This document is detailing how the Community Development fund in Thailand and other Asian countries has helped understand that addressing urban poverty and affordable housing at a national scale can be a very powerful development tool. The Community Development Fund model enables urban poor organizations to tap into resources directly by building up their own capacities and allows communities to decide on various development activities. This document studies the impacts of the Community Development Fund through the evolution and operation of the Urban Community Development Office. The global housing crisis, especially in the developing world, is getting worse by the day making the right to adequate shelter a quest that is becoming more and more difficult to meet, despite the targets set by the Millennium Development Goals.