Current informal settlement upgrading efforts tend to prioritise physical infrastructure while giving limited attention to economic development and livelihoods. This weakens the potential of upgrading programmes to reduce poverty, build resilience, advance a sense of place, and create sustainable local economies. A just urban transition approach integrates climate mitigation, adaptation and economic resilience in neighbourhood development. Identifying five key priorities for embedding a climate-informed economic outlook into informal settlement upgrading, the knowledge brief specifically explores how public employment programmes like the Community Work Programme (CWP) can become instrumental in facilitating a just urban transition approach to informal settlement upgrading.