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The majority of the records within this series are published and unpublished research and discussion papers created by the WUDOR, World Bank regional offices, other World Bank departments, and external authors.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.