ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the experiences of the Urban Community Development Office (UCDO) in Thailand in addressing urban poverty and how these fed into a new institution into which its programmes were integrated in 2000: the Community Organizations Development Institute (CODI). UCDO had a clear pro-poor, antiexclusion agenda since its formation in 1992. It provided loans for new housing, housing improvement and income generation to community-managed savings groups, drawing from a capital base equivalent to US$50 million provided by the Thai government. Other programmes developed, drawing support from other agencies, including support for neighbourhood improvement and community-managed revolving funds. UCDO also increasingly provided support to networks of community organizations that took over many of the management tasks. Over time, this meant that UCDO shifted from managing a fund to support housing and land projects to managing a fund to support community networks that change the ways in which cities are planned and governed and that also addresses housing and land issues. This support of networks was widened and further consolidated once UCDO became part of CODI.
