Data for the study were gathered through freewheeling interviews and informal talks with persons involved in the program or people who were affected by it. The paper reveals findings of case studies highlighting the extent of community participation in the two urban renewal projects under the Zonal Improvement Program (ZIP) of the National Housing Authority, namely Bagong Barrio in Caloocan City and Barrio Escopa in Quezon City. Specifically, each case recounts the story of how the plan for the area was arrived at and how it was or is being implemented with the participation of the people. It looks into what concrete activities sufficiently constituted participation, who participated in the planning process, and what factors affected the participant’s ability to influence the outcome of his participation. In general, it means looking into the mode and intensity of participation by the people and the extent to which their aims are fulfilled.