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 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.
Research Report Los Angeles County's In-Home Care Giving Program
This report offers insights and recommendations to inform future program iterations and solutions that protect health and housing security for older adults across Los Angeles and beyond.
A high perspective shot overlooking a suburban neighborhood with lots of trees toward taller buildings downtown.
Yonah Freemark, a housing and urban development expert at the Urban Institute, spoke on Planet Money about how a city’s low cost of living can attract residents, but the subsequent economic growth can threaten that affordability:
A male nurse in blue scrubs helps an elderly woman with a pink metal walker sit on a sofa in her home.
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) has helped people with disabilities and those who’ve had to stop working unexpectedly because of a disability maintain financial stability.
A woman working in a restaurant looks out a carry-out window at the camera
San Francisco offers an example model for other cities seeking to create the local regulatory environment necessary for small businesses to thrive.
Research Report Capital Quality in Focus
This report summarizes insights gathered through interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders, including system leaders, program leaders, and families.
Brief Capitalizing on Quality
This brief presents eight recommendations to help OSSE strengthen DC’s child care and early learning quality improvement efforts and more effectively communicate what high-quality care looks like across the District.