Freetown

Freetown has expanded rapidly along a mountainous peninsula where steep slopes, narrow coastal land and intense rainfall create severe constraints on urban growth. Informal settlement has spread into hazardous areas, while inadequate drainage and solid-waste collection increase flood and landslide risk and make neighbourhood access difficult.

The Resilient Urban Sierra Leone Project combines integrated urban planning, infrastructure upgrading, waste management and disaster preparedness. Earlier World Bank analysis also emphasised the need to connect land-use decisions with transport and basic services rather than allowing fragmented expansion inland. The city’s resilience therefore depends on more than engineering individual drains or roads. Freetown needs a spatial strategy that protects high-risk land, improves neighbourhood infrastructure and maintains natural drainage systems while connecting residents more effectively to jobs and services.