Series consists of reference materials created or received by the Water Supply and Urban Development Department (WUD) and, more specifically, the Water Supply and Urban Development Department Operations Support and Research Unit (WUDOR).

The majority of the records within this series are published and unpublished research and discussion papers created by the WUDOR, World Bank regional offices, other World Bank departments, and external authors. External authors include consultants, academics, NGOs, and other multilaterals, such as United Nations Center for Human Settlements (HABITAT), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Topics of these papers relate to urban-rural relations, urban development strategy implementation, housing and shelter, municipal finances, spatial policy, urbanization, urban infrastructure, rent controls, electricity and energy pricing, participant/observer project evaluation, structural adjustment, urban transport, project budget management, and urban population. Records include background and theoretical papers as well as papers specific to individual countries and regions; all regions are represented, although African countries are most common. A small percentage of records relate to topics that are not directly related to the urban development sector, such as agriculture, healthcare, education, rural development, and water.

Series also includes a small amount of records created and used during the research and writing of World Bank-authored papers, including memoranda, back-to-office reports and consultant terms of reference.

Other types of papers included in the series include small numbers of regional strategy papers, project proposals and summaries, loan committee reviews, country and project appraisal reports, mission notes, policy papers, research and discussion paper drafts, project case studies, research proposals, program statistical data, Country Economic Memoranda, sector reports, conference papers, regional status reports, project monitoring reports and guidelines, and WUD annual reports for 1984 and 1986.

Series consists of records created and received by the Urban Operations Review and Support Unit (URBOR) and related to the Urban Poverty Program. Records relate to the various objectives and activities of the Program, including defining, identifying, and quantifying developing countries' urban poor; identifying urban poverty target groups; estimating poverty incomes levels; creating lending policy; developing guidelines on project implementation and review; setting targets; and measuring impacts. Series iscomprised of chronological files consisting of correspondence, memoranda, and reports dating from the beginning of the Task Group's existence in July of 1975. Included is a memorandum entitled "Bank Action Program to Attack Urban Poverty" submitted to President McNamara by Warren C. Baum, Vice President, Central Projects Staff, on July 11, 1975, as well as two early "Action Program and Interim Reports" submitted by Edward V. K. Jaycox to Warren C. Baum; these are dated Oct. 23, 1975, and March 29, 1976. Other interim reports and project reviews submitted between 1976 and 1981 are also included, as is feedback on the reports from Department staff. Reports and memoranda submitted to the project Chairman from internal and external offices are contained. Memoranda from the Bank?s regional offices' Chief Economists reporting on their efforts to combat urban poverty and offering feedback on the Group's reports and memoranda are included. A small amount of meeting minutes and notes are included, as are photocopies of newspaper and journal articles.

There are also records from the Office of the Director of the Public Utilities Projects Department (PBPDR) and the Office of the Director of the Energy, Water and Telecommunications Department (EWTDR), between 1975 and 1977, concerning the Urban Poverty Program's Urban Poverty Task Group. Files contain correspondence by Yves Rovani (director, PBP, then EWT), Richard N. Middleton (Sanitary Engineer) and John M. Kalbermatten (Water and Wastes Advisor), as well as with divisions in the regional projects departments, including regional chief economists, dealing with water supply and sewerage issues. Correspondence generally deals with the implementation of the Urban Poverty Program, specifically the impact of water supply and sewerage projects or operations and sanitation lending on the urban poor, and EWT's input into the water supply and wastewater aspects of the Task Group's work.

Series consists of records relating to the Conference on Improving the Effectiveness of Urban Assistance held in Washington on December 2-6, 1985. The Conference was convened by the World Bank to evaluate the previous decade's experience in the area of urban development and to develop plans for the future. Records include general Conference information and planning materials such as agendas, workshop plans, tour preparation, and planning committee correspondence. The series also includes speeches, biographies of speakers, and a published copy of the summary of proceedings. Correspondence relating to presenter, delegate, and donor invitations is also included as are thank-you and feedback letters from attendees.

This series contains records from the Urban Unit of the Finance, Economics and Urban Department (FEUUR) and its predecessors, relating to economic and sector work, as well as projects managed by regional vice presidencies. Record formats include, but are not limited to, internal research working papers, discussion papers, general operational reviews and annual urban sector portfolio review reports, manuals and handbooks, copies of articles, Terms of Reference, agenda and list of participants, briefing notes and correspondence for senior management signature, presentation slide hard copies, publication lists.

The topics covered in these records are both general and country-specific and include urban and housing policy, public investment and expenditures, monitoring and evaluating urban development programs, land use, urban property taxation, rent control, shelter and housing, infrastructure services, financing urban services, industrial location policies, urban development and the environment, urban transportation, and local government.

Records were primarily maintained by Knowledge Management Analyst Laura Lewis de Brular as well as Principal Urban Planner George Gattoni and, to a lesser extent, Sector Manager Abha Joshi-Ghani. The records originally identified as "project files" contain a combination of project support, sectoral studies, and conferences and other knowledge and learning event records. Records relate to the sector staff participation and attendance at various international conferences, seminars, workshops, and similar events. The records also reflect the units' role in planning and organizing certain events. The series contains audio and video recordings of the Urban Forum proceedings (2006), Urban Research Symposium (2003), Urban Development and Poverty Reduction (2002), and the jointly organized Infrastructure Forum on Municipal Finance (2001). Textual records accompany most of the recordings.

Other activities include the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), municipal development sector review, annual sector portfolio review, quality assurance, urban policy paper, external website, and performance indicators for the urban sector.

The series contains numerous working papers of the Urban Management Programme (UMP), the joint United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/UN-Habitat/World Bank global technical assistance program that develops and disseminates policies and tools. Series also consists of reports authored by urban sector staff, consultants, other Bankstaff, or external authors created between 1992 and 2001. Reports were prepared for internal dissemination, presentations at conferences or seminars, or issued as publications.

The series also contains correspondence between the urban units' director, task manager, Controller's Vice Presidency, and donors regarding trust fund proposals, agreements, amendments, and use of consultants. Projects reflected include Strategic Municipal Solid Waste Planning, Bosnia and Herzegovina Emergency Public Works and Employment Project, and Prague Forum 2000 Foundation Cities of Change Initiative.

Series consists of records concerning the establishment and management of the Cities Alliance global partnership, a coalition of cities and development partners launched in 1999 by the World Bank and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS, also known as UN-Habitat). Prior to the creation of the Cities Alliance unit within the Infrastructure and Urban Development Department (INFCA) in 2000, records were maintained by the Urban Development Division (TWURD) and the Global Urban Unit (TWUGL) ofthe Transportation, Water and Urban Development Department.

Record formats represented in this series include: printed email correspondence between the alliance secretariat, manager, partners, and Bank regional staff; mission back-to-office reports (BTORs) and aide-memoires; Terms of Reference (TORs); Initiating Concept Notes (ICN); Initiating Briefs for Trust Funds (IBTF); grant progress reports; audit and financial reports; Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs); technical and consultant reports; partnershipand trust fund agreements; presentation slide hard copies; and background internal and external reports and studies.

Cities Alliance establishment and governance

The alliance secretariat, first led by Manager Mark Hildebrand (1999 - 2006), was responsible for developing the governance structure and charter, administering funds from donors, and promoting global support for the multi-donor partnership. The earliest records date from 1995 and detail the initiative's formation, negotiations, and partnership between the Bank and Habitat.

Records also relate to the Cities Alliance launching ceremony and speaking engagement of World Bank Group President James D. Wolfensohn, Cities Alliance and Consultative Group (CG) inaugural meetings in December 1999 and subsequent CG meetings, annual alliance meetings, proceedings of the Steering Committee to provide guidance to the secretariat and successor Executive Committee, Policy Board Adviser meetings, Bank/UNCHS support teams meetings, and Cities Alliance annual reports beginning from 2001.

Program and trust fund management

The series also contains records related to management of Cities Alliance activities under Manager Mark Hildebrand from 1999 to 2006 and Manager (later Director) William Cobbett from 2006 to 2015. Records reflect the secretariat and manager's missions to partner cities, attendance and participation at meetings, global conferences, and other events, work program planning, evaluations and proposals, and development and implementation of key Cities Alliances and World Bank initiatives. The initiatives represented in the records include the Cities Without Slums (CMS) Action Plan, City Development Strategy (CDS) guidelines, Local Economic Development Initiative, and the Bank/International Monetary Fund Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF). Specific meetings and conferences include annual Urban Forums, Mayors Summits, partner collaboration meetings, and various seminars and workshops.

There are also records related to collaboration with the Bank's urban development units, the Africa Regional Vice Presidency technical units, division and management retreats, and a set of chronological files (2000 - 2006).

Records in the series also document relations with Cities Alliance partners (1998 - 2014) including UN-Habitat and other UN agencies, multinational development banks, bilateral and multilateral donors, recipients, associations of local authorities, and financial contributions from partners and donors including the Bank's Development Grant Facility (DGF). Records also relate to the alliance's support to the UN Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) implementation and the Urban Management Program (UMP), a technical assistance program co-sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN-Habitat, and the Bank.

A large volume of records relate to the Cities Alliance unit's administration of trust funds (1999 - 2015) that provided grants for city development strategies, slum upgrading, and national urban development policies. Notable alliance projects include City Development Strategies for Montego Bay (Jamaica), Hyderabad (India), cities in Africa, Yemen, and Cities without Slums projects for Peshawar (Pakistan), Brazil, Morocco, Yemen, and many others. The partnership's secretariat and trustee functions shifted to the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) at the end of 2013 and, according to the Cities Alliance annual report, Bank-administered legacy grants were largely completed by 2015, which accounts for a few filesdated to that year.

Fonds consists of records that reflect the range of functional responsibilities within the urban sector beginning from 1972 including: producing research, studies, and publications; policy development; operational support to the regions regarding Bank projects and partnership projects; maintaining Bank partnerships and sponsorship of joint programs with United Nations agencies such as UN-Habitat and other organizations; managing and monitoring global trust funds; and participation or organization of conferences, training, and other learning events. Most records in the fonds relate to the Cities Alliance global partnership activities (1995 - 2015) administered by the Bank's Cities Alliance unit to address urban poverty and sustainable cities. Records also relate to the operation and administration of the Urban Poverty Program by the Urban Operations Review and Support Unit (URBOR) and to the research and reporting activities for which it was responsible.

This fonds also includes correspondence from the Office of the Director of the Public Utilities Projects Department (PBPDR) and the Office of the Director of the Energy, Water and Telecommunications Department (EWTDR), between 1975 and1977, documenting the water sector's input on water supply and sanitation, which served as a complement to the Urban Task Group's preliminary report to President Robert McNamara.

Records in this fonds cover various topics including, but not limited to, urban planning, low income housing, squatter settlement and slum upgrading, land registration and use, solid waste and urban infrastructure management, municipal development and investment, local economic development and employment, urban and housing policy development, and sustainable urbanization.