Mayors Honored at 16th Annual Urban Leadership Forum

The Penn Institute for Urban Research presented Urban Leadership Awards on April 6 to two mayors who have set an example for their peers by rallying their cities around comprehensive plans. Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Mayor Marvin Rees, of Bristol, England, received the awards at Penn IUR's 16th Annual Urban Leadership Forum, in recognition of the transformative power of local leaders to guide cities toward a vibrant future.

Aki-Sawyerr and Rees "have been exemplary in their leadership of their cities and in promoting their cities as examples of sustainable urban development that encompasses all the elements of sustainability—social sustainability, economic sustainability and environmental sustainability," said Eugenie L. Birch, Co-Director of Penn IUR. "Both of them have been active in their city and in the global arena promoting the ideas of what makes a green and just society."

Penn IUR Co-Director Susan Wachter noted that both have built coalitions across the private and civic sector for long-run inclusive and sustainable growth at the local level. The mayors spoke of the value of getting input from a variety of constituencies to craft plans with attainable goals, and of the need to take the lead in sustainability efforts within their regions as more people migrate into cities.

"For many years I and others have been talking about the inter-dependence of both the environmental and social justice and by extension of that, when we talk about sustainability, it has to mean social sustainability alongside environmental sustainability," Rees said. "If we don't deliver one, we will severely undermine the other. And we also know that the impact of environmental destruction falls first and hardest on the shoulders of the most vulnerable people."

Aki-Sawyerr, who became mayor of Sierra Leone's capital in May 2018, launched the Transform Freetown Plan in January 2019. It sets 19 concrete targets across 11 sectors and covers issues ranging from waste management and housing to improving urban planning, tackling environmental degradation, and creating tourism jobs.

She drew a contrast between Freetown and the typical Western city with skyscrapers, parks, well-organized neighborhoods, and water that flows out of the tap.

"What is the reality of thousands of cities around the world is the reality of my city," she said. "And it is those challenges, particularly in environment and sanitation, which led me to run for mayor, and which led me to work with community stakeholders, to work with development partners, to work with the residents of our city and with the experts in developing what we know in Freetown as `#transformfreetown.'"

The plan was developed in consultation with 15,000 people in 320 focus groups. That exercise created a sense of participation among city residents, businesses, and organizations that has been one of the keys to the three-year plan's success.

"It's not necessarily a blueprint that everybody can take on board, but at least a framework which may be applicable to other cities," Aki-Sawyerr said. "It's taking an integrated approach to urban management to urban development. Transform Freetown has at its heart … the concept of having everyone involved. And the model can be shared."

Aki Sawyer's approach has become an inspiration across the region, as she has sought to share ideas with other mayors.

"She's a superstar mayor in the subregion and we are all huge fans," Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda, of Kanifing municipality in Gambia, said during the forum. "That's why I'm here—to learn from the best," he said. "I want to know how Yvonne is solving similar problems we're facing back home, and the relationship has been invaluable."

Among Aki-Sawyerr's accomplishments is a flood mitigation program, in which 39 waterways and 20 bridges were cleaned, 35 culverts de-silted, and 6,240 meters of gutters were excavated. That program helped prevent rainy season flooding in some areas for the first time in a decade. Aki-Sawyerr also pointed to progress in a plan to increase collection of liquid and solid waste from 6 percent and 20 percent respectively to 60 percent of both by 2022.

Aki-Sawyerr moved forward with a commitment to raise taxes, using a satellite survey to more than triple the number of identified taxable properties. That led to a more than five-fold increase in annual revenue, to 44 billion Leone ($4.3 million). The property owners proved willing to pay, she said, because the city had demonstrated transparency, accountability, and delivery of services, even with its limited resources.

Rees, the first person of Black African-Caribbean descent to become mayor of a major European city, faces the local issue of building social inclusivity. "Our challenge in a place like Bristol is just ongoing inequality," he said.

After taking office in 2016, Rees rallied people and organizations outside the direct control of the city government around what became the One City Plan for Bristol, which focuses on poverty, homelessness, education, and public transportation.

"A friend of mine who's in the army says make a plan, any plan, just make a bloody plan," Rees said. "We said 'look we're going to write it, it's not perfect and we'll refresh it every year, so it will be more sophisticated. It will be better in four or five years than it is today.'"

The purpose of the plan, he said, was "to get all those organizations aligned around a smaller number of shared priorities," Rees said. "This became known as the Bristol One approach. We could focus on getting outcomes that actually are successful." 

The plan extends to 2050, with goals that now go beyond the sustainable development goals set for 2030 by the United Nations, he said. The long-range plan "transcends the electoral cycle," he said.

Like Aki-Sawyerr, Rees has sought to engage citizens in solving problems. "I developed something called `Make a big offer and make a big ask,' " Rees said. "Come and make a big offer for Bristol then tell me what you need from me and the city to help you deliver that offer."

Under Rees' leadership, Bristol has built 9,000 new homes, doubled the frequency of bus service, and invested 1 million euros ($119 million) in bio methane fueling stations. As part of a One City Economic Recovery and Renewal Strategy, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the city created 140 new apprenticeships, redistributed 3,500 laptops and digital training, worked with unions and buses for furlough extensions, and funneled 100 million euros for pandemic support of businesses. Bristol has also developed a deliverable plan to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Both mayors emphasized the coordination of sustainability efforts with other cities in their region, which share the same challenges. Freetown, for example, is funding a trash site located in a neighboring community, having run out of suitable land within its own borders, Aki-Sawyerr said.

"Working cross border is absolutely an essential," Rees said. "We've just launched a new economic region in the UK known as the Western Gateway."

The economic patch joins Bristol and Cardiff, along with municipalities across south Wales and western England. Rees said such regional networks present an opportunity for cities to take the lead in sustainability efforts.

"This year is the year of testing, and I hope we really, this year, open the doors on the potential of the leadership of individual cities but, importantly, national and international networks of cities," he said. "We haven't got time to mess about because the crisis is upon us."

If you missed the mayors’ remarks, you can stream a video of the Urban Leadership Forum on the Penn IUR website.