This report presents a brief review of the programs of the international assistance agencies in the field of urban and regional development. It covers the major activities of the last decade or so, and assesses the posture of the agencies at the start of the Second Development Decade in relation to urbanization in the less developed countries. The report draws on information gathered during discussions with agency staff members at headquarter points and country missions, as well as on the literature in the field. The primary focus is on the work of the United Nations Center for Housing, Building and Planning; the Public Administration Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and the World Health Organization. It will, in addition, consider the activities of the Organization of American States' Division of Urban Development, which has been especially active in the areas of research and training. Also reported here are the activities of USAID, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Inter-American Development Bank. This survey does not attempt to be exhaustive, either in terms of the agencies covered and discussed or with regard to the full range of projects now in operation or recently completed. It has instead sought to distill the essence of the contribution made by the international community by discussing only exemplary projects and the most characteristic modes of operation of the agencies. [For related documents in this series, see UD 013 731-UD 013 744 for surveys of specific countries. For special studies analyzing urbanization in the Third World, see UD 013 746-013 748.] (Author/SB)