​By 2030, urban populations worldwide are expected to grow by 1.4 billion people, with city and town dwellers accounting for 60% of the total world population. By 2050 this figure is expected to reach 2.6 billion.

In an increasingly urbanised world, it will be crucial to ensure that public services in urban areas deliver for poor people as well as the wider population, and it is now well known that governance factors are important in constraining or enabling effective service delivery.

This literature review examines the available knowledge and policy advice on the governance of service delivery in urban areas.

Harry Jones, Ben Clench and Dan Harris