This paper provides a review of different approaches to informal settlement upgrading. It begins by
showing how linking informal settlement upgrading and sites and service provision as twin approaches to
development led firstly to a situation where the former was situated within a particular development
paradigm and then to an ideological divide between externally driven and community-supported upgrading
initiatives. After a review of existing literature on the subject, the paper argues that the origin of the
intervention is less important than substantiation of the results of the intervention. It then identifies three
‘‘thematic approaches’’ that can be shown to have a substantive track record in upgrading. These are the
progressive improvement model of physical infrastructure provision, community microplanning and
physical transformation through an holistic plan (‘‘plano global’’ in Portuguese). These three thematic
approaches are reviewed comparatively, and their strengths and weaknesses analysed. r 2002 Elsevier
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