Adam Michael Auerbach is an assistant professor in the School of International Service at American University, Washington, DC. His doctoral dissertation won the Best Fieldwork Award from the Comparative Democratization Section of the American Political Science Association (APSA), the Best Dissertation Award from the Urban and Local Politics Section of APSA, and APSA's Gabriel A. Almond Award for Best Dissertation in Comparative Politics. His research on politics and development in urban India has appeared in the American Political Science Review, Contemporary South Asia, Studies in Comparative International Development, World Development, and World Politics.

'Millions of people across the world live in urban slums. In this important book, Auerbach asks why some slum communities feature better living conditions than others. Based on rigorous, multi-method research and deep contextual knowledge, he traces how party workers broker access to public services and, against conventional wisdom, shows that more diverse communities have superior public goods provision precisely because they feature multiple, competitive party worker networks.' Melani Cammett, Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs, Harvard University, Massachusetts

• 1. Puzzling disparities at the margins of the city; 2. Setting the stage: governance and political parties in Urban India; 3. How party worker networks impact local development; 4. India's slum leaders; 5. Views from the ground: narratives from eight squatter settlements; 6. Party workers and public goods provision: evidence from 111 settlements; 7. Why party worker networks spread unevenly across settlements.

Adam Michael Auerbach is an assistant professor in the School of International Service at American University, Washington, DC. His doctoral dissertation won the Best Fieldwork Award from the Comparative Democratization Section of the American Political Science Association (APSA), the Best Dissertation Award from the Urban and Local Politics Section of APSA, and APSA's Gabriel A. Almond Award for Best Dissertation in Comparative Politics. His research on politics and development in urban India has appeared in the American Political Science Review, Contemporary South Asia, Studies in Comparative International Development, World Development, and World Politics.

'Millions of people across the world live in urban slums. In this important book, Auerbach asks why some slum communities feature better living conditions than others. Based on rigorous, multi-method research and deep contextual knowledge, he traces how party workers broker access to public services and, against conventional wisdom, shows that more diverse communities have superior public goods provision precisely because they feature multiple, competitive party worker networks.' Melani Cammett, Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs, Harvard University, Massachusetts

• 1. Puzzling disparities at the margins of the city; 2. Setting the stage: governance and political parties in Urban India; 3. How party worker networks impact local development; 4. India's slum leaders; 5. Views from the ground: narratives from eight squatter settlements; 6. Party workers and public goods provision: evidence from 111 settlements; 7. Why party worker networks spread unevenly across settlements.

Adam Michael Auerbach is an assistant professor in the School of International Service at American University, Washington, DC. His doctoral dissertation won the Best Fieldwork Award from the Comparative Democratization Section of the American Political Science Association (APSA), the Best Dissertation Award from the Urban and Local Politics Section of APSA, and APSA's Gabriel A. Almond Award for Best Dissertation in Comparative Politics. His research on politics and development in urban India has appeared in the American Political Science Review, Contemporary South Asia, Studies in Comparative International Development, World Development, and World Politics.

'Millions of people across the world live in urban slums. In this important book, Auerbach asks why some slum communities feature better living conditions than others. Based on rigorous, multi-method research and deep contextual knowledge, he traces how party workers broker access to public services and, against conventional wisdom, shows that more diverse communities have superior public goods provision precisely because they feature multiple, competitive party worker networks.' Melani Cammett, Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs, Harvard University, Massachusetts

• 1. Puzzling disparities at the margins of the city; 2. Setting the stage: governance and political parties in Urban India; 3. How party worker networks impact local development; 4. India's slum leaders; 5. Views from the ground: narratives from eight squatter settlements; 6. Party workers and public goods provision: evidence from 111 settlements; 7. Why party worker networks spread unevenly across settlements.