South Africa has been a political democracy for more than a generation. In that time, neither government nor the market have generated sustainable solutions to widespread urban poverty and underdevelopment. Instead, communities have stepped into the gap, often supported by Urban Development professionals. The key lesson from three decades of independent effort by organized communities is that to succeed, development projects must be designed and implemented with the priorities of communities in mind. OneCity’s contribution is to help development role players learn what communities really think and want. This involves guided facilitation designed to identify community needs, and to help them adapt those goals to physical and political reality.