Robin E. Smith

Senior Research Associate

Robin Smith, is a Senior Research Associate with the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute. Her research expertise includes federal housing programs, housing finance, and community development and focuses on vulnerable populations including low-income families, youth and senior citizens. Currently, Ms. Smith is helping develop a new program of research at the Urban Institute on how neighborhoods influence youth transitions to adulthood. Knowledgeable of federal public and assisted housing programs, she has evaluation experience on multiple HUD programs including CDBG, HOME, HOPE VI, HOPE II, MTW, MTO, Neighborhood Networks, UDAG, and Welfare to Work Vouchers.

Joining the Urban Institute in 1989, Ms. Smith is a seasoned evaluator and project director. She has managed off-site research efforts, conducted hundreds of interviews domestically and internationally, lead field research teams, case studies and study tours, and facilitated focus groups. Ms. Smith is the lead author of the recently released paper "Monitoring Success in Choice Neighborhoods: A Proposed Approach to Performance Measurement" and a co-author of the book Why Not In My Backyard? She holds a MPA in Public Administration from George Mason University (1996) and a BA in Political Science from Chatham College (1989).

RSmith@urban.org

Publications by topic:
Cities and Metropolitan Regions
Neighborhoods/Community Building

See all publications by Robin E. Smith