Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288

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Habitat International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/habitatint

Slum Upgrading: Assessing the importance of location and a plea for a

spatial approach
Koen Olthuis a, b, *, Jiya Benni a, b, Kristin Eichwede a, b, Chris Zevenbergen a
a
Flood Resilience Group, UNESCO-IHE, PO Box 3015, 2601 DA Delft, The Netherlands
b
Waterstudio.NL, Gen. Berenschotlaan 211, 2283 JM Rijswijk, The Netherlands

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The world population is growing rapidly and much of that growth is happening in urban areas. In
Received 29 January 2015 developing countries, this process is often accompanied by the formation and expansion of slums. A
Received in revised form variety of slum upgrading projects have been implemented to improve the living conditions of slum
13 August 2015
dwellers however a wide study to investigate the objectives of slum upgrading projects highlighted that
Accepted 26 August 2015
Available online 12 September 2015
environmental features were of low priority compared to basic services and infrastructure. The paper
deduces this to be a result of the dominance of UN's household-based definition of slums which lacks
emphasis on the locational aspects. An aerial analysis of slums located near waterbodies emphasised the
Keywords:
Slum upgrading
slums' dynamic nature brought about by location and therefore the importance of location itself. Taking
Physical infrastructure cue from this, the paper recommends upgrading projects to be more location-specific that offer flexible
Location yet customised solutions that build upon local knowledge to account for the dynamic and diverse nature
Waterbody of slums. Another inference from the study was that for various reasons e one of which is hazardous
Flooding location e slums are perceived to be temporary and as a result, there is low incentive to invest in slums.
Adaptation Such a perception prohibits slum upgrading and pushes them into a negative spiral. Concluding that
slums are, however, permanent features in the urban landscape, the paper recommends a change in
perception and urges practitioners to accept this permanent nature of slums. The focus and findings of
this paper are relevant in context of the Habitat III Conference in 2016 which has as its focus the ‘New
Urban Agenda’ that recognises the ever-changing dynamics of human civilization and aims to bring
together diverse urban actors to review urban and housing policies.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction increase to up to 2 billion by 2030 (United Nations Human

In October 2011, the world population reached a major mile-
stone e the seven billion mark (United Nations, 2011). A majority of
this accelerated rate of growth has been happening in urban areas.
Predictions suggest that by the middle of the 21st century, seven
out of ten people will live in urban areas (United Nations Human
Settlements Programme, 2013). Since current urban planning
cannot keep up with the scope and scale of people who move into
the cities looking for opportunities and better living standards, this
increase in urban population will also result in an increase in the
number of slums. There are over 200,000 slums worldwide (Davis,
2006), housing 1 billion people, and these numbers are predicted to
* Corresponding author. Waterstudio.NL, Generaal Berenschotlaan 211, 2283 JM
Rijswijk, The Netherlands.
E-mail address: koen@waterstudio.nl (K. Olthuis).
Settlements Programme, 2013). The situation is gravest in devel-
oping regions, where most of this informal growth has been
happening, and slum population constitutes almost 33 per cent of
the urban population (United Nations Human Settlements
Programme, 2013). Such statistics make the enormity of the issue
and the problems that slums present for future development of
cities evident. The inclusion of Goal 7 Target 11 in the Millennium
Development Goals, which has set out to make a significant dif-
ference in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers (United
Nations Human Settlements Programme, 2008; United Nations,
2013), further highlights the relevance of the issue. In addition to
the recent increase in attention towards slums, ways of perceiving
slums and their problems have also undergone changes in the past.
Traditionally, slum demolition and resettlement of slum pop-
ulations were the dominant methods implemented by local and
national governments to deal with the “slum problem” (Baviskar,
2003; Macharia, 1992). More recently, however, there has been an

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2015.08.033
0197-3975/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288
increased focus on adopting slum upgrading measures. Slum
upgrading, rather than treating the slum as a separate entity, aims
to integrate slums into the city through improvement and for-
malisation (The World Bank Group, 2001a, 2001b). Slum upgrading
actions consist of physical, social, economic, organizational, and
environmental improvements (United Nations Human Settlements
Programme, 2003) which are undertaken as a collaboration be-
tween citizens, community groups, businesses and authorities.
These approaches would, ideally, foster social and economic in-
clusion, address overall city issues and improve the quality of life.
Furthermore, it is suggested to be more affordable, viable, and e in
theory e more flexible than adopting common demolition and
relocation mechanisms (The Cities Alliance, 2014).
There is a general consensus in the literature on natural di-
sasters that cities and within the cities, the poor, are greatly at risk
to natural hazards. Hazardous location and poor infrastructure put
these communities at risk. In addition to these issues, the poor are
risk-averse in the aspect that they lack savings or assets but are
more risk-taking in spatial terms. The condition is bad not only
because of lack of resources but also because of public policies. (Fay,
Ghesquiere, & Solo, 2003).
Among the disasters, the number of water-related disasters is
significantly higher than the non-water related disasters. Around
80.5% of the natural disasters that happen in the world are water-
related, of which flood and windstorms are the major ones.
(Adikari & Yoshitani, 2009).
Therefore, the objective of this paper is to assess current slum
upgrading measures, with a specific focus on projects that target
the physical environment of slum and to investigate how effectively
targeted these upgrading measures are in relation to specific
location-induced risks, such as flooding.
2. Methodology
Two methods were incorporated to attempt this task. Firstly, an
analysis of previous and current slum upgrading measures was
done. Data was combined from a variety of sources, including the
MIT slum upgrading database (The World Bank Group, 2001a,
2001b), the “Slum upgrading up close” publication (The Cities
Alliance, 2008), and the World Bank Projects and Operations
database (The World Bank Group, 2015). This was believed to give a
detailed overview of the up-to-date investments into slum
upgrading measures and their key objectives, encompassing the
most recent ones while also reaching back as far as 1986. As a first
step, 88 projects with a primary focus on addressing the physical
issues of slums were identified, from here on referred to as
“physical upgrading projects”. Since the paper aims to focus only on
physical upgrading projects, projects with a focus on social, political
and legal issues were not included though these are important to
effectively tackle the problem of slums. However, some physical
upgrading projects included elements of social, political and/or
legal upgrading measures as a secondary focus. To better under-
stand which features were most frequently addressed, the next step
involved the identification of key objectives and scale of the
selected 88 projects. The objectives were then logically grouped
into sub-categories, such as basic services/infrastructure, environ-
mental measures, institutional strengthening etc. As a last step, the
measures falling under physical infrastructure e housing, basic
services/infrastructure and environmental measures e were
examined in detail to find out with what frequency issues related to
location were addressed.
Secondly, as a response to the growing demands for an incor-
poration of spatial criteria when understanding the vulnerability of
slums (Janowska, Weeks, & Engstrom, 2011) and in slum upgrading
(Kohli, Kerle, & Sliuzas, 2012; Kohli, Sliuzas, Kerle, & Stein, 2012;
271
Mehta & Mehta, 2012), a spatially-driven analysis was done on
some of the slums previously identified. For the purpose of the
paper, spatial analysis is restricted to investigating the spatial dis-
tribution and growth pattern of the slum with the help of satellite
images from Google Earth. Traditional data collection methods,
such as census data, rarely give an idea of the spatial distribution
and heterogeneity of slums. Techniques that incorporate remote
sensing, on the other hand, are suitable for a quick analysis of the
location and physical composition of the slums (Baud, Kuffer,
Pfeffer, Sliuzas, & Karuppannan, 2010; Kohli, Sliuzas, et al., 2012).
Six slums with different locational characteristics (three located
away from water and three located near water) were chosen for
slum mapping using images from Google Earth. A temporal
component was included in the slum mapping through the use of
the Historical Imagery Tool in order to study the growth trend of
each slum.
3. Results
An analysis of the 88 identified slum upgrading projects1
showed that legal, social and political upgrading measures often
complement the dominant physical infrastructure upgrading that
were the primary focus for the purpose of this study (Fig. 1).
Another observation made was that most projects were imple-
mented at a national/regional/state scale or at the city/metropol-
itan area-level (Appendix).
Within the physical infrastructure upgrading category, upgrad-
ing measures were classified into three categories e basic infra-
structure, housing and environmental measures (Fig. 2). Most
investment was spent on basic services and infrastructure provi-
sion with water and sanitation provision being a priority.
Other basic service/infrastructure upgrading measures included
sewage and wastewater treatment, and mobility provision through
the construction of roads, lanes and bridges. Electricity provision
was also mentioned as an objective in some slum upgrading pro-
jects. The provision of housing and shelter also falls under the
category of physical infrastructure. However, it was mentioned the
least number of times. Environmental measures suggested to be a
more frequent objective than housing provision. At the same time,
the investment in environmental measures fell far behind that
spent on basic services. Aside from flood protection and drainage
improvement, air quality management and pollution control ob-
jectives were also classified as environmental upgrading. Thus
environmental measures, particularly those that address the threat
of flooding, as well as the provision of housing were less frequent
investment objectives of slum upgrading projects. Basic services
and infrastructure improvements seem to be an effective generic
upgrading measure, a blanket approach for addressing the poor
conditions of slum settlements. Environmental measures, on the
contrary, are more specific as they address factors related to the
particular spatial environment of each slum.
Protection from flooding, for instance, presents an investment
objective that relates to the specific location and associated threats
faced by a slum. This is particularly important since flooding is seen
as the “most expensive and devastating natural hazard” (Dewan,
2013). The UNESCO further reports that, from 1990 to 2006,
water-related disasters accounted for 88.4 per cent of the 1000
most fatal disasters (Adikari & Yoshitani, 2009). Furthermore,
flooding will continue to be a major future regional concern, ac-
cording to the recent IPCC Report (IPCC, 2007). Slums, particularly
those located in low-lying areas and on floodplains, are increasingly
threatened by the risk of flooding and rising sea level. This threat
1
Complete list of physical upgrading projects in Appendix.
272 K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288

Fig. 1. Analysis of 88 slum upgrading projects from 1969 to 2014 will a primary focus solely on physical upgrading.

Fig. 2. A closer look at the objectives of the above projects.

 K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288 273

has been highlighted by studies of slums such as in Dhaka (Braun &

Abheuer, 2011; Rashid, Hunt, & Haider, 2007) and Kampala
(Douglas, Alam, Maghenda, McDonnell, et al., 2008; Douglas, Alam,
Maghenda, Mcdonnel, et al., 2008). The existent high risk of
flooding in the slums questions the effectiveness of broad and
generic upgrading investments which mainly focus on improving
basic infrastructure and basic service provision. The spatial aspect,
therefore, should be a decisive factor and cannot be overlooked
when determining upgrading objectives for slums.
From the spatial and temporal analysis of aerial images for a
number of slums taken from the slum upgrading databases we can
observe two trends. Firstly, as shown by Figures 3 to 5, slums grow,
thereby increasing the density of the settlements over the timespan
of a little more than a decade. Furthermore, Figures 6 to 8 suggest
that slums located on or along waterbodies, such as rivers, sea, or
floodplains show a tendency to grow onto the water.
Even though such growth onto the water exacerbates their
exposure and heightens the risk of flooding they face, it suggests
two things. Due to a lack of space to expand on land, slums located
near water have found ways to adapt by turning the threat of the
water into an opportunity to create new space on the water. This is
particularly true for slums located near lagoons (Fig. 6) and lakes
(Fig. 7).

4. Analysis
While many diverse definitions of slums exist e this being part
of the problem to finding global and inclusive policies e the
dominant definition was coined by UN-Habitat in 2003 (Fig. 9). In
its essence, it classifies slums as areas with households having
inadequate access to safe water, inadequate access to sanitation and
other infrastructure, poor structural quality of housing, over-
crowding, or insecure residential status, or a combination of any of
Fig. 4. Evolution of Orangi Town in Karachi, Pakistan (Above:2001; Below:2014).
these attributes (United Nations Human Settlements Programme,
2003). A key feature of the UN definition is its household-based
nature, not a place-based one (Janowska et al., 2011).
Subsequently, the objectives of slum upgrading policies corre-
spond closely with the indicator and target slum problems at the
household level. The results from our analysis clearly indicate that
the provision and improvement of basic services and infrastructure
have been a priority in investments in slum upgrading up until
now. Basic service provision relates to the water and sanitation

Fig. 3. Evolution of Kanwangware slum in Nairobi, Kenya (Above:2002, Below:2014). Fig. 5. Evolution of Mathare Valley in Nairobi, Kenya (Above: 2002, Below: 2014).
274 K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288
Fig. 6. Evolution of Makoko slum in Lagos, Nigeria (Above:2000 Below:2014).
Fig. 7. Evolution of Korail slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh (Above: 2001; Below:2014).
Fig. 8. Evolution of Isla Verde slum in Davao City, Philippines (Above:2001;
Below:2014).
indicator. Structural quality of housing, which can be classified into
two indicators, location and permanency of structure, seems to be
of lesser investment concern. There could be several reasons why
upgrading measures which target the permanency of the slums are
not pursued more strongly. Measures such as legalising informal
settlements would foster stabilisation but they also involve huge
investments and legal and political obligations for national and
local governments to significantly improve slum dwellers needs
(Homeless International, 2011). Through a lack of upgrading loca-
tional attributes and a failure to providing tenure that would
establish permanency of slums, city authorities are free to evacuate
slums whenever they want. In that way, the UN's vision for
improving the livelihoods of slum dwellers differs from cities' ur-
ban planning priorities that ultimately shape the decision-making
process for slums.
4.1. The temporary nature of slums
A crucial attribute of slums e particularly illegal settlements e is
that, no matter whether they are located on a hazardous site or not,
or whether they have existed for decades or just formed, they are
perceived as temporary. This temporariness of slums arises from
manmade as well as natural causes. The constant threat of eviction
by city authorities (United Nations Human Settlements Programme,
2003) and their heightened exposure to flooding (Baker, 2012) and
other natural hazards make slums a supposedly temporary entity.
The locational characteristics of slums can have a large effect on
whether certain slums are addressed in slum upgrading projects. In
her study of riverine communities in Metro Manila, Porio described
the status of slum and their dwellers as a constant ‘evacuation
mode’ (Porio, 2011). For municipalities, investment in slums with
characteristics similar to the riverine communities illustrated in
 K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288
Fig. 9. Indicators and thresholds for defining a slum as prescribed by the UN (Source:UN-Habitat, 2003).
Porio's study might not make them a priority when it comes to
deciding which slums should be upgraded. In this way, slums enter
a “negative spiral” where the temporariness stemming from loca-
tion and fear of eviction discourages investments for upgrading,
especially environmental upgrading. This lack of investment pre-
vents long term improvement and in turn worsens the situation of
the slum.
4.2. Impacts of flooding for slums
The diversity of the impacts of flooding and their particular
threat for slums have been widely discussed (Hamza & Zetter, 1998;
Porio, 2011; De Risi, Jalayer, De Paola, Iervolino, & Giugni, 2013).
While presenting an extreme health and sanitation risk in itself,
flooding also disrupts the livelihood practices of slum dwellers. This
includes, for instance, small-scale commerce, artisanal trades and
petty trading (Douglas, Alam, Maghenda, McDonnell, et al., 2008;
Douglas, et al., 2008). The disruption of such economic activities not
only negatively affects the productivity of the slum itself, but also
has detrimental effects on the functioning of the wider urban area.
The particular vulnerability of slums to flooding is due to a com-
bination of several factors. Their location on floodplains, low-level
areas, or generally hazardous sites heightens the exposure of
many slums to the risk of flooding and the effects of climate change.
This is further exacerbated by unplanned urbanisation manifested
in poor structural quality of buildings and the associated lack of
proper drainage control, alongside high population density
(Wamsler, 2008; Janowska et al., 2011). Therefore, investments that
are spent on slums in an emergency post-disaster situation are not
enough to improve their condition in the long-term. At an urban
scale, flood management should be extended to the slums even if
they are not a legal and formal entity of the city while at the
275
building scale, addressing the housing quality of slums, their
problem of density and drainage control can help reduce the impact
of flooding. The aforementioned negative spiral, however, often
prevents investments towards such actions. Slums with additional
vulnerability from high flood risk might be perceived as even more
temporary and unstable, something that could negatively affect the
decision-making process for endorsing environmental upgrading
measures (flood control, drainage, pollution control, emergency
management) versus basic infrastructure provision (access to water
and sanitation, sewerage and waste management, mobility and
electricity) (Fig. 2).
4.3. Lessons from the spatial analysis
A focus on the provision of basic services e even though crucial
to improving overall conditions in slums e only addresses a
symptom of the wider problem. The analysis of aerial images
highlights the extent of the problem of overcrowding and the
resulting lack of space in slums. As a result, slums not only grow
outwards but e perhaps due to a lack of choice e also evolve onto
the hazardous sites, in this case waterbodies. This increases their
exposure, particularly in the context of more extreme weather
conditions and rising sea level and heightens their vulnerability.
The temporal aspect, brought out by the aerial images, furthermore
provides an indication of the growth of slums. There is a constant
evolution that affects the shape and size of slum settlements
making it extremely difficult to have an accurate database. Often,
exact numbers and needs of slums are unknown to municipalities,
making it hard to find and implement the most appropriate
upgrading policies.
Accordingly, the analysis of aerial images can give more
insight into the extreme diversity of slums that arises from
276 K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288
factors beyond local and national policies, social adaptation
measures and cultural knowledge. This diversity might first and
foremost result from a slum's location and the surrounding
environmental conditions. Instead of pursuing a generic slum
upgrading approach, these types of diversity have to be incor-
porated in the upgrading process. Based on the results from the
analysis, up-to-date upgrading measures seem to be rather
generic with a dominant focus on improving basic conditions.
Environmental adaptation measures often only become a priority
in spontaneous post-disaster emergency upgrading investments
(Deri & Alam, 2008). But such objectives should be a concern in
upgrading projects even before the disaster strikes. Understand-
ing the role that spatial factors, such as location, play is a crucial
aspect in this regard. Additionally integrating a temporal
component makes it possible to understand the evolution of each
slum and observe general growth trends.
4.4. Incorporating local knowledge
The high prevalence of the national and city-level scale in
slum upgrading projects (see Appendix) could imply that most
projects are implemented top-down. The rise of ‘participation
development’ from the 1970s onwards has continuously chal-
lenged mainstream ‘top-down’ development to foster the inclu-
sion of local knowledge for more sustainable benefits. A range of
different types of such local coping strategies have been identi-
fied (Wisner, Blakie, Cannon, & Davis, 2004; Wamsler, 2007,
2008; Porio, 2011). Slum upgrading measures that incorporate
local knowledge and participation have shown to be more suc-
cessful (The World Bank Group, 2001a, 2001b). Nevertheless,
there has been a lack of research which investigates adaptation
measures to changing environmental conditions such as climate
variability in urban areas (Jabeen, Allen, & Johnson, 2009). In
general, local adaptation techniques for slums located near water
show a variety of uniquely adapted lifestyles to the specific
spatial conditions of such slums. Wamsler suggests that the key
adaptation techniques in urban environments consist of a
modification to the physical and built environment (Wamsler,
2007). In slums located near water, local adaptation techniques
show a variety of ways in which the urban fabric and lifestyle
has uniquely adapted to the waterbody. Existing reports and
studies that investigate household and adaptation strategies in
slums in Lagos, Nigeria (Agence France-Presse in Lagos, 2014;
IRIN Africa, 2006, Basckin, 2012; Mruaya, 2014), in Iquitos, Peru
(Faldetta et al. 2014), or Dhaka, Bangladesh (Jabeen et al., 2009)
show how slums have adapted to flood risk and water by
building on stilts. Materials vary from timber to bamboo,
depending on their availability. This technique furthermore in-
corporates a seasonal adaptability. In the Belen slum in Iquitos,
the stilted housing sits on land during the dry season (Faldetta
et al. 2014). When the land is flooded, the stilted constructions
provide protection from the water. Further adaptation measures
have been integrated into the regular lifestyle of slum dwellers
in Korail in Dhaka. These include the creation of barriers at front
doors, increasing the height of the furniture and plinth, and ar-
ranging storage facilities that are higher (Jabeen et al., 2009).
With flooding effects predicted to intensify due to the rising sea
level from changing climate (IPCC, 2007; 2014), it has been
established that these effects will disproportionately affect the
urban poor and heighten their vulnerability in comparison to
other urban dwellers (Alam and Golam Rabbani 2007;
McGranahan, Balk, & Anderson, 2007; Pelling, 2003;
Satterthwaite, Huq, Reid, Pelling, & Romero Lankao, 2007).
Stilted constructions are only effective up to a certain height of
the water level. Amphibious and floating constructions might
therefore be more useful adaptation measures. A local example
for such adaptation techniques are the floating communities in
Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia (Travers, 2012) where communities
live on connected houseboat structures. Slum upgrading pro-
jects, such as the Medicines Sans Frontiers' Clinic (Medecins Sans
Frontieres, 2012) and the Floating School (NLE, 2014) in Makoko,
Lagos have incorporated these clues and built upon these local
adaptation techniques. By taking the threat that water presents
to the slum and turning it into an opportunity for upgrading,
these projects provide examples of targeted action that combine
local knowledge with advanced technology. This imparts features
of permanency to otherwise temporary slums.
5. Conclusion
Our study of 88 slum upgrading projects revealed that invest-
ment into physical slum upgrading is predominantly focused on
basic services and basic infrastructure provision, such as access to
safe water and sanitation. Upgrading objectives that clearly relate
to and integrate the locational characteristics of slums, such as
flood protection, drainage and pollution, were found to be a less
frequent investment concern in upgrading projects. On the con-
trary, upgrading projects with a sole focus on environmental im-
provements were often only initiated spontaneously as a post-
disaster response. This is believed to be a result of the domi-
nance of the UN definition of slums based on household data
which lacks emphasis on their locational aspects. It is particularly
a slum's location however, alongside the constant threat of evic-
tion that creates a perceived temporary nature. As a result, there is
a low incentive to invest in these kind of temporary slums which
pushes them into a negative spiral. In an attempt to integrate
location into slum research, a simple aerial analysis of six of the
previously identified slums was done. This gave an indication of
the extreme diversity in shape and surrounding of slums that
naturally arises from their diverse locations. The integration of a
temporal component furthermore highlighted their dynamic na-
ture and relationship with their environment, such as for instance
waterbodies. As an important finding, slums on or along water-
bodies have been shown to expand onto the water. Integrating
findings from spatial analysis, such as locational attributes and
growth trends, could help in devising and implementing cus-
tomised approaches of slum upgrading that account for the di-
versity and dynamism of each slum. To further investigate the
dynamic and diverse nature of slums, the paper looked at ways in
which local slums have adapted to particular locational charac-
teristics, such as the risk of flooding. As a result, the paper has
highlighted the importance of local knowledge and local partici-
pation in slum upgrading. A review of existing studies on slums in
Belen, Peru and Lagos, Nigeria have shown how building on stilts
has helped the slums adapt to the recurring problem of flooding
that naturally arises due to their proximity to water. Local
knowledge can be an extremely valuable resource for under-
standing how upgrading can incorporate and address spatial and
environmental characteristics and make it possible to scale up
existing local adaptation measures. For instance, when planning
an upgrading project, knowledge of a slum's exposure to flood
risks and existing adaptation measures could lead to an effective
spatialized provision of adaptive housing and services provision.
Effective, targeted upgrading is put in jeopardy by generic mea-
sures that do not consider the locational attributes of slums or the
local knowledge. As a solution to this complex problem of generic
slum upgrading, this paper therefore proposes a customised
approach that goes beyond conventional, blanket methods of
upgrading such as the provision of basic services. A method that
actively seeks to incorporate location through spatial analysis as
 K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288
well as integrate existing local adaptation techniques would make
it possible to find flexible and customised solutions that account
for the dynamic and diverse nature of the slum. For this, a few
recommendations have been formulated.
6. Recommendation
The paper has four main findings which are the highlights of the
paper. These are: the temporary yet permanent nature of slums,
impact of flooding for slums, the diverse and dynamic nature of
slums, and the vast local knowledge that exist in these slums. From
these findings, the paper ends with two sets of recommendations e
one for slum upgrading projects and the other for the study and
analysis of slums in the future.
1. For slum upgrading projects
Upgrading projects have become very general and are more
or less a blanket approach. Despite having upgrading projects,
we see that slums and their poor conditions continue to exist.
The paper recommends the following guidelines to effectively
upgrade slums. In addition to asking for a change in perception,
the guidelines ask for a revised approach which will incorporate
the characteristics of the location and emphasise what the
priorities should be while investing in physical upgrading of
slums.
a. Accept the permanent nature of slums in order to create a mind-set
for effectively upgrading slums.
Slums are perceived to be temporary due to their illegal status as
well as threat of floods. This discourages investments leading to a
negative spiral. From our analysis, we see that slums are anything
but temporary. They keep growing, as shown by our spatial anal-
ysis. This permanent nature of slums should be accepted in order to
effectively upgrade slums.
b. To deal with the dynamic nature of slums brought about by its
location, we have to ensure upgrading measures consist of flexible
solution.
The spatial analysis done showed how slums are dynamic in
nature owing to their location. If we continue to address slums
without addressing this dynamic nature, we will be stuck with
solutions that are obsolete in a few years. Projects or solutions to
upgrade these slums should be as flexible as their settlement is
dynamic.
c. To address the diverse nature of slums, upgrading measures should
involve customised solutions integrated with local knowledge.
The spatial analysis threw light on the diversity of slums
necessitating the importance of customised solutions. The vast
local knowledge prevalent in the slums is helpful in this regard.
For effectively improving their conditions, strategies have to go
one step further and integrate advanced technology to local
knowledge.
d. Make sure investments on slums are made pre-disaster not post-
disaster.
For these least prepared settlements, floods pose a huge threat.
It disrupts economic activities, presents a huge health and
277
sanitation risk and affects the functioning of the wider urban area.
To avoid this, these settlements should be prepared for disaster.
Therefore investments should be made pre-disaster and not as
emergency relief in post-disaster situations. (Jha, Miner, & Stanton-
Geddes, 2013; Wieriks & Vlaanderen, 2015).
2. For the study and analysis of slums in future
In order to carry out the aforementioned guidelines effectively,
our knowledge of slums should not be restricted to household
data and numbers. It warrants a better understanding of slums
and to achieve this, the following recommendations have been
drawn up. They consist of suggestions for a new approach to
study slums.
a. Define slums using their locational attributes
This should be an important goal of all experts involved in
slums. As shown by the studies, the situation of the slum is
largely dictated by its location. To emphasise this point, there
has to be a formal connection between slums and their location.
This can be brought through a location-based definition. Through
such definitions, it will be possible to get a holistic picture of the
slum.
b. Develop a methodology to get a more precise understanding of the
slums.
Existing methods to study slums generalise slum conditions.
Most data are restricted to be at the city level. This way, data also
exhibit a top-down character. As slums are diverse and heteroge-
neous, such an approach carries the risk of not understanding the
exact condition of the slum. Therefore, new systems and method-
ologies should be developed to get a more precise understanding of
the slum.
c. Have at our disposal a more accurate and updated database of
slums and slum upgrading projects
As noted in the paper, there is a dearth of updated information
or a single database regarding slums or slum upgrading projects.
This can lead to analyses being cumbersome and inaccurate. To
avoid these issues, we require real-time data and stronger data-
bases. It is therefore necessary that there are new and innovative
methods to collect and distribute data.
d. Conduct more research to counter other aspects also (eg: legality)
that lead to ineffective slum upgrading.
The most common aspect that leads to ineffective slum
upgrading is the slum settlement's lack of tenure. Substantial
research exists as to why this is so (Davis, 2006) but there are still
very little strategies to tackle this problem.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Flood Resilience Group at UNESCO-
IHE, Delft for providing us space and resources for the research. We
especially thank William Verbeek at UNESCO-IHE for his help and
guidance to use GIS data, Mats Lehwald and Stephan van Berkel for
their tremendous contribution in shaping this paper. We also thank
our anonymous reviewers for fine-tuning and sharpening our
paper.

Appendix
Name of slum upgrading
project
1 Kampung Improvement
Programme
2 Lusaka Squatter Upgrading and Lusaka, Zambia
Sites and Services Project
3 Tondo Urban Development
4 Rabat Urban Development
Project
5 Basti Redevelopment Project
6 SINAMOS
7 Kalingalinga Integrated
Upgrading Project
8 Orangi Pilot Project
9 Lahore Urban Development
Project
Area (if known, specific slums
are identified)
Kampung, Jakarta, Indonesia
Metro Manila, The Philippines
Douars Doum, Maadid and
Rajja, Rabat, Morocco
Kolkata, India
Lima, Peru
Lusaka, Zambia
Orangi Town, Karachi, Pakistan 1980
Lahore, Pakistan
278
Time of Key objectives for resource and Notes Scale Source
investment investment allocation
approval
1969 Infrastructure provision (roads, bridges Government-assisted, self-help Community http://www.akdn.org/
and footpaths) community planning architecture/project.asp?id¼1
Basic services (sanitation and water) programme.
Flood control (drainage canals) Aga Khan Award for
Schools and health clinics Architecture.
Little disturbance to existing
housing, little housing
assistance but improvements in
access, flood control and
economic activity stimulated
home improvement
1974 Housing (upgrading existing squatter Large-scale, low-cost urban City http://web.mit.edu/urbanup
settlements) housing using the concept of grading/upgrading/case-
Sites and services mutual help construction examples/ce-ZA-lus.html;
Primary infrastructure http://www.worldbank.org/
K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288
Communal facilities projects/P003167/lusaka-
Technical assistance squatter-upgrading-sites-
services-project?lang¼en
1977 Basic services Community http://documents.world
Healthcare bank.org/curated/en/1977/
Tenure 12/19157198/philippines-
manila-urban-development-
project-report-status-tondo-
foreshore-development-project
1978 Housing Upgrading was considered as a City http://www.worldbank.org/
Sites and Services (waste, fire fighting, more affordable option than projects/P005382/rabat-
emergency services) resettlement urban-development-project?
Employment generation scheme lang¼en; http://web.mit.edu/
Technical assistance urbanupgrading/upgrading/
Infrastructure case-examples/ce-MR-rab.html
1970-1980 Basic services Conversion of slum latrines, City http://cityrenewal.blogspot.nl/
Surface drainage facilities connection of water taps and 2008/07/basti-redevelopment-
Construction and widening of roads and waste disposal facilities in-calcutta.html
pathways
Provision of street lighting
1970-1980s Housing Upgrading after resettlement National http://web.mit.edu/urbanup
Healthcare grading/upgrading/case-
Water trucks and regular urban service examples/ce-PE-sin.html
provision
1980 Housing (Material loans) Clear interest of community Community http://web.mit.edu/urban
Services (Water standpipes) with extensive input and upgrading/upgrading/
Infrastructure (roads, street lighting) support case-examples/ce-ZA-
Facilities (schools, clinic, markets and lus-Kal.html
community centre)
Finance (Micro-loans)
Sanitation provision One of the most successful NGO Community http://web.mit.edu/urban
Sewage disposal sanitation provision projects. upgrading/upgrading/
Community-owned, case-examples/ce-PK-ora.
community-managed html
1983 Housing City http://web.mit.edu/urban
Services upgrading/upgrading/
Technical assistance and capacity case-examples/ce-PK-
strengthening lah.html
10 Olaleye-Iponri Urban Renewal
Project
11 Slum Improvement Project
(SIP)
12 Urban Development Uttar
Pradesh Project
13 PROSANEAR
14 Urban Development Project
15 Angat Water Supply
Optimization Project
16 Karachi Water Supply &
Sanitation Project
17 Mathare 4A Slum Upgrading
Project
18 Third Jabotabek Urban
Development Project
19 Slum Welfare Cooperative
Society
Lagos, Nigeria
Bangladesh
Uttar Pradesh, India
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Chittagong, Bangladesh
Angat, The Philippines
Karachi, Pakistan
Mathare, Nairobi, Kenya
Jabotabek, Indonesia
Khilagaon, Dhaka, Bangladesh
1980s Housing Community The Cities Alliance (2008)
mid-1980s-1990s Primary healthcare UNICEF-funded, community- National http://web.mit.edu/urban
Empowerment of women based effort upgrading/upgrading/
Connecting existing urban services to case-examples/ce-BG-
slum communities slu.html
Institutional capacity
1987 Services (water supply, sewerage, State http://www.worldbank.
drainage, sanitation, solid waste, org/projects/B009873/
pollution control) urban-development-
uttar-pradesh-project?
lang¼en&tab¼overview
1988 Health and environmental conditions National/Community http://www.worldbank.
(water, waste water and solid waste org/projects/P006437/
services, sanitation) water-supply-sanitation-
project-low-income-
areas-municipalities?
lang¼en&tab¼overview
1988 Environmental improvements (storm City http://www.worldbank.
water drainage and flood control, solid org/projects/P009467/
waste collection and disposal, urban-development-
K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288
sanitation) project?lang¼en&
Area development (basic shelter) tab¼overview
Technical assistance
1989 Water access Metropolitan area http://www.world
Sewerage bank.org/projects/
P004574/angat-water-
supply-optimization-
project?lang¼en&tab¼
overview
1989 Sanitation, including sewage treatment City http://www.worldbank.
works org/projects/P010325/
karachi-water-supply-
sanitation-project-02?
lang¼en&tab¼overview
1990 Basic infrastructure Socially acceptable housing and Community https://practicalaction.
Housing adequate access to public org/docs/shelter/iuhd_
utilities to address shelter and wp4_mathare_4a_
sanitation needs assessment.pdf;
http://web.mit.edu/
urbanupgrading/
upgrading/case-examples/
ce-KE-mat.html
1990 (closed) Basic infrastructure and services Regional http://www.worldbank.
Community participation org/projects/P003977/
Waste management third-jabotabek-urban-
development-project?
lang¼en&tab¼overview
1991 Housing Residents of slum community Community http://web.mit.edu/
Infrastructure (water, access roads, of Khilagaon formed the urbanupgrading/
drains, sanitation) “Provati Bastee Kalyan upgrading/case-examples/
Finance Samabaya Samity” ce-BG-slum-wel.html;
http://www.ircwash.org/
sites/default/files/205.42-
91UR-13357-2.pdf;
http://kth.diva-portal.
org/smash/get/diva2:
504848/FULLTEXT01
(continued on next page)
279
(continued )
Name of slum upgrading
project
20 Sulawesi Irian Jaya Urban
Development Project (SIJUDP)
21 Family Welfare Project
22 Low Income Barrios
Improvement Project
23 Multi-State Water Supply
Project
24 National Program of Urban
Upgrading
25 Freetown Infrastructure
Rehabilitation Project
26 Novos Algados e
Environmental Recovery and
Social Promotion Project
27 Ceara Urban Development &
Water Resource Management
Project
28 El Mezquital
29 Hanna Nassif Community Based Kinondoni district, Dar es
Upgrading Project Salaam, Tanzania
30 Lima Water Rehabilitation and
Management Project
Area (if known, specific slums
are identified)
Irian Jaya, Indonesia
India
Venezuela, Bolivia
Nigeria
Greater Cairo, Egypt
Freetown, Sierra Leona
Bahia, Brazil
, Brazil
Ceara
Guatemala City, Guatemala
LimaeCallao metro area, Peru
280
Time of Key objectives for resource and Notes Scale Source
investment investment allocation
approval
1991 (closed) Services (water supply, drainage, solid Regional http://web.worldbank.
waste, sanitation, roads) org/external/projects/
main?pagePK¼104231
&theSitePK¼40941&
menuPK¼228424&
Projectid¼P003922
1992 (closed) Social services (education and health) Physical component in this Communities http://www.worldbank.
Participation and capacity building project is the upgrading of org/projects/P009963/
existing and construction of family-welfare-urban-
new health facilities slums-project?lang¼
en&tab¼overview
1992 (closed) Capability strengthening National http://www.worldbank.
Institutional development org/projects/P008212/
Basic infrastructure (water supply, low-income-barrios-
sewerage, electricity, drainage, street improvement-project?
paving, garbage collection) lang¼en&tab¼overview
K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288
1992 (closed) Supply facilities and services (water Multi-state/Regional http://www.worldbank.
supply and sanitation) org/projects/P002109/
Social services (Heath and education of multi-state-water-supply-
women) project?lang¼en&tab¼
overview
1992 Basic infrastructure National The Cities Alliance (2008)
Municipal services
1993 (closed) Roads & footpaths City http://www.worldbank.
Drainage org/projects/P002433/
Water supply freetown-infrastructure-
Sanitation rehabilitation-project?
Solid waste disposal and waste lang¼en&tab¼overview
collection
1993-1995 Environmental recovery Community The Cities Alliance (2008)
Basic services
Housing
Community strengthening
Health, education, child welfare
Tenure
1994 (closed) Urban infrastructure (paving, drainage, State http://www.worldbank.
housing and street lighting) org/projects/P006436/
Water supply and sewerage ceara-urban-development-
infrastructure water-resource-management-
Education project?lang¼en&tab¼
overview
1994-1997 Housing Community participation in the Community http://web.mit.edu/urban
Finance planning, execution and upgrading/upgrading/case-
Policies financing stage examples/ce-GT-elm.html
Environmental management
Participation and capacity building
1994 Infrastructure Community http://web.mit.edu/urban
Storm water drainage upgrading/upgrading/case-
Empowerment and capacity building examples/overview-africa/
country-assessments/reports/
Tanzania-report.html
1994 (closed) Service provision (water and sanitation) City http://www.worldbank.org/
projects/P008051/lima-
water-rehabilitation-
management-project?
lang¼en&tab¼overview
31 Semarang Surakarta Urban
Development Project
32 Surabaya Urban Development
Project
33 Swaziland Urban Development Swaziland
Project
34 Bombay Sewage Disposal
35 Dharavi Redevelopment Project Dharavi, Mumbai, India
36 Favela-Bairro Project
37 First Santa Fe Water Supply & Santa Fe, Columbia
Sewerage Rehabilitation Project
38 Guarapiranga Programme
39 Kalimantan Urban
Development Project
40 Urban Water Supply
41 Bogota Urban Transport Project Bogota, Columbia
Semarang, Indonesia 1994 (closed) Multi-sectoral programs for kampong City http://www.worldbank.
improvements (roads and transport, org/projects/P003890/
water supply and distribution, storm semarang-surakarta-
drainage and flood control, solid waste urban-development-
collection, sewage and sanitation) project?lang¼en&tab¼
Technical assistance overview
Surabaya, Indonesia 1994 (closed) Basic settlement facilities and living City http://www.worldbank.
conditions (sanitation, water supply) org/projects/P003998/
Participation surabaya-urban-development-
Tenure project?lang¼en&tab¼
Finance (credits) overview
1994 (closed) Basic services (water and sewerage, National/City http://www.worldbank.org/
solid waste sites) projects/P002669/swaziland-
Housing urban-development-project?
Policy reform lang¼en&tab¼overview
Roads
Power lines
Technical assistance
Bombai, India 1995 (closed) Sewage services City http://www.worldbank.org/
Health and environmental conditions projects/P010480/bombay-
sewage-disposal?lang¼en
K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288
&tab¼overview
1995 Housing Community The Cities Alliance (2008);
http://sra.gov.in/pgeDharavi
Upcoming.aspx
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1995 Infrastructure and service Intra- and extra-institutional City http://web.mit.edu/urban
partnerships with NGOs, the upgrading/upgrading/case-
private sector, churches, and examples/ce-BL-fav.html
the general population (grass-
roots level experts)
1995 Services and infrastructure provision Part of a bigger project City http://www.worldbank.org/
addressing environmental projects/P006894/santafe-
concerns (flooding and water-supply-sewerage-
pollution) rehabilitation-project?
lang¼en&tab¼overview
Sao Paulo, Brazil 1995 Housing Urban water quality Community http://web.mit.edu/
Basic services management (sanitation, water urbanupgrading/upgrading/
Environmental measures supply sewerage, drainage, case-examples/ce-BL-gua.html;
Flood management through storm slope stabilization, solid waste http://www.prodam.sp.gov.br/
water drainage collection) invfut/guara2/guarap.htm
Access roads and infrastructure Integrated, interagency
approach involving five agency/
government bodies
Kalimantan, Indonesia 1995 (closed) Multi-sectoral programs for kampong City http://www.worldbank.org/
improvements (roads, water supply and projects/P003951/kalimantan-
distribution, storm drainage and flood urban-development-project?
control, solid waste collection, lang¼en&tab¼overview
sanitation and sewerage)
Housing
Technical assistance
Freetown, Sierra Leone 1995 (closed) Water supply and sanitation services City http://www.worldbank.org/
Institutional strengthening projects/P002428/sl-urban-
water-supply?lang¼en&tab¼
overview
1996 (closed) Transportation (facilitate public Aspect of a wider urban City http://www.worldbank.org/
transport access) transport provision project projects/P006872/bogota-
urban-transport-project?
lang¼en&tab¼overview
(continued on next page)
281
(continued )
Name of slum upgrading
project
41 Jordan National Urban
Development Project
42 Morocco Second Sewerage and Morocco
Water Reuse Project
43 North West Frontier Province
(NWFP)
44 Social Investment Fund Project
45 Urban Environmental
Sanitation Project
46 Bahia Municipal Infrastructure
& Management Project
(PRODUR)
47 Social Investment Fund
48 Caracas Slum Upgrading Project Caracas, Venezuela
49 Cartagena Water Supply,
Sewerage and Environmental
Management Project
50 Municipal Services
282
Area (if known, specific slums Time of Key objectives for resource and Notes Scale Source
are identified) investment investment allocation
approval
Amman, Jordan 1996 Housing Provide low-cost housing Regional http://web.mit.edu/
Basic infrastructure in slums of Aqaba without subsidy, guide new urbanupgrading/
Finance growth and create mixed upgrading/case-examples/
Social facilities income communities ce-JO-jor.html;
1996 (closed) Improving sewerage services Regional/Municipality http://www.worldbank.org/
projects/P005503/morocco-
second-sewerage-water-
reuse-project?lang¼en
&tab¼overview
Pakistan 1996 (closed) Basic infrastructure and community Province/Community http://www.worldbank.
development org/projects/P010478/
pakistannwfp-community-
infrastsructure-project-cip?
lang¼en&tab¼overview
Jamaica 1996 (closed) Basic services and infrastructure Contribute to reduction of Community http://www.worldbank.
Financing poverty and help to create an org/projects/P039029/
K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288
Institutional capacity and technical environment for sustainable social-investment-fund-
assistance national development project?lang¼en&tab¼
overview
Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi- 1996 (closed) Raising living standards (drainage, National http://www.worldbank.
Takoradi, Tema and Tamale, sanitation, solid waste services) org/projects/P000973/
Ghana Institutional strengthening urban-environmental-
Capacity building sanitation-project?lang¼
en&tab¼overview
Bahia, Brazil 1997 (closed) Urban infrastructure (water, sewage, City http://www.worldbank.
solid waste, paving and drainage) org/projects/P006562/
bahia-municipal-infra
structure-management-
project-produr?lang¼
en&tab¼overview
Belize 1997 (closed) Water and sanitation Supporting small-scale Community http://www.worldbank.
Health projects, which are identified org/projects/P039292/
Economic infrastructure and implemented with a high social-investment-
Education degree of community fund?lang¼en&tab¼
Social services participation overview
Organizational strengthening
1998 Infrastructure (access, sewerage, Design and execution of City/Community http://web.mit.edu/
sanitation, lighting, community centres, Neighbourhood Improvement urbanupgrading/upgrading/
roads and pavements, water Plans case-examples/ce-VE-car.
distribution, drainage, electricity, html
lighting)
Participation
Capacity building, institutional
strengthening
Finance (micro-credit)
Cartagena, Columbia 1999 (closed) Expand water supply and sanitation City http://www.worldbank.
coverage org/projects/P044140/
Sector services cartagena-water-supply-
Sewerage system in Cienaga Basin and sewerage-environmental-
wastewater treatment management-project?
lang¼en
Bangladesh 1999 (closed) Environmental and infrastructure National http://www.worldbank.
services (sanitation, sewerage, roads, org/projects/P041887/
drainage) municipal-services?lang¼
en&tab¼overview
51 Poverty Alleviation and
Capacity Building Project
52 Urban Poverty Project
53 Kenyan Slum Upgrading
Programme
54 Low Income Sanitation
Technical Assistance Project
55 Social Development Fund
Project
56 Urban Mobility Improvement
Project
57 Integrated Upgrading in
Mauritania
58 Long Term Water Sector Project Dakar, Senegal
59 Urban Environment Project
60 Community-based Urban
Development Project
The Gambia 1999 (closed) Public infrastructure provision National http://www.worldbank.
(sanitation, water, solid waste) org/projects/P057997/
Technical assistance and training to poverty-alleviation-
investment financing and employment capacity-building-project?
and income generation lang¼en&tab¼overview
Indonesia 1999 (closed) Basic infrastructure National/Community http://www.worldbank.
Create sustainable income generation org/projects/P055821/
Strengthening capabilities urban-poverty-project?
Participation and social services lang¼en&tab¼overview
(education and teaching/training)
Technical assistance
Nairobi, Kenya 2000 Housing National Huchzermeyer, M, 2008,
'Slum Upgrading in
Nairobi within the
Housing and Basic
Services Market',
Journal of Asian and
African Studies, Vol
43(1): pp 19-39
Brazil 2000 (closed) Water supply and sanitation services National/Community http://www.worldbank.
Capacity and project coordination org/projects/P039199/
K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288
strengthening low-income-sanitation-
Participation technical-assistace-
project-prosanear-tal?
lang¼en&tab¼overview
Senegal 2000 (closed) Capacity building National/Regional http://www.worldbank.
Access to basic social services and org/projects/P041566/
infrastructure social-development-
Finance (micro-finance) fund-project?lang¼
Attraction of social service providers en&tab¼overview
Dakar, Senegal 2000 (closed) Environmental quality and safety Metropolitan/Region http://www.worldbank.
org/projects/P055472/
urban-mobility-improve
ment-project?lang¼en
&tab¼overview
Nouakchott and Nouadhibou, 2001 Tenure City http://web.mit.edu/urban
Mauritania Basic urban infrastructure (sanitation) upgrading/upgrading/case-
Infrastructure in support of economic examples/ce-MU-Nou.html
activities and employment creation
(artisanal fishery activities)
Financing (micro-credit)
Technical assistance
Empowerment
2001 (closed) Water and sanitation Cities http://www.worldbank.org/
Sewage, wastewater, septic pollution projects/P041528/long-term-
Flooding water-sector-project?lang¼
en&tab¼overview
Ouagadougou and Bobo- 2002 (closed) Capacity strengthening and Cities http://www.worldbank.org/
Dioulasso, Burkina Faso decentralization projects/P074121/urban-
Primary infrastructure (road, drainage, environment-project-
sewerage, solid waste and sanitation) supplemental-credit?lang
Participation ¼en&tab¼overview
Nigeria 2002 (closed) Basic infrastructure Community-based project in Cities http://www.worldbank.
Infrastructure subprojects seven cities to facilitate org/projects/P069901/
Capacity building partnerships and foster good community-based-urban-
AIDS education and communication in governance development-project?lang
schools, clinics and along solid waste ¼en&tab¼overview
collection, transport and disposal
network
283
(continued on next page)
(continued )
Name of slum upgrading
project
61 Bogota Urban Services Project
62 Lima Water Rehabilitation and
Management Project
63 Recife Urban Upgrading Project Beberibe River Basin, Recife,
Brazil
64 Buenos Aires Infrastructure
Sustainable Investment
Development Project
65 GH Second Urban
Environmental Sanitation
Project
66 Mexico Affordable Housing and Mexico
Urban Poverty Programmatic
Sector Loan
67 Urban Water Project
68 Bahia Poor Urban Areas
Integrated Development
69 Urban Infrastructure and City
Management
Area (if known, specific slums
are identified)
Bogota
Lima, Peru
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Ghana
Urban centres, Ghana
Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Kigali, Butare, Ruhengeri,
Rwanda
Time of Key objectives for resource and
investment investment allocation
approval
2003 (closed) Access to basic services (water,
sanitation and transport)
Improve mobility (access, roads)
Institutional strengthening
2003 (closed) Water supply and sanitation (water
wells, water conservation)
Institutional capacity strengthening
2003 (closed) Institutional capacity
Basic shelter and housing
Urban services (road, drainage and
sewage, water supply and sanitation)
2004 (active) Water and sewerage services
Urban flooding
Roads and transportation
2004 (closed) Environmental health
Sanitation
Drainage
Vehicular access
Solid waste management
2004 (closed) Housing
Institutional support
Physical and social investments
Prevention and management of impacts
of natural disasters
2004 (active) Access to piped water system
2005 (closed) Access to basic services (sanitation
Housing
Infrastructure and social services
(paved roads, park, community centre,
soccer fields)
Tenure
2005 (closed) Participation
Local resource mobilization
Social services (Education and Health)
Roads and highways
Notes
Improving access, affordability
and service reliability
Support for slum upgrading
pilot projects to initiate pro-
poor, urban upgrading
284
Scale Source
City http://www.worldbank.
org/projects/P074726/
bogota-urban-services-
project?lang¼en&tab¼
overview
City http://www.worldbank.
org/projects/P081834/
additional-financing-
lima-water-rehabilitation-
management-project?lang
¼en&tab¼overview
Regional http://www.worldbank.
org/projects/P049265/
recife-urban-upgrading-
project?lang¼en&tab¼
overview
K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288
City http://www.worldbank.
org/projects/P088032/
ar-buenos-aires-infra
structure-1st-phase-apl?
lang¼en&tab¼overview
National http://www.worldbank.
org/projects/P082373/
gh-second-urban-environ
mental-sanitation-project?
lang¼en&tab¼overview
National http://www.worldbank.
org/projects/P070371/
mexico-affordable-housing-
urban-poverty-program
matic-sector-adjustment-
loan?lang¼en&tab¼
overview
National http://www.worldbank.
org/projects/P056256/
urban-water-project?
lang¼en&tab¼overview
State/City http://www-wds.world
bank.org/external/default/
WDSContentServer/WDSP/
IB/2014/06/26/000442464_
20140626101817/Rendered/
PDF/ICR29630P081430C0
disclosed060240140.pdf;
http://www.worldbank.
org/projects/P081436/
bahia-poor-urban-areas-
integrated-development?
lang¼en&tab¼overview
Cities http://www.worldbank.
org/projects/P060005/
urban-infrastructure-city-
management-project?
lang¼en&tab¼overview
70 BO Urban Infrastructure Project La Paz, El Alto, and Santa Cruz,
71 International Development
Association (IDA)
72 JM Inner City Basic Services for 12 inner-city areas and poor
the Poor Project
73 Local Infrastructure
Development Project
74 Upgrading Unplanned and Un-
serviced Settlements
75 Upgrading for Growth
76 VN Urban Upgrading Project
77 PA Metro Water and Sanitation Panama Metropolitan Region,
Improvement Project
2006 (active) Basic service access (sanitation, Cities http://www.worldbank.
Bolivia sewerage) org/projects/P083979/
Targeted infrastructure and transport bolivia-urban-infrastructure-
investments and urban mobility project?lang¼en&tab¼
Technical assistance overview;
http://www-wds.
worldbank.org/external/
default/WDSContent
Server/WDSP/LCR/2014/
12/17/090224b082917670/
2_0/Rendered/PDF/Bolivia
000Boli0Report000Sequence
017.pdf
Lagos, Nigeria 2006 Basic services Roads; Sanitation provision City The Cities Alliance (2008)
Finance through public toilets; water
Education and Healthcare provision through boreholes;
Capacity building new schools and upgrading
existing ones; building health
facilities
2006 (closed) Basic urban infrastructure (water, Cities http://www.worldbank.
informal settlements Jamaica sanitation and flood protection) org/projects/P091299/
K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288
Finance (micro and SME) jm-inner-city-basic-
Social services services-poor-project?
Roads and highways lang¼en&tab¼overview;
Power and electricity http://www-wds.world
Land tenure regularization bank.org/external/default/
Community capacity, participation and WDSContentServer/WDSP/
public safety IB/2014/06/30/000442464_
Housing 20140630104424/Rendered/
PDF/ICR9630P0912990C0
disclosed060260140.pdf
Gabon 2006 (closed) Access to public services National http://www.worldbank.
(transportation, water, sanitation and org/projects/P082812/
flood protection) local-infrastructure-
development-project?
lang¼en&tab¼overview
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 2007 Housing City Johnson, K. and Gossmann,
Basic services C. “Slum Upgrading at
Different Scales: The
Tanzania Case Study”
(available online) URL:
http://healthycities.berkeley.
edu/uploads/1/2/6/1/
12619988/tanzania.pdf
Ekurhuleni, South Africa 2007/8 Housing Address community needs and Municipality The Cities Alliance (2008)
Basic services implement more housing
typologies
Vietnam 2009 (closed) Infrastructure and services (water, Improving the living and National http://www-wds.worldbank.
sanitation, sewerage, electricity, public environmental conditions of org/external/default/
lighting, roads) the urban poor using WDSContentServer/
Flooding (drainage) participatory planning methods WDSP/EAP/2014/12/
Housing (inclusive and pro-poor) 29/090224b082962012/
Capacity building 1_0/Rendered/PDF/
Vietnam000URBA0
Report000Sequence
015.pdf
2010 (active) Sanitation service supply and Increase quality, coverage and Regional http://www.worldbank.
Panama improvements efficiency of its water supply org/projects/P119694/
Modernization of WSS systems and sanitation (WSS) services in metro-water-sanitation-
lower-income neighbourhoods
285
(continued on next page)
(continued )

286
Name of slum upgrading Area (if known, specific slums Time of Key objectives for resource and Notes Scale Source
project are identified) investment investment allocation
approval

Institutional strengthening and project improvement-project?

78 Urban and Water Development Cameroon
Support Project
79 Kenya Informal Settlement
Improvement Project (KISIP)
80 National Slum Upgrading
Strategy (NSUS)
management lang¼en&tab¼overview
2010 (active) Access to basic infrastructure and National http://www.worldbank.
services (including water) org/projects/P121027/
urban-water-development-
support-project-
additional-financing?lang
¼en&tab¼overview
Kenya 2011 (active) Tenure security Municipalities http://www.worldbank.
Infrastructure and services org/projects/P113542/
Institutional strengthening, capacity kenya-informal-settlements-
building and participation improvement-project-kisip?
lang¼en&tab¼overview
Philippines 2011 (active) Basic service provision Implemented by the Housing National/City http://www.worldbank.org/
Housing and Urban Development en/news/press-release/
Social services Coordinating Council (HUDCC) 2011/12/19/wb-philippines-

K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288

81 PE Optimization of Lima Water Northern service area of Lima,
and Sewerage Systems
82 Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan
Urban Housing Development
83 BR APL2 Sao Bernardo
Integrated Water Management
in Sao Paulo
84 Jawaharlal Nehru National
Urban Renewal Mission's Basic
Services to the Urban Poor
(JNNURM)
85 Mekong Delta Region Urban
Upgrading Project
Peru
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Mahila Mila, Yerwada Pune,
India
Mekong Delta Region, Vietnam 2012
Job creation launch-formulation-of-a-
Empowerment national-slum-upgrading-
strategy
2011 (active) Rehabilitation of water and sewerage Improve efficiency, continuity City http://www.worldbank.
networks and reliability of water supply org/projects/P117293/
Improving water and sewerage and sanitation services optimization-lima-water-
efficiency sewerage-systems?lang¼
Project management en&tab¼overview
2011 (closed) Affordable housing State http://www.worldbank.
Integrated social development org/projects/P122391/
programms rio-de-janeiro-metropolitan-
urban-housing-develop
ment?lang¼en&tab¼
overview
2012 (active) Water resource management Regional http://www.worldbank.
Urban services and housing org/projects/P125829/
Pollution management sao-bernardo-guarulhos-
integrated-water-
management-sao-paulo-
program?lang¼en&tab¼
overview
2012 Infrastructure (water, sanitation, National/Community http://www.sdinet.org/
sewerage, electricity) blog/2012/09/12/taking-
Empowerment of women reigns-slum-dwellers-
Housing drive-upgrading-proces/
Tertiary infrastructure upgrading (roads Regional http://www.worldbank.
and lanes, drains, environmental org/projects/P113904/
sanitation through sewers and septic vietnam-national-urban-
tanks, water supply, electricity and upgrading-project-mekong-
public lighting) delta-region?lang¼en&tab
Social infrastructure (schools, markets, ¼overview
community halls, greener spaces)
Primary and secondary infrastructure
(water supply, drains and sewers,
electrical power lines, river and canal
embankments, and social infrastructure
such as schools, markets, community
 K. Olthuis et al. / Habitat International 50 (2015) 270e288 287

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