Identifying Urban Management Challenges in Realizing Sustainable Non-financial Tools for Providing Resources to Municipalities (Case Study: Langarud City)

Background and Objectives: Sustainable revenue generation for municipalities remains a major challenge in Iran, where long-term reliance on unstable sources such as density sales and land-use changes—has led to spatial imbalance and social-environmental inequality. To address this, there is a growing shift toward innovative and resilient financial strategies. Non-financial tools such as Transfer of Development Rights (TDR), BOT/BOO partnership contracts, and facilitation-based incentive mechanisms are emerging as promising alternatives to reduce dependence on cash revenues. This research seeks to identify key barriers to implementing these sustainable non-financial instruments in Iranian municipalities. Methods: A descriptive–analytical method was applied, combining the fuzzy Delphi technique with qualitative content analysis to identify and classify the main barriers to adopting non-financial instruments. Findings: The results show that these instruments face multiple obstacles in five dimensions: legal, institutional, cultural, economic, and participatory. Conclusion: The study highlights that effective implementation requires structural reforms in urban governance, revision of legal frameworks, institutional strengthening, public trust building, and the use of data-driven planning tools. Based on the findings, a set of policy and operational recommendations has been proposed to address the identified barriers. These results provide guidance for improving sustainable municipal finance in Iran and contribute to the broader academic discussion on innovative non-financial approaches to urban management.