PhD Student Tamarabrakemi M. Akoso reflecting on Summer School 2025
Department of Geography, University of Lagos Email
Building Inclusive and Sustainable Urban features in a fast-developing ‘City of God’ – The Redemption City example in Nigeria
On the fringe of Ogun State, located at km 46 on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, according to The Guardian Newspaper of 11th December 2022, the Redemption City (an emerging Christian church city) spans over 2,500 hectares. Putting this into perspective, the Redemption City is 50 times more than the Vatican City in Rome, which is only 49 hectares. Redemption City, also fondly known as the ‘City of God’, is home to approximately 40,000 residents. However, every month, it transforms to host its popular ‘Holy Ghost Congress’, which attracts well over a million worshippers. The ‘City of God’ in recent years has not just been a place of worship or religious pilgrimage, but a living city laboratory for urban innovation. This innovation has witnessed the trinity of sustainability, environmental consciousness, and inclusivity among its large members and other followers. This blog article explores the ’City of God’ through the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) lens, particularly SDG 11, which dwells on Sustainable Cities and Communities.
Inclusivity regardless of Social Classes
The Redemption City has proven to be inclusive, one in which everyone, regardless of social, economic, or even denominational differences, is part of the urban life provided in the city. The city offers a range of housing options, ensuring that both permanent residents and temporary visitors can find suitable accommodations. It is further replete with city infrastructures, such as, public spaces, good directional signage, a good road network connecting all 15 existing estates, a power supply of not less than 22 hours a day at an affordable rate, a free pipe-borne water system that supplies 10 million litres of water daily, and a housing system that gives permanent and free room to the less privilege. On the economic front, it integrates local businesses and vendors into its planning, as seen in the design of shopping malls and complexes, restaurants, and relaxation spots, such as the resting place of Jacob, Bethel.
Sustainable Practices for City Beautification and a Conducive Atmosphere
To maintain the city's aesthetic appeal, the Church has established a Planning and Development Department that seeks to provide approval for building projects in line with the Ogun State Government's building guidelines. Ensures the presence of a certified Site Engineer or Architect during the development process. This also provides the City with a standard of 3-4 m right of way for each building. These areas are left for urban green spaces, such as tree-lined parks and gardens, which are essential for improving air quality, trapping heat to mitigate the greenhouse effect, and ecologically preserving exposure to soil microorganisms. This move to preserve Green Space promotes SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities, as ambient, well-circulated air will reduce the energy spent on home and business cooling systems (Air conditioners).
The City Carbon Sinks: Wetland Preservation
My Doctoral thesis examines the role of wetlands as sinks for carbon, revealing that the wetland ecosystem is one of the most potent yet overlooked tools for urban sustainability. Serving as great sequesters of atmospheric carbon, and forty times more effective than terrestrial forests in its sequestration capacity, the City of God has integrated its development with the preservation of some patches of this vital ecosystem. The river that runs through the city serves as the main source of the water system. With minimal channelization, the main river runs its course downstream, serving and preserving biodiversity.
As the Redemption City of God, formerly known as Redemption Camp, continues to evolve into a large, self-sufficient city, it is more crucial than ever to consider how to protect the environment while also developing it. The city is a tribute to imaginative urban planning and spiritual community building. It currently has hundreds of thousands of residents and can accommodate millions of people during its monthly church programmes. However, while Redemption City expands in size and infrastructure, it must not overlook the crucial natural resources that make it sustainable and resilient. The City can significantly reduce its carbon footprint by protecting and restoring these wetlands. This will help the city achieve its climate goals and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 11, which focuses on sustainable cities and communities. Furthermore, wetlands do much more than simply store carbon. They control the microclimates in their area, absorb heat, and help mitigate the urban heat island effect, which is becoming increasingly problematic as cities expand and climatic patterns shift. Wetlands also function like natural sponges, absorbing stormwater, reducing the risk of flooding, and filtering out pollutants from runoff. This maintains the city's infrastructure and its population’s health (see Figure 1). Wetlands are very important in places like Redemption City, where impermeable surfaces are growing quickly. They help manage floods and clean up water.
Figure 1 As paved surfaces expand, wetlands work silently, soaking up floods, cleaning water, and keeping urban areas resilient. Source: Author, 2025.
Inclusivity regardless of Social Classes, A Call to Action
As Redemption City grows, its preservation ensures that it remains a site for spiritual gatherings, urban innovation, and a respecter of nature. It is a real example of how urban areas can coexist with the natural environment. As the city grows, the leaders and planners of Redemption City must incorporate wetland protection into the city's master plan. This includes not only keeping existing wetlands safe from development, but also seeking ways to restore them and create new wetlands where needed. These steps will ensure that the city remains a cool, climate-resilient, and healthy place to live, setting an example for other cities in Africa and around the world.
The visit to the Redemption City reveals the need to make protecting its wetlands a core value if it wants to be a real model for sustainable urban living. Redemption City will continue to be a great place to live where community, faith, and nature coexist peacefully. This will leave an aging legacy of beauty, inclusion, and environmental stewardship for years to come.
