Mashhad, as one of Iran’s largest and most religiously significant metropolitan areas, offers a multilayered and uneven urban lived experience across different social classes. This study adopts a critical–comparative approach to examine the relationship between urban spatial structures, lived experiences, and the reproduction of class inequality in Mashhad. The theoretical framework draws upon Lyotard’s postmodern thought, Foucault’s concept of power and knowledge, and the urban theories of Giddens, Bourdieu, and the Chicago School. Data were collected through a combination of content analysis of scholarly sources and field observations, and were interpreted using a qualitative–interpretive method. The findings indicate that Mashhad’s urban structure—marked by the spatial polarization between the northern and southern districts and the expansion of peripheral settlements—facilitates the reproduction of economic, social, and cultural inequalities. The lived experiences of residents vary significantly according to income level, social capital, and spatial location. Moreover, the city’s architecture, distribution of public services, and systems of urban regulation play a key role in shaping daily interactions and individual as well as collective identities. Modernity and postmodernity in Mashhad are reflected not only in urban form and lifestyle but also in the symbolic and perceptual dimensions of space. Drawing on data from 2025 (1404 SH), the article presents a critical and comparative analysis of current urban conditions and proposes policy recommendations aimed at reducing class disparities and improving the quality of urban lived experien.