Nelson Mandela Boulevard is located in the northern part of Tehran, the capital and largest city in Iran.

Although its reputation as being the most prestigious residential area is now overtaken by some areas further north like Zafaraniyeh, Elahieh, Fereshteh, Sa'adat Abad, and Niavaran, it is nevertheless still home to very expensive real estate and an essential playground for the rich, with many boutique shopping centers, chic cafes and restaurants, extravagant florists, art galleries, beauty salons, language schools, etc., the ultimate place to see and to be seen for fashionable Tehranis who have a desire to show off their possessions.

Rendezvous boys and girls, cruising the streets in cars during evening hours specially on Friday afternoons, used to be an indispensable part of Jordan's image and the car-flirting culture there had developed into an accomplished syllabus through 1990s and early 2000s.

The area, together with its neighboring Valiasr Avenue, is suffering from severe traffic congestion due to rapid commercialization and lack of direct highway access.

[citation needed] The avenue was formerly named after Dr. Samuel Jordan, the founder and the head of the American College of Tehran, now the Alborz High School, from the 1910s to 1941.