Slum Networking exploits the powerful correlation between slums and the riverine paths of cities to transform the environment and infrastructure of distressed cities. It uses water and sanitation to alleviate poverty in a paradigm shift from 'social paternalism' to 'business on hand'. The improved infrastructure stimulates massive community investment in its own shelter, health and education, overcoming aid dependence with the hereto untapped latent resources of the 'poor', coupled with constructive partnerships with the government and the private sector. This work has now transformed the lives of over half a million slum dwellers. Slum Networking exploits the correlation between slums and the natural riverine paths of the city to improve the environment and provide high quality, gravity based, house-to-house water, sanitation, storm drainage, roads and landscaping at costs lower than the conventional 'slum' solutions such as public standposts and community latrines. It uses nature sensitive technical innovations to improve performance and reduce costs.

The approach has three philosophical planks:

1. Use physical infrastructure, water and sanitation to alleviate poverty and improve health, literacy and incomes, cheaper and faster than any other means.
2. Get over the 'poverty and aid syndrome', meeting huge resources needs through self-reliant partnerships and the untapped latent wealth of the community.
3. Use innovative and nature sensitive solutions to bridge the gulf between costs and affordability.

The implementation must also satisfy the following criteria:

1. There must be tangible and measurable results. The communities are weary of platitudes.
2. The approach must make business sense to attract capital and reduce aid dependency.
3. The community must be a capital partner to ensure its commitment to the project and the subsequent maintenance. If community invests, it is also an acid of the efficacy of the solutions. 4. There must be a huge multiplier on the initial outlay on infrastructure to leverage at least 10 fold investment in housing, health and education from community.