Urban across the Country

Urban’s researchers partner with state and local leaders to provide the evidence, tools, and support they need to improve lives and strengthen communities. This work includes strategic advising to translate research into action, program evaluations to measure effectiveness, and research and data analysis to inform decisionmaking. Our experts develop custom data tools and modeling to support equitable resource allocation and lead community-engaged research and convenings to ensure policies reflect local priorities.

Use this page to explore Urban’s work. Search by region to see examples of our research, and filter by evidence and products to narrow results by topic or type of work.

Dive deeper into your state and community with our data tools. View highlighted tools below, select “Data tools” under “Filter by Product Types,” or head directly to our data tools page.

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State and community data tools
Explore our work by state
A colorful jungle gym outside an elementary school.
A new database offers comprehensive insights into school districts’ attempts to withdraw from existing school districts and form new ones—a decision that shapes students’ access to education resources.
A quiet suburban street with modern two‑story houses, each with front porches, trimmed lawns, and colorful landscaped gardens.
The rise of buy now, pay later products, which often aren’t reported to credit bureaus, could affect borrowers’ ability to buy a home and sustain homeownership.
Research Report Philadelphia’s Zero Fare Transit Pilot Program
This report examines Philadelphia’s Zero Fare transit pilot program, a novel approach to reducing transportation barriers by providing fully subsidized public transit through automatic enrollment.
Map showing U.S. states with enacted Earned Wage Access laws highlighted in blue; legend and regulation categories.
Earned wage access products offer workers access to their earnings before their scheduled payday. These products are not defined under federal regulations, leading to a patchwork of state laws.
Photo of a multigenerational group of family members reuniting in a yard.
Understanding how these households use business equity, home equity, and retirement savings to create wealth can help practitioners and policymakers design better tools, supports, and policies and help more families build assets over time.
Brief Reducing Child Neglect
This policy brief reports national statistics on neglect, summarizes causal research on prevention, and explores how economic supports and legislative choices shape neglect rates.