The Metro Center's work concentrates on communities—housing developments, neighborhoods, cities, and suburbs—that make up America's urban regions. Our research investigates factors that shape the quality of life in these communities, the opportunities they offer residents, and the effectiveness of federal, state, and local public policies that govern urban housing and neighborhoods.
FEATURED PROJECTS
Urban Renewal: Shaw/U Street
UI Affiliated Scholar Derek Hyra talks about the revitalization of Washington, D.C.’s Shaw/U Street neighborhood—a once thriving cultural center for African Americans that still bears the scars of riots after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination in 1968. Hyra is studying the area’s recent comeback and lessons for reducing concentrated poverty in other city neighborhoods. Watch the video
Shared Equity Research
Owning a home is associated with many benefits, but the recent foreclosure crisis has shown that many of our policies implemented to increase homeownership rates are not sustainable, and may have done more harm than good. Homeownership programs with long-term affordability controls present one potential solution. read more
Program on Neighborhoods and Youth Development
The Program on Neighborhoods and Youth Development is dedicated to understanding the relationships between neighborhood-level factors and the well-being and development of children and youth and identifying and evaluating place-based, community-wide strategies to help children grow up to reach their full potential as adults. read more
Performance Measurement - Performance Management
The Urban Institute pioneered methods for government and human services agencies to measure the performance of their programs. Today the use of performance measurement has exploded at all levels of U.S. government, in nonprofit agencies, and around the world. The Institute continues to work at the forefront of new techniques and frameworks. read more
Latest Research
