Service delivery in urban areas

For the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities. The rates of urbanization are particularly high in developing countries where cities seemingly present economic opportunities. Much of this population growth has resulted in rapidly expanding informal settlements where people are living in conditions of extreme poverty and deprivation. These slums are characterized by a lack of access to adequate shelter, secure land tenure, as well as basic urban services such as clean water, sanitation, education, and health care. Surprisingly, these indicators are worse in urban areas than in rural regions which are often falsely perceived as being more under-developed.