This desk review asks how the ongoing processes of urban and local government development in Sub-Saharan Africa can and should benefit the countries, and what conditions are needed to achieve this outcome. The Region is facing close to a doubling of the urban population in 15 years. This urban transition is an opportunity as well as a management challenge. Urban areas are an underutilized resource that concentrate much of the countries’ physical, financial, and intellectual capital. Therefore it is critical to understand how they can better serve the national growth and poverty reduction agendas.