There is no one-size-fits-all approach to upgrading informal settlements.

Every settlement has its own technical issues such as land ownership, land quality, and shack organization - also has its own social issues such as history, communal organization, and labor. The South African alliance of social movements and NGOs affiliated to Shack / Slum Dwellers International (SDI), has found, through practice, that there are a series of steps by which government and communities, working together, can engage the uniqueness of each settlement, and find ways to upgrade settlements that are sustainable and scalable. Upgrading through partnership with communities can seem challenging but the alternative is more so. Experienced officials recognize how very risky it is to invest in upgrading without having complete buy-in to the project by the community. The best way to do this is for officials to create a working partnership with representatives of the resident community, together with any NGOs who can support the process. Through partnership, municipal officials can strengthen their cities and towns to be forward thinking, people-centered, and productive places to work, play, and live.

The South African SDI Alliances Approach to Informal Settlement Upgrading

A brief introduction to partnership-based upgrading:

Enumeration: Communities and human settlements can only be upgraded by building on the local knowledge and capacities that exist within a given settlement. Through the practice of enumeration, communities count themselves, develop a detailed socio-economic profile of the settlement, and begin setting developmental priorities. Communities use the enumeration to confirm the identified need for upgrading and to create space for dialogue around planning for the future of the settlement. Municipalities have the option to share involvement in this process, making sure that it is comprehensive and sharing the use of the information. It becomes the municipalitys data base on the settlement and the residents help to keep it up to date. This on its own is a first step in improving security of tenure. And everyone can use the survey to identify and prioritise needs.

Defining upgrading: Informal settlement upgrading is any intervention that improves the physical properties of a settlement that enhances the lives of its inhabitants. This should be associated with improved security of tenure. Therefore, upgrading can mean any kind of improvement in infrastructure, service delivery, layout, community facilities, housing and improved livelihoods opportunities.

Savings: When communities have a stake in the development they are able and motivated to sustain it. Experience has proven that when communities contribute actual financial resources to upgrading their settlements, they become active participants in the process. The South African SDI alliances experience is that a community contribution of about 10% of the cost of the upgrading builds ownership and trust within the communities to implement and manage the financial and social aspects of any project.

City-wide networks of communities: Social problems are sure to arise in an informal settlement upgrading project. Upgrading means change, and any process of change is bound to kick up dust. Wherever possible municipalities should also work with networks of poor communities, such as the ISN, whose leadership can help support and guide a community as it goes through the inevitable challenges of an upgrading process. They encourage the establishment of savings schemes, the practice of community-led enumerations and help develop practical capacity to work with technical professionals. Network leaders can also help the municipality to effectively engage communities. Finally, these networks can facilitate the exchange of learning from one upgrade to many other settlements, so that the capacity for the implementation of future projects is greater. For more on the partnership-based projects of the South African SDI alliance, including case studies of the application of these protocols, visit: http://www.sasdialliance.org.za/projects/informal-settlement-upgrading/