By Rose Aba Akafo
Freetown City Council (FCC) has partnered with UN-Habitat and GOAL to launch the Freetown urban green design competition, which aims to introduce climate-resilient green solutions into the city’s central business district (CBD).
The competition launched on Tuesday attracted local government officials, development partners, students, young professionals, and creatives committed to sustainable urban development.
Speaking at the event, Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr described the initiative as a practical response to the environmental pressures facing the capital, including rising temperatures, flooding, congestion, and the loss of urban green spaces. She encouraged residents, particularly young people, to take ownership of the city’s environmental future by reimagining how nature can coexist with commerce in the metropolitan city.
The urban green design competition, she said, forms part of the Freetown–Zurich City-to-City Cooperation, a broader urban regeneration programme that seeks to promote environmentally responsible city planning. It complements ongoing efforts to improve lighting, parking, and beautification of the city as well as introduces nature-based solutions to enhance liveability and climate resilience.
Project Manager Ing. Sylvester Gouldson explained that the competition responds directly to Freetown’s vulnerability to climate change. He stressed the need for inclusive and innovative design ideas that not only beautify the CBD but also improve biodiversity, reduce heat, and support sustainable urban ecosystems.
Participants were invited to redesign sections of the CBD stretching from Walpole Street to Wilberforce Street, and from Siaka Stevens Street to Wallace Johnson Street. Proposed designs are expected to integrate trees, green corridors, and revitalised public-facing spaces, including the surroundings of banks and other major landmarks.
UN-Habitat’s Ing. Trudy Morgan noted that the competition is embedded within a long-term sustainable urban development framework. She said the goal is to ensure that green design ideas are practical, scalable, and aligned with broader city planning strategies.
The competition timeline includes submission of entries by Jan. 30, evaluation on Feb. 6, a site visit on Feb. 9, and an award ceremony on Feb. 10. The top three winning entries will each receive a cash prize of NLe10,000.
Open to students, young professionals, and local creatives, the competition seeks to strengthen community ownership of environmental solutions while building local capacity for green urban design. Staff of FCC, GOAL, and UN-Habitat are excluded from participation.
Entries will be judged on innovation, climate resilience, biodiversity enhancement, public safety, cost-effectiveness, and overall creativity. Organisers say the initiative is expected to generate fresh ideas that will help transform Freetown’s city centre into a greener, healthier, and more climate-resilient urban space.
