Great challenges and the application of participatory tools in the planning of the informal city. The case of Makeni, Sierra Leone.

Abstract

This article investigates the definition of planning models and management tools for cities with expansive growth and broad informal sectors using the experience of the city of Makeni, Sierra Leone as a case study. In an ongoing process over several years, the School of Architecture at the University San Pablo CEU (USP-CEU) has promoted participatory urban planning actions by providing technical experience through collaboration with the University of Makeni and the Makeni City Council. In the gradual advancement of knowledge about a specific reality full of challenges, urban proposals have been approached in two fundamental ways: on the one hand, through the development of a Strategic Spatial Plan for Makeni aimed at generating proposals for the city and its territory; and on the other, with the implementation of the Neighborhood Improvement Program focused on the existing city. On a local scale in the Makeni territory, notable results include: progress in the training and abilities of local university students, the generation of methodologies and basic planning tools, the strengthening of the municipal administrative cadres, and the involvement and increased awareness of the local population. At the global level, it is important to highlight the creation of a coherent and systematic framework, which can be replicated in other urban realities with similar characteristics. This contribution is especially appropriate in those disadvantaged urban contexts that, in their growth processes, face the greatest future challenge related to habitability at the global level.