The Urban Institute is a research-to-impact institution founded on one simple idea: To improve lives and strengthen communities, we need practices and policies that work.
As AI transforms the workforce, policymakers have an opportunity to shape a more inclusive economy. Explore Urban’s new blueprint and four priorities for ensuring workers can thrive in the AI era. #AI #Policy #Workforce
Policy Priorities for an Inclusive AI EconomyAs AI changes how we work, policymakers can help connect workers with skills and employment, enhance job quality, protect workers’ financial security, and en…urbn.isWhat challenges are standing in the way of upward mobility from poverty? Urban’s latest Upward Mobility Data Dashboard update highlights 3 persistent trends shaping outcomes in communities across the US. Explore the data. #UpwardMobility #Communities #Data
Three Major Challenges to Boosting Upward Mobility from PovertyIn our most recent update to the Upward Mobility Data Dashboard, we observe that fewer jobs provide a living wage, learning rates continue to decline, and de…urbn.isBrett Theodos and Dan Kildee discuss why communities lack regulatory tools that could help solve place-based problems. Watch the Rethinking Federal Place-Based Policy: What Comes Next? event recording to learn more. https://urbn.is/4f3w3KP #Communities #Policy #Finance
Recent changes to federal data collection and use have raised concerns about the future of disability measurement. Urban’s brief examines risks, challenges, and priorities identified by disability measurement stakeholders. Read more. https://urbn.is/4vJnjAO #DisabilityPrideMonth #Research #Data
Did you know that many families turned to savings, credit cards, BNPL, and payday loans to afford groceries in 2025? New Urban Institute research underscores persistent food affordability challenges for many Americans. https://urbn.is/4wLiNBQ #Affordability #Groceries #Families
States and localities are testing new ways to finance mixed-income housing. In this article, Urban experts examine 16 innovative programs that could help inform how to expand the overall housing supply and better serve households facing affordability challenges. #Affordability #Housing #Research
Could New Financing Models for Mixed-Income Housing Improve Housing Supply and Affordability?We explore the growth in state and local mixed-income housing finance programs and offer lessons learned from Massachusetts’s program.urbn.isHow can local leaders better understand mobility in their communities? Explore Urban’s Upward Mobility Data Dashboard, featuring 24 key Mobility Metrics for every US county and 400+ cities. #UpwardMobility #Communities #Data
Upward Mobility Data DashboardThe Upward Mobility Dashboard helps people understand key conditions affecting upward mobility from poverty and racial equity in communities.urbn.isNew Urban #research shows challenges facing older adults as policy changes could further weaken supports: In 2025, 1 in 4 older adults with #disabilities had unmet personal assistance needs + many struggled to meet basic needs. Explore the reports: https://urbn.is/4gVReBq https://urbn.is/4huQ53Q
Easing the affordability crisis and increasing economic security requires policies that both reduce costs and boost workers’ earnings. Urban's True Cost of Economic Security measure sheds light on what families need and compares those with current resources. #Affordability #Families #Research
America’s Affordability Crisis Is About More Than Rising CostsEasing the affordability crisis and increasing economic security requires policies that both reduce costs and boost workers’ earnings.urbn.isDid you know that in over one-third of states, fewer than 10% of eligible families receive TANF benefits while over half eligible for SNAP receive support? Explore Urban’s new State of the Safety Net fact sheets for insights. #SocialSafetyNet #Data #Families
State Fact Sheetsurbn.isMemphis Mayor Paul Young shared how focusing on people can help fill in gaps for federal place-based support at Urban’s recent event on rethinking federal place-based policy. Want to learn more? Watch the event recording. https://urbn.is/4f3w3KP #Communities #Policy #Finance
Most people who bet on sports do so to make money, but the vast majority don’t—underscoring significant financial risks. Urban’s latest research examines sports betting trends + policy options that can help mitigate harms. https://urbn.is/4hoWzkG #Sportsbetting #Fintech #Data
Proposed transit funding cuts could push more people toward personal vehicles, raising transportation costs at a time when affordability is already a challenge for many families. Learn more in this Urban Wire article. #Transportation #Affordability #Families
How Will Congress’s Proposed Cuts to Transit Funding Affect Your State and Congressional District?The next transportation reauthorization law will reshape federal transportation spending for years to come.urbn.isDon't miss Urban’s 7/27 webinar @ 2 p.m. ET on mixed-income housing finance. Hear from policymakers and practitioners on new models, policy tools, opportunities, and challenges. Register now. #Housing #Event #LiveatUrban
Tackling Housing Supply and Affordability Challenges Through Mixed-Income Housing Finance InnovationsStates and localities are increasingly using new mixed-income housing policy and financing models as a central strategy in their efforts to address the housi…urbn.isNew research findings from the Urban Institute show that more working-age adults reported using a credit card to pay for groceries and not always making the minimum payment in 2025 than in 2023. Explore more key takeaways. https://urbn.is/4wLiNBQ #Affordability #Groceries #Credit
More Americans using credit or savings to pay for groceriesFood prices have jumped 30% over the last five years, and new research shows more people in the U.S. are using credit -- or dipping into their savings -- to pay for groceries.
New research by the Urban Institute think tank found that the financial stre...youtube.comAI is reshaping the economy—ensuring it drives inclusive growth is critical. A new Urban Institute report offers a blueprint for an AI-era economy where workers, businesses, and communities can thrive together. #AI #Workforce #Economy
Building an Inclusive AI EconomyDespite vast uncertainty about the impacts of AI on work and the economy, action is needed now to ensure that the economic gains AI creates translate into in…urbn.isWhy are more young adults living with their parents? Urban’s analysis points to a clear factor: high housing costs. Learn what the data show and what policy changes could help. #Housing #YoungPeople #Affordability
High Housing Costs Are Keeping More Young Adults in Their Parents’ HomesThe share of young adults living with their parents has increased across all metropolitan areas and all income groups, with the highest increases in more una…www.urban.orgArts and culture are vital to inclusive community development—but their impact can be difficult to measure. Urban’s analysis explores how local data, evaluation frameworks, and community research can help better understand arts and culture as both data and process. #Data #Arts #Communities
Integrating Arts and Data to Reimagine Community KnowledgeThe brief examines two ways that local research initiatives engage with arts and culture: by using arts and culture as data, and arts and culture as process.…urbn.isResearch shows that a zero-sum approach to policymaking limits economic mobility and reinforces inequality. True prosperity for all grows when more people have the chance to succeed. Explore Urban’s latest insights. #Research #Communities #UpwardMobility
Pathways to Prosperity for AllExcerpt from “Economic Growth Is Not Zero-Sum”Over the past three decades, families across the US have become wealthier, yet racial wealth gaps have widened.…urbn.is