Lofty Ideal, Hefty Deal: Empowerment Through Participatory Slum Upgrading in India and Indonesia

Empowerment is theorized as the critical objective of participation. However, the dual expectations of project efficiency and empowerment are not always compatible because of the distinct inputs they require and different factors that influence them. There is scarce empirical evidence, from participatory urban development initiatives, especially slum upgrading, to validate participation's touted links to empowerment and improved project outcomes.