UrbanLex- The Urban Law Information System
UN-Habitat focuses on the biggest deprivations for slum communities: the lack of adequate and safe housing conditions, clean water supply, sanitation and secure land tenure. We concentrate on waste management, gender equality and human rights, climate resilience and participation of the local communities in the slum upgrading process.
UN-Habitat's Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme helped over
slum dwellers with improved tenure security
cities in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific regions have joined UN-Habitat's Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme
slum dwellers worldwide benefit from UN-Habitat's Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme
Participatory City-wide Urban Upgrading in Egypt
+ Participatory Slum Upgrading Website
"Since we manage the water kiosks in our community by ourselves, our children go to school. I can afford school books, food, medication and clothes for my kids."
Mrs Mathilda Chonga, 47, Member of the community of Majengo, a slum village on the coast of Kenya; together with other widows the single mother of 6 kids runs a water kiosk in the slum
Access to safe drinking water falls under international human rights law, sanitation is a basic need and matter of dignity! UN-Habitat takes action to provide safe, sufficient and affordable drinking water and sanitation facilities for slum dwellers and vulnerable communities.
Women in developing countries build the backbone of a community, but are often discriminated against and regarded as one of the most vulnerable groups. UN-Habitat empowers women, promotes gender equality and strengthens human rights as they set the standards for people to live in freedom, equality and dignity.
UN-Habitat focuses on the most vulnerable groups in the slums: women, children, youth, elderly and disabled people in terms of their basic needs. We help to build capacities, create job opportunities, help to provide education and improve the local economy to better people's livelihoods.
UN-Habitat includes disabled slum dwellers in almost all the project approaches: disabled people are part of the decision making process within the communities, they are represented in the community committees, can apply and receive funding and run Community Managed Funds (UN-Habitat-sponsored action groups that take on specific tasks in the settlement, which generate income for the community).
The Challenge of Slums - Global Report on Human Settlements 2003
The Challenge of Slums presents the first global assessment of slums, emphasizing their problems and prospects. It presents estimates of the numbers of urban slum dwellers and examines the factors that underlie the formation of slums, as well as their social, spatial and economic characteristics…
A Practical Guide to Designing, Planning, and Executing Citywide Slum Upgrading Programmes
While 220 million people have been lifted out of slum conditions over the past 10 years, the number of people living in slum conditions is likely to grow by six million every year, to reach a total of 889 million by 2020. It is necessary to equip cities and their practitioners with the tools and…
Slum Almanac 2015-2016
In our world, one in eight people live in slums. In total, around a billion people live in slum conditions today. This not only amounts to a rather unacceptable contemporary reality but to one whose numbers are continuously swelling. In spite of great progress in improving slums and preventing…
UN-Habitat's Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme was founded in 2008 as a tripartite initiative of the Secretariat of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), the European Commission and UN-Habitat. It is fundamental to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 11 for Cities and Communities, and particularly Target 11.1: "By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums".
In a participatory approach, UN-Habitat engages a wide range of stakeholders in the process of slum upgrading: local communities, national and local governments, financial partners and key stakeholders from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community based organizations, foundations and institutions, as well as private sector and academia.
European Commission (EC)
The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP)
Slum Upgrading Unit Leader, Project Leader Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme
Slum Upgrading Unit/Housing and Slum Upgrading Branch
+ Learn more about Slum Upgrading