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
A group of students with backpacks strolls around a college campus as the sun comes up.
More than two years after the US Supreme Court’s decision to end race-conscious admissions policies at universities, how is higher education changing?
A lively neighborhood with five colorful houses and apartment buildings and diverse people enjoying outdoor activities together.
How grantees are using local data to address barriers to safe, affordable housing in their communities.
Brief What Did Federal Spending on Children Look Like in Fiscal Year 2024?
In this brief, we explore how much the federal government invested in children in fiscal year 2024 and how this investment has changed in recent years. We also describe the composition of this spending and summarize potential implications for future spending under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Brief Mandating Density Near Transit
Developing higher-level government planning standards should be a vital element of a broader effort to promote TOD, which includes tracking the performance of transit-oriented development and ensuring development feasibility.
Brief Tracking Transit-Oriented Development
In this brief, we recommend a set of indicators—and associated available data—that can help stakeholders understand whether TOD is accomplishing several major goals.