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 Growing Housing Developers
In this brief we describe the primary components of the Growing Housing Developers program: group training, mentoring and peer support, equity grants, and debt financing. We also describe the role of the implementation partners and selection criteria for the cohort. We establish a baseline
Brief Examining Multifamily Housing Developers
This brief examines the landscape of multifamily housing development across 10 US cities from 2019 to 2023, focusing on who is building or rehabilitating large multifamily projects. It addresses the critical issue of housing supply by analyzing the roles of different types of developers
Brief Expanding Small-Dollar Credit through Employer-Based Programs
The Community Loan Center (CLC) Small Dollar Loan Program was created to offer workers an affordable alternative to high-cost credit. Developed by the nonprofit come dream. come build . and its community development financial institution partner in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, the program
An image of data storage.
Ensuring the long-term resilience and trustworthiness of public data is no longer optional; it’s essential.
Photo of a mother and daughters having breakfast at a kitchen table.
To help more families achieve upward mobility, local policymakers and leaders should create financial security policies and programs that help residents build both wealth and income.
kids sitting in a classroom.
Recently released National Assessment of Educational Progress data show that high schoolers nationwide may not have fully recovered from pandemic-related learning disruptions.
Urban cityscape with diverse buildings and people walking, biking, reading, and using technology.
The Local Data for Equitable Communities grant program, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute, is happy to announce the awarding of four $50,000 general support grants to: Air Alliance Housing, Amparo, Data You Can Use, and Para Los Niños.