Contents List of boxes and tables iv Summary 1 1 Introduction 6 Background 6 Urban Poor Funds 6 Outline 7 2 The challenge for Urban Poor Funds: setting the context 8 Introduction 8 The scale of informal shelter 9 Seeking tenure security 11 State solutions to shelter needs 12 Conclusion: positioning of the funds 17 3 The development and present scale of Urban Poor Funds 19 SDI - a summary and overview of the methodology 19 Urban Poor Funds - form and purpose 25 Urban Poor Funds - affiliate approaches to operational issues 30 Financial composition 31 Governance 35 Loan management 37 Repayment 40 Urban Poor Funds - impact and scale 46 Conclusion 50 4 The contribution of Urban Poor Funds 51 Introduction 51 Historical reflection - understanding funds in India 53 Addressing market incapacities 56 Addressing state inadequacies 60 A collective challenge 65 Conclusion: benefits of Urban Poor Funds 70 5 Conclusion 71 References 73 Recent publications by IIED's Human Settlements Group 78