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A brief introduction to partnership-based upgrading:The South African SDI Alliances Approach to Informal Settlement Upgrading

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, communalorganization, 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 cansupport 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.

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.

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.

Savings: When communities have a stake in the development they are able andmotivated 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.

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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, thepractice 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/