If there is to be any movement towards the creation of sustainable and replicable upgrading of
informal settlements, then it is important to identify those processes that appear to define the
essence of the intervention and convert these to a structured methodology. That is what the Cape
Town project attempted to achieve (Abbott et al., 2001). In respect of this paper, two elements of
the project are particular importance. The first was an extensive review of informal settlements,
covering the historical debate, the conditions and dynamics and the relationship between these
settlements and urban poverty. The second was a critical review of a number of benchmark
settlements upgrading programmes internationally.