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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Testimony Confronting the Challenges Presented by an Aging Population
Although we may be living in a period of political constraint, it is a period of economic opportunity. Our incomes are growing, not declining. Resources available to government are rising hand-in-hand with incomes. Meanwhile, the end of the Cold War has produced yet another peace dividend, as
Research Report Housing Demand Among Panama's Middle- and Low-Income Population
This report contains findings from a housing survey conducted in Panama during the fall of 1995. The objective of the survey was to learn more about the demand for housing among the low- and middle-income urban population that is not well served by public sector housing programs. Focusing on the
Research Report High School Employment: Meaningful Connections for At-Risk Youth
This paper examines some of the short- and long-term costs and benefits of high school employment for youth using the High School and Beyond Survey collected by the National Center for Education Statistics. It focuses on whether the effects of working while in school differ for different types of
Research Report Summary of Facts About Immigrants' Use of Welfare
Urban Institute researchers Michael Fix, Jeffrey Passel and Wendy Zimmerman lay out key facts about immigrants' welfare use, and report the similarities and differences in recent, prominently-cited research conducted by the Urban Institute and George Borjas.
Research Report Uninsured in the United States, The
This paper outlines the magnitude of the problem of the uninsured, the potential consequences for access and health status that result from it, and ways in which current system trends and public policy reforms may affect the problem. Topics covered are changes in the rates of insurance coverage
Research Report Tax-Preferred Medical Savings Accounts and Catastrophic Health Insurance Plans
This paper uses nationally representative data to analyze the implications of introducing tax-favored medical savings accounts (MSAs) coupled with catastrophic health insurance plans into the mix of employer-sponsored health insurance arrangements. It address four areas: (1) the effect on national
Brief Declining Economic Opportunity in America
America has always called itself "the land of opportunity." Reality has never quite matched the rhetoric, but a number of factors historically have brought America progressively closer to that ideal. The continued expansion of opportunities to previously excluded groups, the extension of education
Testimony Statistical Consolidation
Janet L. Norwood discusses methods to improve the organization and efficiency of the agencies which produce our nation's statistics.