Course Outline

Module 1: Understanding Slums and Informal Settlements

• Definitions, typologies, and global trends

• Root causes: poverty, migration, and policy gaps

• Spatial analysis of informal settlements

• Case study: Slum demographics and mapping

Module 2: Legal and Policy Frameworks

• Land tenure and property rights in informal contexts

• Urban policies and upgrading mandates

• International frameworks (UN-Habitat, SDG 11)

• Review of national housing and upgrading policies

Module 3: Participatory Planning and Community Engagement

• Stakeholder identification and mapping

• Community mobilization and participatory tools

• Inclusive planning and decision-making mechanisms

• Practical exercise: Designing a community engagement plan

Module 4: Tenure Regularization and Land Use Planning

• Types of tenure arrangements and upgrading models

• Land readjustment and spatial planning for densification

• Tools for land registration and documentation

• Simulation: Tenure security scenario planning

Module 5: Basic Services and Infrastructure Upgrading

• Water, sanitation, drainage, and solid waste systems

• Access roads, street lighting, and public spaces

• Climate resilience and disaster mitigation

• Field-based group task: Infrastructure prioritization mapping

Module 6: Housing Design and Incremental Improvement

• Housing typologies and incremental development models

• Low-cost and sustainable construction materials

• Building codes and technical standards

• Workshop: Designing upgradeable housing units

Module 7: Livelihood Integration and Social Support

• Economic empowerment and local enterprise promotion

• Access to finance and microcredit

• Social services: education, healthcare, safety

• Case study: Integrated socio-economic upgrading

Module 8: Financing Slum Upgrading

• Public, private, and community financing models

• Role of donor funding, grants, and subsidies

• Public-private-community partnerships (PPCPs)

• Simulation: Structuring an upgrading project budget

Module 9: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Sustainability

• Setting measurable outcomes and indicators

• Participatory M&E tools

• Long-term maintenance and institutional roles

• Practical session: Designing an M&E plan for a settlement

Module 10: Site Visit, Case Studies, and Action Planning

• Field visit to an upgrading site or informal settlement

• Analysis of slum upgrading successes and failures

• Group presentations: Developing settlement upgrading strategies

• Wrap-up and action planning for home institutions