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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Research Report Welfare Reform: An Analysis of the Issues
Critics of the welfare system claim that the system does not provide sufficient state flexibility, does not encourage work, contributes to the breakdown of the family, and has done little to reduce poverty. This report examines the truth of these propositions and assesses the ability of a variety of
Research Report The Twice-Poverty Trap: Tax Rates Faced by AFDC Recipients
The authors present the results of a two-year study to develop the capability to provide comprehensive, population-wide estimates of true tax rates faced by individuals participating in most social welfare and tax programs with respect both to current law and proposed changes in the law. The results
Research Report Employment and Education: African American Teenage Males, 1970-1990
The labor force participation of African American teenage males declined substantially during the 1970s, while that of their white counterparts rose. This pattern caused great concern among policymakers and analysts. This paper demonstrates that the observed patterns may be explained predominantly
Research Report Assisting Demobilized Russian Officers Obtain Housing
[&copy Review of Urban and Regional Development Studies] Under the dwelling purchase certificate program a retired or demobilized Russian officer returning from the "near abroad" is given a certificate which he can use to purchase a new housing unit in the market. The certificate is priced at
Research Report Toward Ending Poverty Among Elderly and Disabled
This report suggests policies to improve the Supplemental Security Income program to end poverty among the elderly and people with disabilities and options for financing these policies. Proposed policies include increasing the benefit guarantee to the aged poverty line, liberalizing the assets test