Slum upgrading is an integrated approach that aims to turn around downward trends in an area. These downward trends can be legal (land tenure), physical (infrastructure), social (crime or education, for example) or economic." The main objective of slum upgrading is to remove the poor living standards of slum dwellers and largely focuses on removing slum dwellers altogether.

Slum upgrading is used mainly for projects inspired by or engaged by Commonwealth Bank and similar agencies. It is considered by the proponents a necessary and important component of urban development in the developing countries. Many slums lack basic local authority services such as provision of safe drinking water, wastewater, sanitation, and solid-waste management.

Many people do not believe that slum upgrading is successful as community planners believe that there is no successful alternative of where these displaced slum dwellers should go. They point to the difficulties in providing the necessary resources either in a way that is beneficial to the dwellers or in a way that has long-term effectiveness.