C.U.P. (Coalition of the Urban Poor) was formally launched in July 2004.

At the inaugural meeting the Coalition met with Lindiwe Sisulu, the National Minister of Housing. The Coalition received a pledge for 1000 housing subsidies, chose a national advisory group and drafted a People’s Housing Policy.

In August 2005 it officially started a learning and advocacy programme (LAP).

It has identified seven pilot projects to serve as the basis for this programme.

They are:

Kwa Thema, Johannesburg – settlement upgrading coordinated by the Kwa Thema Residents Committee, a CUP affiliate.

Inanda and Eshowe, KZN – shelters for AIDS orphans by grassroots AIDS care giving groups in the greater Inanda and Eshowe areas – all affiliated to CUP.

Durban Metro – practical engagement and precedent setting with State Institutions, which revolves around seven pilot projects that partner the City’s Housing Dept and the Ethekwini chapter of the Federation of the Urban Poor (FEDUP), a CUP affiliate. These projects include: construction and management of sanitation blocks; upgrading of Piesang River; upgrading and relocation at Kenville; inner-city housing in Durban; emergency housing and transit accommodation; settlement wide enumeration and mobilization in Amaoti.

Langa, Atlantis Cape Town – Community-based Solid Waste Management.

Freedom Farm, Cape Town – building savings collectives and developing systems and procedures for savings, withdrawals, loans, rescheduling, repayment and record keeping, with the residents committee, affiliated to CUP.

Site C, Khayelitsha – housing development for 1500 families, all affiliated to the Federation of the Urban Poor (FEDUP), itself an affiliate of CUP.

Klipfontein Glebe, Cape Flats – rezoning, tenure security and housing development.

Cement Factory Upgrade, Cape Town – development of a housing and urban agriculture estate with Investec, Abalimi and Sustainability Institute.