Representation of urban poverty in urban management media (Hamshahri Online)

Abstract
Media representation is one of the dimensions of representation that holds significant importance in cultural studies. According to the objectives outlined in the documents and programs of Tehran, the municipality is obligated to act towards achieving urban justice. Therefore, it is expected that the media of Tehran’s urban management also addresses the issue of urban impoverished individuals. The aim of this research is to analyze the representation of urban impoverished individuals in the urban management media, specifically in Hamshahri Online. For this purpose, an inductive qualitative content analysis method has been employed. The period under review is the sixth term of the municipality’s management from 2021 to 2024. During this period, all analytical and news reports related to the subject have been studied. The findings of the research indicate that in a typology of urban impoverished individuals, the majority of representations in Hamshahri media pertain to groups referred to as needy impoverished individuals; and the urban management media has attempted to reflect the actions of Tehran’s municipality in this regard, in line with higher-level documents. Following this, the categories of fraudulent impoverished individuals and pitiable impoverished individuals are identified. These results show that media representation, within the framework of prevailing discourse and ideology, attempts to manage the reality of poverty by distinguishing between real and unreal groups, as well as deserving and undeserving individuals, and those who are vulnerable and at risk. Additionally, there has been less focus on the structural causes of poverty, and the nature of the reports is more news-oriented than analytical.
Extended Abstract:
Introduction
The urban poor, as a distinct social class or group, have long been the subject of diverse interpretations and analyses. The term gained prominence in the late twentieth century, particularly within discussions of urban poverty, welfare dependency, and the consequences of structural inequality. Within the representational approach prevalent in cultural studies, the urban poor are portrayed through various forms of media representation. This perspective views such representations through the framework of discourse analysis, understanding them as shaped and influenced by underlying ideological orientations.
Moreover, conceptions of poverty and the urban poor have evolved significantly from pre-modern to modern paradigms. In modern contexts, systematic efforts have been made to “manage” the urban poor so that their existence does not disrupt the perceived order of urban life.
Beyond theoretical concerns, a matter of particular importance for Tehran’s municipality and urban management is the realization of goals articulated in official documents and programs aimed at achieving social and urban justice. Among these are the National Spatial Planning Document (approved by the Supreme Council of Spatial Planning, final edition, March 2021), the General Policies of the Resistance Economy, and the Fourth Plan for Transformation and Development of Tehran (2022–2025), which explicitly prioritizes the realization of urban justice. In these policy frameworks, the notion of urban justice functions as a central signifier rooted in moral and ideological foundations, and issues of urban poverty are addressed both directly and indirectly.
As the urban management media operate under the jurisdiction of Tehran Municipality, their representation of urban poverty can profoundly influence the municipality’s anti-poverty policies. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to examine and interpret how the urban poor residing in Tehran are represented in the municipality’s official media outlet, Hamshahri Online.
The central research question is: How does Hamshahri, as the media arm of Tehran’s urban management, represent the urban poor in alignment with the municipality’s upper-level policy frameworks? The significance of this inquiry lies in the recognition that media representation of the urban poor within urban management media can shape policymaking processes and the implementation of anti-poverty programs. Understanding how media portray different social groups and classes is essential, as prior studies have shown that media discourse significantly affects public perceptions and the evaluative judgments of policymakers.
Methodology
This study employs an inductive qualitative content analysis approach. In this method, no pre-determined theoretical model is imposed; instead, data are analyzed inductively, leading to the identification of categories and broader conceptual themes through iterative coding. The empirical focus of this study is Hamshahri Newspaper, the official publication of Tehran Municipality, which functions as a communicative organ representing the activities and narratives of the city’s management. The sampling strategy involves analyzing all news reports and analytical articles addressing issues of urban poverty published between August 2021 and August 2024. The units of analysis range from individual words to sentences and paragraphs, selected based on their capacity to convey relevant meaning and to stand independently as interpretable units of text without external contextual support.
Findings
The findings, derived through multiple stages of coding, reveal three dominant representational patterns of the urban poor in Hamshahri:

The “Needy Poor” – This category contained the highest frequency of codes. Within this representation, the poor are depicted as dependent individuals requiring protection and assistance. Poverty is acknowledged as a social reality, yet two divergent orientations emerge:


One emphasizes empowerment and skill-building as a means of overcoming deprivation;
The other stresses financial and charitable aid as a moral and religious obligation. Despite these differences, both share a common underlying logic of paternalistic support.


The “Deceptive Poor” or “Fraudulent Beggar” – This representation primarily pertains to beggars, who are depicted as manipulative individuals exploiting public sympathy. Hamshahri seeks to expose the “truth” of begging in Tehran through investigative reports, positioning this group as morally suspect and socially disruptive.
The “Pitiful Poor” – A less frequent yet notable representation portrays the poor as pitiable, weak, and lacking agency or skills, reinforcing notions of inferiority and dependence.

Conclusion
The media representations of the urban poor in Hamshahri demonstrate that poverty is not portrayed as a homogeneous condition; rather, multiple and differentiated categories of the poor are constructed within the urban context of Tehran. Broadly, Hamshahri divides the poor into “real” and “unreal” categories, reflecting an underlying logic of differentiation and control.
The newspaper’s dominant framing suggests a concerted attempt to manage the urban poor so as to prevent their perceived disruption of urban order. These representations tend to emphasize weakness, dependency, and the need for assistance, while largely neglecting the structural and historical causes of urban poverty. The persistence and intergenerational nature of poverty—indicative of deeper socio-economic inequalities—receive minimal attention.
The manner in which Hamshahri depicts poverty and anti-poverty efforts mirrors the prevailing discourse of urban management in Tehran. Within this discourse, the poor are classified as either “dangerous” or “harmless,” “real” or “unreal,” reducing poverty to a matter of addressing immediate needs rather than confronting systemic inequalities. Ultimately, the most favorable image of the urban poor presented in this media is that of individuals who must be “empowered”—not for social transformation, but to remain compliant, manageable, and non-threatening participants in urban life.