Scalable community-led slum upgrading: The Indian Alliance and community toilet blocks in Pune and Mumbai

It is projected that there will be two billion slum dwellers in 2030. 'Best practice', market-led strategies of slum upgrading are failing to stem the growth of slums. The Indian Alliance has formulated a community-led Federation Model of slum upgrading that has underlain the delivery at scale of community toilet blocks in Pune and Mumbai. Issues pertaining to sanitation are especially pernicious in the high density slums. This paper identifies the circumstances that have made delivery at scale possible with a view to determining whether the Federation Model is scalable in different cities and contexts. It was found that 'overlapping champions' comprising organized communities, NGOs and municipal leaders enhance the ability to scale up in any one location and that without overlapping champions replicability at scale will be diminished.