By Amin Kef (Ranger)
The Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre (SLURC) is commemorating a decade of groundbreaking work in urban development, climate resilience, community engagement and evidence-driven policymaking. Founded in 2015 through a partnership between University College London’s Bartlett Development Planning Unit and Njala University’s Institute of Geography and Development Studies, with core funding from Comic Relief, the centre has evolved from a small research initiative into Sierra Leone’s foremost authority on urban knowledge and practice.
Ten years on, SLURC is using its anniversary to reflect on achievements, assess ongoing challenges and lay out an ambitious vision for the next decade through its newly launched Strategic Plan 2024–2029. The wide-ranging plan strengthens the centre’s commitment to equity, inclusion, climate adaptation and evidence uptake, reaffirming its position as a vital contributor to national development.
When SLURC began operations a decade ago, its work focused on just four informal settlements in Freetown. Those initial communities served as pilot sites that helped researchers understand the complex dynamics of housing, mobility, livelihoods and environmental risk in underserved urban areas. According to Executive Director, Dr. Joseph Macarthy, those initial engagements laid the foundation for a community-driven research model that remains central to SLURC’s mission.
Today, SLURC’s footprint spans 15 informal settlements in Freetown and eight secondary cities; Bo, Makeni, Koidu, Kenema, Port Loko, Bonthe, Waterloo and Lungi. This expansion has been accompanied by a dramatic rise in research output: from a single project in 2015 to 48 studies and partnerships touching every dimension of urban development. Through those projects, SLURC has cultivated a national network of communities, local authorities, civil society groups and international partners; all working to tackle Sierra Leone’s mounting urban challenges.
SLURC’s influence on national and city-level policies has grown steadily. Over the years, the organization has become a trusted technical partner of the World Bank, African Development Bank, UN-Habitat, UNEP and major Ministries of the Government of Sierra Leone. Its research has informed major initiatives in urban planning, flood risk management, housing development, coastal protection and transportation systems.
Recent interventions include a joint feasibility study for the Freetown Central Business District regeneration project and an ongoing assignment to produce a Spatial Development Framework for Lungi, the country’s proposed future administrative city. SLURC is also leading new research on sand mining in the Western Area Peninsula and Lungi to evaluate the growing environmental and economic impacts of the practice on coastal communities and tourism.
Those partnerships illustrate how SLURC has moved beyond academic research to shape real-world planning decisions affecting millions of Sierra Leoneans.
At the core of SLURC’s tenth anniversary celebrations is the launch of its Strategic Plan 2024–2029, a bold roadmap to strengthen research excellence, enhance policy engagement and reinforce community empowerment. The plan is built around six pillars:
- Enhancing research excellence across nine priority themes, including climate resilience, mobility, housing, livelihoods and urban safety.
- Strengthening policy influence through targeted briefs, strategic partnerships and formal mechanisms for Government uptake.
- Deepening community leadership through co-produced knowledge and advocacy networks.
- Expanding knowledge dissemination, including advanced GIS systems, digital data hubs and public dashboards.
- Diversifying funding and consultancy services to accelerate sustainability and regional reach.
- Strengthening governance structures, promoting transparency, risk management and institutional resilience.
The plan aligns with national priorities such as the Big Five Game Changers and the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security (PI-CREF). It also outlines annual timelines for implementation, with milestones in community initiatives, digital expansion, regional collaboration and measurable improvements in urban wellbeing.
Recognizing Sierra Leone’s vulnerability to climate change, SLURC has intensified its work on resilience planning. One of its most significant recent accomplishments is the completion of a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and Management Plan for eight secondary cities as part of the Resilient Urban Sierra Leone Project (RUSLP), funded by the World Bank.
This landmark project includes detailed hazard maps, hydrological modelling, city-specific risk assessments and actionable strategies covering land-use planning, drainage expansion and nature-based solutions like wetland protection. Local councils were trained to implement and sustain those systems; critical for long-term disaster preparedness.
SLURC also collaborated with Ricardo (UK) to develop Climate Action Plans (CAPs) for Bo, Kenema and Makeni. Those plans integrate greenhouse gas inventories, sectoral risk analyses, investment priorities and monitoring frameworks extending to 2050. They are now the guiding frameworks for climate mitigation and adaptation in the three cities.
A defining feature of SLURC’s work is its commitment to community-led adaptation. In projects such as Urban SHADE, Urban Futures, KISS and Urban TRACS, the organization has documented rich local knowledge on flooding, heatwaves, landslides, disease outbreaks and environmental degradation.
Through Photovoice, residents in Moyiba, Susan’s Bay, Colbot and other settlements are using photography to document climate impacts on their health and wellbeing; from the dangers of makeshift hillside housing to heat stress and livelihood disruptions. The imagery has become powerful evidence for policymakers, while also strengthening local capacity to influence planning processes.
Those participatory methods reveal not only risks but resilience: community-built terraces, mangrove planting, homemade flood defences and adaptive livelihood strategies. SLURC believes such local innovations must be integrated into national climate strategies.
SLURC’s global footprint continues to grow. A new Learning Alliance with Imperial College London brought four MSc students and one PhD candidate to Sierra Leone for fieldwork under a project focusing on green infrastructure and ecosystem resilience. Supported by SLURC staff and local interns, the teams conducted surveys, workshops, interviews and participatory assessments in informal settlements and coastal zones.
The collaboration has strengthened cross-border research and provided hands-on experience for Sierra Leonean interns; an investment in the next generation of urban development professionals.
SLURC has also appointed a new Knowledge Management, Communication and Information Officer, Fasalie Sulaiman Kamara, a seasoned communications expert with extensive experience in development communication, One Health governance and public health promotion. His arrival is expected to accelerate SLURC’s research uptake and strategic communication.
Looking into the next decade, SLURC envisions transforming into a degree-awarding institution offering diplomas, certificates and academic programmes in urban development; positioning it as a long-term engine for capacity-building and innovation in Sierra Leone.
SLURC celebrates ten years of growth, evolving from a four-community pilot into a nationally recognized research institution whose contributions continue to shape the future of Sierra Leone’s cities through data, community engagement and policy leadership.
