Much of the climate change literature is replete with discussions about the potential impact of
climate change on cities. Whilst urban planners are increasingly being urged to develop robust and
clear strategies for dealing with the impacts, in reality there is very little knowledge about the way
the local context shapes whether, and how, planners and households are able to address the
challenges posed. Moreover, since much of the literature on the response to climate change impacts
has focused mainly on national level actions, there is very little knowledge about how such actions
should be carried out in particular cities. Although local levels are now increasingly being
recognised as plausible action points, the way in which institutional structures work to either shape
vulnerability, or to constrain households and urban planning responses, has been largely ignored
and the links poorly theorised.
This study questions the dominant assumptions about ‘institutional fit’ and argues that the
ingenuity of human agency in dealing with climate change can be constrained by the planning
structures within which actions take place. The study uses Sierra Leone’s capital – Freetown − to
explore this argument by examining the linkages between the country’s urban planning system, the
structures of governance, and the system for climate change response and adaptation management.
Using a multi-disciplinary approach that has been developed on both theoretical and empirical
grounds, the research examines the important challenges that must be addressed in order for urban
planning processes to effectively address climate change response and adaptation issues. The
research uses a variety of data collection techniques (quantitative and qualitative) to investigate the
constraints placed on actors at different levels in shaping the city’s development process and how
this will be affected by climate change.
The thesis proposes a framework to offer insights into some of the more practical considerations
and approaches behind making climate change an integral part of urban planning. However, the
inclusion of climate change considerations in urban planning decisions raises questions about what
kinds of adjustments ought to be made to the current planning system. The thesis concludes that
whilst institutions do not guarantee what actually happens in practice, they are critical for urban
planning responses since the integration of climate change concerns into policy and practice is
largely dependent on national and local level institutions.