Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center
Understanding how housing and place shape people's lives.

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    Even as one of the richest countries in the world, the United States still has more than 10 percent of its population living in poverty, a failure which sociologist Matthew Desmond explains is by design.




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    Our Impact
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    We have pioneered innovative research methods to produce more reliable, nuanced investigations of vulnerable populations. Paired testing—using applicants who are nearly identical in every way except race—is one of the most effective ways to uncover housing discrimination. And our National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership is teaching the community development field to look more closely at cities—into blocks, census tracts, and neighborhoods—to focus scarce resources and measure impact. Our rigorous methods give policy researchers more effective tools and policymakers more confidence to act.
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    Vice President, Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy
    Associate Vice President, Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy


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    Our Issues

    Housing and place matter. Quality, affordable housing anchors families. And the communities where people live can influence nearly everything in their lives: where they work and how they get there, the quality of schools that their children attend, their health and safety, even their longevity. With an emphasis on place—from cities and suburbs to tribal lands—we investigate the factors that shape the quality of life in American communities.

    Our Approach

    • We evaluate the effectiveness of federal, state, and local policies that govern urban housing and the programs—such as HOPE VI and Promise Neighborhoods—that use housing as a platform for change.
    • We work on the ground in cities and neighborhoods: documenting families’ experiences in public housing, testing programs to combat homelessness, and evaluating community-wide strategies for improving children’s lives.
    • We provide residents with neighborhood indicators that allow them to tackle problems in their own communities.
    • We think about what the next generation of housing programs should look like.
    • We test programs designed to help households and distressed neighborhoods build wealth.
    • We build models, like our population projection tool, that help neighborhoods, metropolitan areas, and rural communities imagine and prepare for change.

    Our Impact

    We have pioneered innovative research methods to produce more reliable, nuanced investigations of vulnerable populations. Paired testing—using applicants who are nearly identical in every way except race—is one of the most effective ways to uncover housing discrimination. And our National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership is teaching the community development field to look more closely at cities—into blocks, census tracts, and neighborhoods—to focus scarce resources and measure impact. Our rigorous methods give policy researchers more effective tools and policymakers more confidence to act.

    Staff
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    • Vice President, Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy
    • Principal Research Associate
    • Project Administrator
    • Research Associate
    • Principal Research Associate
    • Research Associate
    • Policy Coordinator
    • Research Associate
    • Research Analyst
    • Research Assistant
    • Research Assistant
    • Equity Scholar
      Principal Research Associate
    • Research Associate
    • Data Scientist
    • Research Associate
    • Research Analyst
    • Principal Research Associate
      Director, Community Engagement Resource Center
    • Research Analyst
    • Director, Media Relations
    • Senior Research Associate
      Research Director, Land Use Lab at Urban
    • Project Administrator
    • Nonresident Fellow
    • Research Assistant
    • Principal Research Associate
    • Associate Vice President, Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy
    • Research Assistant
    • Research Associate
    • Director of Center Operations
    • Research Analyst
    • Senior Research Associate
    • Research Analyst
    • Principal Research Associate
      Codirector, National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership
    • Research Analyst
    • Senior Research Associate
    • Senior Research Associate
    • Research Analyst
    • Principal Research Associate
    • Research Assistant
    • Research Associate
    • Research Associate
    • Research Analyst
    • Research Associate
    • Research Associate
    • Senior Research Associate
      Co-Lead, Climate and Communities Practice Area
    • Research Analyst
    • Research Intern
    • Research Analyst
    • Research Associate
    • Research Analyst
    • Nonresident Fellow
    • Nonresident Fellow
    • Research Analyst
    • Senior Research Associate
    • Senior Fellow, Research
      Practice Area Lead: Housing as a Platform
    • Nonresident Fellow
    • Principal Research Associate
      and Director, National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership
    • Senior Research Associate
    • Urban Institute Associate
    • Senior Programmer, Research
    • Senior Policy Fellow
    • Principal Research Associate
    • Institute Fellow
      Director, HOST Initiative
    • Research Assistant
    • Senior Research Associate
    • Research Associate
    • Research Analyst
    • Project Manager
    • Senior Fellow
      Co-Lead, Climate and Communities Practice Area
    • Research Assistant
    • Nonresident Fellow
    • Senior Research Associate
    • Senior Research Associate
    • Research Associate
    • Research Assistant
    • Research Assistant
    • Research Analyst
    • Senior Fellow
      Research Director, Urban–Greater DC
    • Senior Research Associate
    • Senior Fellow
    • Senior Research Associate
    • Nonresident Fellow
    • Research Associate
    • Senior Project Manager
    • Research Associate
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