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
Brief Access to Infant and Toddler Early Care and Education
This brief presents DC early childhood leaders’ perspectives about access to infant and toddler early care and education (ECE). It covers issues of affordability, accessibility, and meeting families’ needs.
Photo of two young professionals looking at lines of code on two monitors.
AI companies train their models on our collective knowledge. Creating universal AI dividends could recognize this knowledge as the capital AI companies utilize and could support workers during potential AI-related labor market disruptions.
A U.S. tilemap shows between 60 and 80 percent of nonprofits in every state would be at risk of government funding were pulled. Alaska, West Virginia, and Arkansas have the highest share of at-risk nonprofits, while South Dakota, Colorado, and Massachusetts have the least.
See the financial risks that nonprofits in every state would face without government grants.
Photo of a young girl of color raising her hand as she and other students sit on a rug with their teacher.
Changes to the national school lunch program, pandemic disruptions, and growing variation in state reporting have made eligibility for free or reduced-price meals a less reliable proxy for student economic need.
illustration demonstrating the effects of taxes on families.
Taxes touch nearly every aspect of people’s lives, yet many struggle to understand how the tax system works. This guide offers four steps analysts can take to engage broader audiences, acknowledge historical and political contexts, and demonstrate the relevance of tax policy decisions to people’s
A group of planners examining blueprints.
To use AI tools effectively, local leaders must optimize documents and information for AI, implement guardrails, and rely on human expertise to evaluate risks and benefits.