The Tool Desk
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Upgrading is an area-wide process rather than a single building product. The right package depends on local law, land arrangements, hazards, infrastructure capacity and what residents identify as urgent. The sequence below provides a practical framework for public agencies, engineers, community organizations and funders.
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What upgrading means
Integrated upgrading combines several kinds of work instead of treating a settlement as a collection of defective houses. The World Bank’s 2021 guidance describes a package that can include:
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- Basic services: safe water, sanitation, drainage, electricity, waste collection and all-weather access.
- Housing improvement: safer structures, better ventilation and light, weatherproofing, kitchens, toilets and incremental extensions.
- Tenure measures: steps that reduce eviction risk and give occupants enough confidence to invest, while recognizing renters and households without formal title.
- Socioeconomic support: protection of workplaces, access routes, livelihood facilities, savings or credit arrangements and links to public services.
These elements reinforce one another. A new drain may fail if access roads prevent maintenance. A stronger house may still be unsafe if wastewater floods the plot. A title or occupancy document may not protect a tenant who is excluded from the project. Treat the settlement as a living neighborhood with homes, movement patterns, businesses and social networks.
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Why staying in place requires safeguards
In-situ work reduces the disruption associated with wholesale clearance, but it does not remove displacement risk. A road widening, drainage reserve, utility alignment, plot reconfiguration or hazard-mitigation measure can remove a structure or interrupt a shop, workshop, rental room or street-vending location. Formalization can also change who is recognized as an occupant.
Set a written objective at the start: avoid physical and economic displacement wherever feasible, and identify the exceptional cases before design is fixed. Do not present the objective as an automatic legal guarantee. The applicable land, planning, housing and compensation rules vary by jurisdiction, and the available guidance does not establish one universal compensation or relocation standard.
Start with an inclusive settlement map
Map people as well as buildings
A conventional site survey is not enough. Build a household and activity map that records residents, renters, subtenants, migrants, vacant rooms, home-based enterprises, schools, clinics, religious sites, markets, transport stops and other places that people depend on. Record how each household occupies its space, without assuming that an owner, a leaseholder and an informal occupant face the same risk.
Combine walk-throughs, interviews, transects, photographs, service testing and resident-drawn maps. Explain why information is collected, who may see it and how it will be protected. Use interpreters, accessible meeting places and meeting times that do not exclude shift workers, caregivers or people with disabilities.
Record service gaps and hazards
Map water points, toilets, drainage paths, flood depths, fire access, unstable slopes, waste accumulation, electrical hazards and routes used by emergency vehicles. Add seasonal information: a path that appears passable in the dry season may be the main flood channel in the wet season. Mark where homes, businesses and public facilities would be affected by a proposed alignment.
Make priorities and trade-offs visible
Residents should help rank problems and review alternatives, not merely attend a presentation after the design is complete. Publish plain-language drawings, cost ranges where available, construction phases, affected plots and the proposed maintenance arrangement. Record unresolved disagreements and the reasons for the selected option. A documented choice is easier to challenge and improve than an informal promise.
Assemble an area-based upgrading package
After mapping, group works into a sequence that can function at each phase. A typical package might contain the following components, adjusted to the settlement’s conditions:
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| Component | Possible work | Questions to settle with residents |
|---|---|---|
| Water and sanitation | Household connections where feasible, shared facilities, sewer or non-sewer systems, water-point improvements and hygiene access | Who can connect, how will bills be set, where will construction access run, and who cleans shared facilities? |
| Drainage and flood management | Rehabilitated drains, safe outfalls, crossings, retention or infiltration measures and solid-waste controls | Which routes must stay open, whose plots are near the alignment, and how will debris and maintenance be handled? |
| Access and public space | Walkways, tertiary roads, lighting, stairs, public toilets, play areas and gathering spaces | Will the route remove a room, stall or tree; can the alignment follow existing movement patterns; and who controls the space? |
| Homes | Structural repairs, roofs, floors, ventilation, fire separation, toilets, extensions and safer electrical or cooking arrangements | Which improvements are urgent, what can households afford, and can work proceed while the family remains at home? |
| Tenure and administration | Occupancy records, leases, collective arrangements, boundary clarification or other locally lawful measures | Who is recognized, how are renters treated, and what happens when records conflict? |
| Livelihoods | Protected trading areas, workspaces, loading access, storage, training or finance links | Which businesses depend on a particular location or customer route, and how will trading continue during works? |
Do not promise every item in the first contract. A phased plan can start with life-safety and service failures, then add home improvements and public-space work. State what is funded, what is proposed and what depends on a later decision.
Compare options against a no-displacement test
When several layouts or delivery models are possible, compare them explicitly rather than choosing the fastest construction method. Use the same questions for every option: how many households and livelihoods are affected, what service and safety gains result, how renters are protected, what hazards remain, what residents must pay, how disruptive construction will be and who will maintain the result.
| Approach | When it may fit | Main benefits | Risks and safeguards |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-situ incremental upgrading | Most homes can remain on their plots and hazards can be reduced without major reconfiguration | Preserves social networks, customer bases and existing investments; work can be phased | Small, scattered works may be hard to coordinate. Protect access, publish phases and fund maintenance. |
| In-situ upgrading with reblocking or replotting | Narrow passages, unsafe densities or missing service corridors make the existing layout unworkable | Can create access, drainage and service routes while keeping the neighborhood in place | Boundary changes can remove rooms or plots. Test alternatives, identify every affected household and agree on lawful records and remedies before construction. |
| Targeted service corridor or hazard works | A drain, road, utility or slope intervention is essential but affects a defined strip | Addresses a specific safety or service failure | Even a narrow alignment can displace a home or business. Redesign first, document temporary moves, protect income and apply applicable legal safeguards. |
| Relocation or redevelopment | A site-specific danger cannot be reduced in place, or no feasible safe layout exists | May remove an otherwise unmanageable risk | Breaks networks and can cause permanent economic loss. Treat it as an exceptional, participatory decision governed by local law, with clear information and enforceable protections. |
Treat tenure as part of the construction plan
Tenure insecurity can expose people to eviction and discourage them from repairing a home. Physical upgrading without a tenure strategy may increase land values or create new conflicts. Conversely, a document alone does not deliver water, drainage or a safe structure.
Work with the competent local authority and recognize the arrangements that already operate, including customary or collective systems where legally relevant. Possible measures can include verified occupancy records, locally lawful leases, collective or individual recognition, clearer plot boundaries, or agreements that protect continued residence. The correct instrument is jurisdiction-specific; do not import a model from another city without checking its legal effect.
Include renters and people without formal title
List renters, subtenants, recent migrants and households whose names do not appear on a land record. Tell them how decisions affect their homes and leases. If a project offers a connection, repair grant or temporary accommodation, state eligibility in writing and provide a way to appeal an exclusion. A homeowners’ committee cannot be assumed to represent tenants, women, people with disabilities or households with different livelihoods.
Use a staged implementation process
The following sequence keeps displacement checks inside normal project management rather than treating them as an afterthought.
- Adopt the project mandate. State the objective of improving conditions in place, the circumstances that could require a move, the authority responsible for decisions and the channels for complaints.
- Complete the inclusive map. Verify households, tenure situations, services, hazards, movement routes, businesses and culturally important places. Recheck the list before each construction phase.
- Set priorities with residents. Rank life-safety, water, sanitation, drainage, access, housing and livelihood needs. Use drawings or physical models so people can compare alternatives.
- Test technical feasibility. Survey levels, utilities, structural conditions and access for construction equipment. Ask designers to produce at least one alignment that avoids occupied structures wherever feasible.
- Prepare the social and livelihood safeguard plan. Name affected households, renters and enterprises; describe temporary access, storage, service continuity, moving assistance where required by law, and the process for unresolved cases.
- Confirm tenure and affordability arrangements. Explain who can receive each benefit, what records are required, what residents may have to pay and what happens if a household cannot afford a connection or repair.
- Sequence and contract the works. Keep pedestrian routes, water access, toilets, electricity and business access functioning. Put dust, noise, safety, working hours, reinstatement and resident communication into the contractor’s obligations.
- Inspect jointly and hand over. Residents, engineers and the responsible authority should inspect completed sections, record defects and agree who owns, operates and maintains each asset.
- Monitor and adjust. Track displacement, service reliability, affordability, safety and complaints. Change the next phase when evidence shows that a design is causing harm.
Design construction around daily life
Keep homes usable during works
Agree access routes before excavation. Provide safe temporary crossings and maintain routes to toilets, water points, schools, clinics and workplaces. Schedule interruptions with notice and give households a named contact for urgent problems. Where a room must be opened or removed, document the condition of the home, the duration of the interruption and the reinstatement obligation before work begins.
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Protect local businesses and informal work
A shop, repair stall, food stand or home workshop may depend on visibility, foot traffic, storage or vehicle access. Map those dependencies, not just the structure itself. Phase works so customers can still reach trading areas, provide safe temporary locations when appropriate and record who is responsible for restoring signs, counters, connections and access.
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Coordinate utilities before digging
Unrecorded pipes, cables and shared connections are common sources of damage and disputes. Verify utility locations with operators and residents, mark them on the construction drawings and define who pays for reconnection. A service improvement that leaves a household without power or water is not a successful phase.
Make participation representative and accountable
Participation can be captured by officials, landowners, local elites or the most confident speakers. Create several routes into the process: open meetings, small-group discussions, women-only or renter-focused sessions where appropriate, door-to-door outreach, anonymous feedback and accessible written notices. Publish attendance, decisions, changes to design and the reasons for rejecting alternatives.
Set representation rules before a committee begins. Include renters, owners, people with different tenure statuses, women, young people, older residents, people with disabilities, migrants and livelihood groups. Rotate meeting times and provide interpretation or child-care arrangements when feasible. A grievance system should accept complaints without requiring a resident to confront a powerful neighbor, acknowledge receipt, set a response time and explain escalation.
Budget for affordability and maintenance
Count more than the concrete and pipes. A realistic budget includes surveys, design, resident engagement, temporary access, utility relocation, safeguards, construction supervision, connections, household repairs, operation, maintenance and monitoring. Separate one-time capital costs from recurring costs so a community is not handed an asset it cannot operate.
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Payment arrangements must be understandable and proportionate to local incomes. Consider which costs belong to the public authority, utility, owner, landlord or household under local rules. If credit or microfinance is offered, explain interest, collateral, repayment risk and eligibility; borrowing is not automatically appropriate for every household. The Vietnam project described by the World Bank reported more than 51,000 housing-improvement microloans and 44,000 livelihood-related microloans through 2014, but those project outputs are not a guarantee that microfinance will suit another settlement.
Plan operation and maintenance before handover
Every drain, toilet block, water point, road, light and public space needs a responsible operator, an inspection routine, a repair pathway and a funding source. Decide these points while designing, not after the contractor leaves.
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- Assign each asset to a named public agency, utility, community organization or other lawful operator.
- Define cleaning, inspection and repair tasks in plain language, including who responds to blocked drains or broken pumps.
- Train local monitors to report defects and unsafe conditions, while retaining professional responsibility for technical systems.
- Publish contact details, service hours, tariffs or fees and escalation routes.
- Review whether maintenance costs or rules are excluding renters, poorer households or people with disabilities.
What documented projects illustrate
Vietnam Urban Upgrading Project
The World Bank’s 2021 guidance note uses the Vietnam Urban Upgrading Project to illustrate integrated, participatory upgrading. The figures below are project-reported outputs through 2014, not current global totals or causal estimates.
| Reported output | Qualification |
|---|---|
| 200 low-income neighborhoods | Project account reported in the World Bank guidance note |
| More than 2.5 million poor urban residents directly benefited | Project-reported figure through 2014 |
| About 5 million additional people reached through infrastructure provision | Project-reported figure through 2014 |
| About 500 km of tertiary drains | Constructed or upgraded, according to the project account |
| About 580 km of tertiary roads | Constructed or upgraded, according to the project account |
| About 30,000 direct household water connections | Project-reported output |
| About 550,000 direct sewer or drainage connections | Project-reported output |
| More than 51,000 housing-improvement microloans | Project-reported output; not a recommendation for every setting |
| 44,000 livelihood-related microloans | Project-reported output; not a recommendation for every setting |
The useful lesson is the combination of neighborhood infrastructure, household improvement, finance and participation. The numbers should not be transplanted as targets without checking local density, institutions, affordability and engineering conditions.
Kenya examples and the limits of a no-displacement promise
UN-Habitat’s 2017 Kenya report describes in-situ upgrading and emphasizes community participation and local context. A Kenya social management plan also records that service and tenure improvements can create minor displacement when boundaries are adjusted or utilities are installed. That example is project-specific, but it demonstrates why every alignment needs a household-level impact check.
UN-Habitat’s wider programme experience
UN-Habitat’s Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme page states that the programme has involved more than 40 countries and 190 cities; the page was accessed on 11 October 2026, and the reach may change. The programme’s stated tenure-security focus is that it supports communities to assert the right to safe housing and the right to stay. Programme reach does not mean that a particular settlement will receive support or that one tenure model will work everywhere.
UN-Habitat recommendations published in 2025 are guidance proposals, not binding law. They support combining tenure work with upgrading, minimizing displacement, preserving livelihoods and recognizing different resident groups.
Measure whether residents are actually better off
Track outcomes by household type and tenure status, not only total connections or meters built. A compact monitoring framework can include:
| Question | Useful measure |
|---|---|
| Did people stay? | Households moved temporarily or permanently, reasons, return rates and unresolved cases |
| Were livelihoods protected? | Businesses or work locations interrupted, days without access, income recovery and restored facilities |
| Did services improve? | Reliability, queue times, flood incidents, toilet access, waste collection and electricity safety |
| Did homes become safer? | Completed repairs, structural or fire hazards addressed, ventilation and weather protection |
| Are benefits equitable? | Participation and outcomes for renters, women, migrants, people with disabilities and households without formal title |
| Can the system last? | Maintenance response times, functioning assets, funds available and unresolved complaints |
Publish the results in a form residents can verify. If a project meets its construction target but increases eviction pressure, blocks a livelihood route or leaves drains unmaintained, the monitoring should trigger corrective action.
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Common failure modes and practical corrections
A master plan ignores existing movement and work patterns
Correction: map daily routes, trading locations, school trips, care work and seasonal water flows before fixing alignments. Test the design with residents who use the space at different times.
Only titled owners are consulted
Correction: create a separate register and outreach plan for renters, subtenants, migrants and households with unclear documentation. Explain how each group can challenge an exclusion.
Construction begins before affected households are identified
Correction: freeze the alignment only after a plot-by-plot impact review. Keep a change-control process so a late utility discovery does not silently remove a home.
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Correction: publish membership, meeting records and decisions; use multiple channels and confidential complaints; rotate representatives and report back to the wider settlement.
Residents receive infrastructure with no maintenance plan
Correction: assign an operator, budget recurring costs, train monitors and test the repair route before handover.
Microcredit is treated as a universal housing solution
Correction: assess income volatility, debt capacity, tenure security and alternatives first. Offer non-credit support where borrowing would create unacceptable risk.
A decision checklist for project teams
- Have all households, renters, tenure situations, businesses and community facilities been mapped?
- Can the proposed service or road alignment avoid occupied structures and livelihood locations?
- For every unavoidable impact, is the affected person identified and the applicable legal process clear?
- Are temporary access, water, sanitation, power, storage and trading arrangements funded and scheduled?
- Do women, renters, migrants, people with disabilities and less powerful groups have meaningful ways to influence decisions?
- Are design changes, costs, responsibilities and grievance deadlines publicly explained?
- Does each asset have an operator, maintenance budget, inspection routine and escalation contact?
- Will monitoring report displacement, livelihood disruption, service quality, affordability and equity by household type?
- Has the next phase been made conditional on learning from the completed phase?
Make staying the project’s operating principle
Housing improvement without displacement is achieved through disciplined choices: start with resident knowledge, improve the whole area rather than one façade, pair tenure work with services, protect renters and livelihoods, redesign infrastructure that needlessly removes homes, and budget for maintenance. In-situ upgrading is not a single construction specification or a promise that conflicts will disappear. It is a continuing partnership in which residents can see the proposed works, challenge their impacts and help operate what is built.
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