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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Brief Modernizing the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
We addressed each of these issues in turn in a series of journal articles and Health Affairs Forefront blogs. In this brief, we summarize each of our seven resulting publications.
A young child wearing a small blue backpack holds an adult’s hand while walking down a sunlit city sidewalk
DC business leaders praise the District’s innovative, family-friendly child care policies and offer recommendations for how the child care and business sectors can overcome persistent affordability challenges.
A young woman with curly hair, cat-eye glasses, and a light pink hoodie sits among a few other students in a classroom, writing in a notebook with a pencil.
Since the US Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against affirmative action, student body demographics have changed. Bryan J. Cook, director of higher education policy at the Urban Institute, spoke with The Baltimore Banner about applicant and enrollment shifts.
Brief Balancing Work, Child Care, and the Transition to Parenthood
The transition to parenthood can be an emotional time that presents difficult decisions about balancing parental leave, work, school, and child care. In this brief, we examine how 30 first-time parents of infants in the District of Columbia navigated these decisions.
A close-up shot of a gray car at a gas pump, with the nozzle inserted into the filler neck.
As gas prices rise, states are considering relief measures like temporarily cutting fuel taxes or tapping into reserves.