The purpose of the upgrade is to upgrade slum tenements and provide new housing for beneficiaries. Its goal is to help improve living conditions among the urban poor by having the beneficiaries both participate in and benefit from development of upgraded housing facilities. Beneficiaries are also to participate in managing and financing the initiative in a way that both expands their asset base and improves their overall level of well-being. As the project is being implemented in 32 cities in 17 provinces, it is also expected to make planning for and provision of housing for the poor more responsive to the needs of beneficiaries.