1. Introduction
Urban planning is not merely a technical activity based on analytical tools; rather, it is a social, political, and institutional process in which planners continuously interact with power structures, decision-making bodies, stakeholders, and citizens. Consequently, the way planners perceived and interpreted their professional roles could significantly influence decision-making processes, the management of conflicts, and ultimately the outcomes of urban planning. In recent decades, planning theory has gradually shifted from purely technical and rational approaches toward a greater emphasis on the social, normative, and interpretive dimensions of planning practice. Within this perspective, professional identity, role awareness, and planners' interpretations of their professional positions have become critical areas of inquiry.
Despite the growing international literature on planners' professional roles and identities, limited attention had been paid to understanding how urban planners in Iran perceived their roles and navigated the political, organizational, and professional pressures embedded in planning practice.

Research Question
How did urban planners in the Tehran metropolitan planning environment understand and redefine their professional roles when confronted with the complexities, conflicts, and constraints of planning practice?

2. Literature Review
The theoretical foundation of this study drew upon role theory, professional identity studies, and interpretive planning perspectives. Role theory assumes that professional behavior is shaped by a set of social expectations, norms, and institutional rules. Within the urban planning context, planners are simultaneously exposed to the often conflicting expectations of employers, professional ethics, personal values, and public interests, creating conditions of role ambiguity and role conflict.
Contemporary planning theories further emphasize the agency of planners and their capacity to actively redefine professional roles. From this perspective, planners are not merely executors of institutional mandates but actors who shape planning processes through interpretation, lived experience, professional values, and social interactions. In this regard, the concept of professional self-awareness gains particular importance. Professional self-awareness refers to the planner's reflective capacity to critically examine their professional position, social responsibilities, institutional constraints, and ethical obligations. Such awareness can enhance the ability to navigate role conflicts, strengthen professional responsibility, and improve the effectiveness of planning practice.

3. Methodology
This research adopted a qualitative approach based on Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT). The selection of this methodology was motivated by its capacity to explore subjective meanings, lived experiences, and socially constructed interpretations of professional practice. The participants consisted of urban planners with substantial professional experience in the metropolitan planning environment of Tehran.
Data were collected through 18 semi-structured interviews. The sampling process followed purposive and theoretical sampling strategies and continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data analysis proceeded through the stages of initial coding, focused coding, and theoretical coding, following the principles of constructivist grounded theory. A total of 225 initial codes were identified and subsequently organized into 33 conceptual categories, several subcategories, and ultimately a core category.
The validity of the findings was ensured through constant comparison, analytical memo-writing, iterative movement between data and concepts, and continuous evaluation of theoretical saturation. This process resulted in the emergence of the core category "Planners' Professional Self-Awareness within the Field of Role-Playing," which constitutes the theoretical framework of the study.

4. Discussion
The findings revealed that planners' professional behavior in Tehran was influenced less by formal planning regulations and more by how they perceived and interpreted their roles within institutional and political contexts. The core category of professional self-awareness within the field of role-playing suggested that planners continuously redefined their roles in response to power relations, organizational constraints, and conflicting expectations.
Three dominant role patterns emerged from the analysis: the planner as a translator of the employer's intentions into technical language, the planner as a mediator among stakeholders, and the planner as a technical legitimizer of planning decisions. In many situations, planners found themselves caught between professional ideals and the practical realities of planning institutions, compelling them to adopt adaptive strategies. Their actions were often guided not by a logic of perfect rationality but by a logic of appropriateness, whereby decisions were shaped by institutional conditions, personal experiences, and contextual interpretations.
The findings further indicated that role conflict, rather than role ambiguity, represented the principal challenge faced by urban planners in Tehran. Political pressures, institutional weaknesses, limited trust among actors, and the predominance of pragmatic concerns over professional values contributed to the formation of a fluid and context-dependent professional identity. Nevertheless, many planners strove to function as boundary-spanning actors, seeking to balance public interests, organizational demands, and professional commitments.

5. Conclusion
This study demonstrated that professional self-awareness was the most significant factor shaping the behavior and agency of urban planners within Tehran's planning environment. Planners should not be viewed merely as implementers of institutional structures but rather as active agents who continuously reinterpret and negotiate their professional roles in response to conflicts and constraints.
The findings highlighted the need to strengthen professional self-awareness, reform planning education, enhance professional autonomy, and foster a more dialogic and reflective planning culture. From a policy perspective, improving the performance of urban planning systems required simultaneous attention to technical, institutional, and human dimensions of planning practice. Strengthening professional identity, developing critical and reflective capacities, and supporting planners in their mediating roles could contribute to better decision-making, greater spatial justice, and more effective urban governance.