ACHR focuses on supporting the establishment and development of grassroots organisations of the urban poor, who can effectively advocate on housing and land reform.
[1] Communities will typically combine their savings in city development funds (CDFs), which allow them to leverage public finance from national and local governments, or even by international donors.
[2] In Thailand, for example, ACHR has helped low-income communities to negotiate land sharing or land leasing arrangements with local authorities and private landowners, and then to access low-cost housing loans and infrastructure subsidies to upgrade their neighbourhoods.
The aim is to help landowners capture the commercial value of their land while reducing urban poverty and vulnerability.
The Secretary General is Somsook Boonyabancha, who was formerly Director of the Community Organizations Development Institute (CODI) in Thailand.
ACHR has close ties with the Slum Dwellers International movement,[6] having supported SDI to initiate saving schemes, form local slum federations and establish dialogues with municipal and national governments on issues such as sanitation, water and relocation.