View Research by Author - Kaitlin Franks

Kaitlin Franks is a Research Associate II in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute. Since arriving at the Urban Institute, she has researched a range of policy topics, including foreclosure mitigation and prevention, inclusionary zoning practices, childhood indicators in DC, the social value of postal services, Moving to Opportunity (MTO) housing outcomes, and vulnerable populations and housing situations. She has also worked extensively with unemployment and employment data from BLS, house price index data from FHFA, as well as school enrollment data from DCPS. She is currently working on an evaluation of the NeighborWorks America National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program, a study on the costs and benefits of inclusionary zoning, and the final MTO evaluation.

Ms. Franks graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Economics from Haverford College. While there, she worked as a public policy intern for the People's Emergency Center in Philadelphia, where she researched New Jersey's Fair Housing Act. She also interned for Catalyst Europe AG in Switzerland, where she researched pay equity laws and duel-earner households.

KFranks@urban.org

Publications

In the past, little data has been available on the characteristics of the neighborhoods selected for community improvement initiatives. This brief begins to rectify this deficiency by providing information about 133 neighborhoods in 31 metropolitan areas that have been a part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Making Connections initiative and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation's New and Sustainable Communities initiatives. These are all low-income neighborhoods, but within that broad category there is surprising variety with respect to demographic composition, poverty levels, homeownership rates, physical size, and other factors. Further research is recommended to learn more about how program strategies might best be varied to address such diverse circumstances.

The 17th annual Fact Book is a comprehensive data source for indicators of child well-being in the District of Columbia. It tracks the progression of child well-being over time, as well as differences in child well-being across wards and races/ethnicities. It is organized to reflect the six citywide goals for children and youth in DC: children are ready for school; children and youth succeed in school; children and youth are healthy and practice healthy behaviors; children and youth engage in meaningful activities; children and youth live in healthy, stable, and supportive families; and all youth make a successful transition to adulthood.

Those implementing community improvement initiatives recognize that conditions in their metropolitan areas have a powerful influence on what they can accomplish at the neighborhood level. The purpose of this report is to illustrate the wide range in conditions and trends that America's metropolitan areas have experienced over the past decade to give community planners a basis for thinking about implications for their work. To ground the research, we highlight 14 metros that have been a focus for investment by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, finding that their experiences since 2000 have been strikingly diverse.

The objective of this study, commissioned by the Postal Regulatory Commission, was to identify the array of benefits provided by the United States Postal Service—through its mail service and post offices—that contribute to the social value of the post. We provide a framework that categorizes benefits, beneficiaries, and measures. We also identify possible metrics and methods for estimating the value of these benefits. Research in community and economic development supports the concept of post offices as community assets and of the value of social connectedness and civic engagement, two social benefits frequently associated with postal services. This study provides an organizing scheme for detailed analysis and quantification in the future.

The 16th annual Fact Book is a comprehensive data source for indicators of child well-being in the District of Columbia. It tracks the progression of child well-being over time, as well as differences in child well-being across wards and races/ethnicities. It is organized to reflect the six citywide goals for children and youth in DC: children are ready for school; children and youth succeed in school; children and youth are healthy and practice healthy behaviors; children and youth engage in meaningful activities; children and youth live in healthy, stable, and supportive families; and all youth make a successful transition to adulthood.

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