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
Research Report Property Insurance Affordability
The rising cost of insurance is threatening the ability of would-be buyers to attain homeownership and, increasingly, the ability of existing homeowners to sustain it.
Quiet residential street with modern townhomes at dusk.
How the District can sustain and build on its public safety gains in a fiscally constrained environment.
A mother and two toddler children play on the floor of a living room
Disaggregated data reveal stark variations in poverty.
A woman sits at a desk in a home office looking at a computer and holding a pen
How the District can mitigate the effects of remote work on the local economy and a strapped job market.
DC apartment building
This election year, the incoming mayor and city council will face a serious challenge: improving housing affordability in DC.
Research Report Scoring Housing Justice
Housing justice is a multifaceted, individual experience, making it difficult to quantify and to measure progress. To further develop this field, we created a practical scoring tool for policymakers and practitioners to evaluate the extent to which housing policies and programs are achieving housing
Families and children with backpacks walk toward a school entrance as a yellow school bus waits.
Because district boundaries determine where students go to school, how local tax dollars are shared, and how state and federal resources are allotted, a secession can reshape an entire community.