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.

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Journal Article Is Juvenile Justice Just Too Slow?
Young people charged with delinquency offenses in US juvenile courts cannot assert a right to speedy trial. Some states have established time standards for the juvenile court's handling of young offenders; others have acted to restrict or even to deny speedy trial for juveniles. Differences on this
Brief A not-so-unkind cut - Social Security COLAs
[Christian Science Monitor] As Congress begins meeting off-camera to pursue the politically charged debate over Social Security for baby boomers, reducing the cost of living adjustments (COLAs) is sure to resurface as a strategy. For all the unpopularity of such a proposition, it may actually be the
Research Report Foundation Giving: Will it Follow the Bubble Economy?
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle discusses his concern with foundation payout rates. He finds that the current formula for payouts--and the way it is applied by foundations--faces a new danger not entirely unrelated to the old one. That is, in following a stock market cycle, giving can easily run
Testimony The Uninsured: Variations Among States and Recent Trends
Urban Institute researcher, John Holahan, testifies before the House Ways and Means Committee, Subcommittee on Health on the problem of the uninsured. In his testimony he focuses on three aspects including the differences between adults and children; the differences among states, and recent trends.
Research Report The Administration's USA Account Proposal (Part 3 of 3)
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle argues that the fatal flaw in the administration's strategy behind its private pension proposal is that it is not integrated either with social security reform or with further reform of the private pension system. Accordingly, if adopted as proposed, USA accounts would
Brief Work-Related Activities and Limitations of Current Welfare Recipients
Compared to historic levels, a high proportion of the TANF caseload participated in work activities in 1997. More than half reported either working, being in school, or actively looking for work in the past four weeks. On the other hand, more than 4 out of 10 reported at least two significant