The Asian Coalition for Community Action’s Approach to Slum Upgrading East
Introduction
ACCA slum upgrading is among the most innovative community-driven approaches to addressing urban poverty in Asia, according to a comprehensive 2014 World Bank review conducted by the East Asia and Pacific Sustainable Infrastructure Unit. The report examines three years of operations under the Asian Coalition for Community Action (ACCA) Program, managed by the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR) with funding from the Gates Foundation. It concludes that the model delivers transformational, systemic change at a fraction of the cost of conventional housing programs.
What Is ACCA Slum Upgrading?
At its core, ACCA slum upgrading is a demand-responsive, people-driven process that addresses what the World Bank report describes as "a composite nexus of market and government failures" affecting the urban poor. Rather than building housing units on behalf of residents, the program empowers communities to plan, finance, and construct their own improvements with targeted external support.
The Four Core Functions
The ACCA slum upgrading model carries out four integrated functions:
- Small-scale infrastructure grants that catalyze community organizing
- Housing loans channeled through City/Community Development Funds (CDFs)
- Land tenure negotiation, securing formal rights through purchase, grants, or long-term leases
- Architectural and planning assistance provided by the Community Architects Network
These steps are sequenced deliberately. A small infrastructure grant serves as a "signal of seriousness" test—communities that use it effectively become eligible for larger housing loans, thereby solving the adverse selection problem that plagues many donor programs.
Program Structure and Financial Model
The $58,000 Budget Per City
One of the most striking findings in the report is the modesty of the ACCA slum upgrading budget. The maximum allocation per city is just US$58,000, broken down as follows:
- $15,000 for at least five small upgrading projects across different communities
- $40,000 for one large housing project
- $3,000 for city process support (surveys, mapping, meetings)
- $10,000 per country per year for national coordination
Of the total program budget, over 70% passes directly to poor communities, 21% funds capacity-building, and only 8% covers administration. By the end of its third year (2012), the program had supported activities in 165 cities across 19 countries, helping 42,760 families with housing and benefiting 146,000 families through small infrastructure projects.
Leverage and Government Contributions
The ACCA slum upgrading approach is explicitly designed to leverage resources far beyond its own budget. The report notes that US$75.7 million in land, infrastructure, and cash was mobilized from governments, with ACCA's own contribution accounting for only 6% of total project values. For large housing projects specifically, government contributions reached 80% of total budgets, while ACCA's share was a mere 4%.
Community Development Funds: A New Form of Finance
A central innovation of the ACCA slum upgrading model is the creation of City Development Funds. By January 2013, 98 such funds were active, with 274,000 savers holding US$22.5 million in collective savings. These funds operate at interest rates of 7–8%, well below the 50%+ rates charged by informal moneylenders documented in the report, yet above government borrowing costs—making them financially sustainable.
The World Bank authors distinguish this "community finance" from housing finance, microfinance, and municipal finance. Unlike individual mortgage lending, ACCA slum upgrading loans are extended to communities collectively, strengthening social cohesion and shared accountability for asset maintenance.
The report acknowledges that this communal borrowing structure increases perceived credit risk for traditional lenders but argues the benefits—reduced emergency borrowing costs, consumption smoothing, and collective bargaining power—outweigh those risks.
Land Tenure: Negotiating Security for the Poor
Land tenure negotiation is a defining feature of ACCA slum upgrading. As of late 2012, nearly 43,000 households across 78 projects had received secure tenure. In 55 large projects, communities leveraged 511 hectares of government land valued at US$62 million, typically received free or on long-term nominal leases.
The report highlights that ACHR prefers collective tenure arrangements, which it believes help create "a real community" and preserve collective bargaining power. Thirty-two percent of projects involved some form of collective leasehold or ownership, while 68% used individual titles.
How ACCA Slum Upgrading Compares to Traditional Approaches
The World Bank assessment draws a sharp contrast between ACCA slum upgrading and standard government-led projects. Traditional programs select beneficiaries top-down, make one-time investments, and often ignore land tenure. In contrast, the ACCA model features self-selection, incremental investment, community-initiated action, and active tenure negotiation.
The report also positions ACCA slum upgrading within the broader context of Southeast Asia's rapid urbanization, weak governance structures, and underdeveloped financial systems. In countries where mortgage finance is virtually nonexistent and decentralization remains embryonic; the program fills critical institutional gaps.
The CODI program in Thailand—a $100 million national initiative on which ACCA is modeled—was validated by a quasi-experimental study from the Thailand Development Research Institute, which found that assisted communities experienced house value increases exceeding the subsidy amount, higher educational expenditures, and improved business prospects.
Policy Impact Across Asia
Over three years, ACCA slum upgrading contributed to tangible policy shifts in multiple countries. Cambodia adopted a national housing policy based on community-driven upgrading. Vietnam changed its collective housing redevelopment standards after the Vinh project. The Philippines saw its first cases of free public land granted to squatter communities. Fiji signed a memorandum of understanding for joint citywide upgrading in 15 cities. Thailand's city-fund movement expanded to over 200 cities.
Conclusion
The World Bank's assessment confirms that ACCA slum upgrading is not merely a collection of small infrastructure projects but a carefully designed mechanism for systemic urban transformation. By combining minimal subsidies with community savings, collective finance, land negotiation, and technical support, the program demonstrates that meaningful progress against urban poverty does not require massive public expenditure—only well-targeted catalytic investment and genuine community agency.
For researchers, policymakers, and housing professionals seeking cost-effective alternatives to supply-side housing programs, this document remains an essential reference. Its recommendations for future research—on scalability, repayment sustainability, and the coordination between community-level infrastructure and trunk services—chart a clear path for the next generation of evidence-based urban development policy. The ACCA slum upgrading model, while still young, offers a proven blueprint for inclusive city-building in regions where institutional capacity remains weak and the need is urgent.