Community participation has become an integral part of housing strategy for low income populations of the developing world. In the last three decades, it has gone beyond community involvement in cost recovery, sweat equity or participation in planning, to encompass a large agenda seeking simultaneous social, economic and physical community development. / Upgrading settlements of low income urban populations by in-situ infrastructure provision is aimed at bettering access to basic amenities and creation of sustainable living environments. However, evaluations of implemented projects indicate vast gaps between project aims and results, especially with regards to those components that are sensitive to local socioeconomic and political contexts, like community development. / Bearing this is in mind, an upgrading project in Indore, India, with a strong community development component was taken up for research. The study evaluated the effectiveness of community development in the improvement of living environments, by comparing project objectives with outcomes. Eight slums covered under the project were surveyed to determine community response to upgrading. The results indicated that inadequate attention was given to community development, despite its potential in improving living conditions in human settlements. Suggestions for improvement of future implementation and areas for further research have been identified.

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Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has a demonstrated capacity to improve safety, mobility and accessibility for multiple types of road users. In India, where road safety is an ongoing problem, the national government has supported cities’ efforts to implement BRT as a cost-effective tool to improve urban travel. The case of Indore’s iBus attests to the cultural and institutional barriers that Indian cities may face in gaining public support for BRT. After a contentious implementation process, the High Court ruled to open the dedicated bus lane to private automobiles, resulting in drops in ridership and increases in accidents and travel delay. This study examines the competing, public narratives that framed the issues during and after project construction. Contested notions of the public interest, the cause of traffic problems, and community participation informed the basis for the arguments that culminated in the court ruling.