In collecting information, the methods of documentary analysis, statistics and social surveys using interviews and questionnaires have been used, as well as in the classification of creative groups, the method of scenario writing has been used with the help of scenario wizard software. Results: The results show that the creative class is considered as the driving force of growth and development of Tehran metropolis. The high correlation between the share of creative manpower and value-added output confirms this claim. Also, the performed analyzes make it possible to distinguish four distinct groups of naturalist, urbanist, knowledge and art in terms of differences in the activity characteristics and spatial preferences of the creative class. Conclusion: Planning for the recruitment and retention of the creative class in the metropolis of Tehran requires identifying the differences, features and distinct spatial preferences of each of these groups. Based on this, their spatial-activity preferences were identified and presented in the form of solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]