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Urban Institute insights and analysis inform national reporting
A woman and her four young children unload grocery bags around a kitchen island.
Greg Acs, vice president for the Tax and Income Supports Division at the Urban Institute, spoke with Virginia Public Media about the risks of addressing affordability in a zero-sum context that focuses on who bears the short-term costs of a policy instead of its potential for growth.
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  • A group of students with backpacks strolls around a college campus as the sun comes up.
    Bryan Cook on higher education enrollment following the affirmative action ruling
    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 high perspective shot overlooking a suburban neighborhood with lots of trees toward taller buildings downtown.
    Yonah Freemark discusses how economic growth affects housing costs
    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.
    Jack Smalligan on potential changes to SSDI eligibility
    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 pushing a grocery cart down a store's produce aisle reaches for an apple, with her little girl seated at the front of the cart and some oranges in the basket.
    Mary Bogle explains the impact of guaranteed income pilot programs
    Many cities navigating postpandemic spikes in homelessness and eviction used federal funding included in the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act to establish local guaranteed income programs.
  • A busy urban skyline on a cloudy day, with lots of people walking and cars visible on the street and parked, with a public train heading toward the camera.
    Yonah Freemark on how strained budgets are affecting local transit plans
    Facing uncertainty with federal public transportation funding, state and local governments are looking for ways to fill the gaps.
  • An anxious-looking woman in blue slacks and a pale pink button-down shirt sits with her hands clasped together on an exam chair in a doctor's office.
    John Holahan discusses rising federal employee health care premiums
    The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program insures more than 8.2 million federal government employees and retirees. But premium payments increased this past year and are expected to jump again in 2026.