3 Predictions for 2023 as Communities Continue Climbing Out of the Pandemic

As America’s cities continue their halting climb up and out of the last few years, data analytics firm Urban3 foresees a few crises—as well as opportunities—waiting for them in 2023.

Urban3, Trending, Top StoryKerry HayesFebruary 16, 2023Urban3, tax revenue, economics, Economy, Transparent Local Accounting, gentrification, Gentrification, climate, Climate Change, natural disasters, suburban experiment, suburban development pattern, infrastructure bill

Buncombe County Has the Conversation No One Wants to Have: Property Taxes

All over the U.S., studies have shed light on how much residents in lower-valued homes are being overassessed on property taxes. Now, Buncombe County, NC, is offering residents a space to appeal their assessments.

Sheppard, Transparent Accounting, Urban3, Top Story, NewsSeairra SheppardFebruary 2, 2023finance, tax revenue, tax exemption, property tax, Transparent Local Accounting, Urban3, Just Accounting for Health

2022: The Year in Maps and Charts From Urban3

Our friends over at Urban3 share some of their favorite visuals from 2022—each of which tells a mathematical truth about the places we choose to develop and inhabit.

Transparent Accounting, Urban3, Top StoryUrban3December 15, 2022Urban3, Value Per Acre, Development, Transparent Local Accounting

Seattle Has 800,000 Problems

The Seattle area is growing fast, and the suburbs are not going to be exempt from change. Data on the true costs of development is helping local advocates develop a vision for a more prosperous—and, yes, populous—future.

Housing, Urban3, Top StoryKerry HayesDecember 8, 2022Incremental Housing, housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, housing cost, Housing Crisis, Housing, housing policy, Seattle, Washington, Urban3

Can Your City Afford a Natural Disaster?

If a natural disaster hit your city, would your tax revenue pay for the damage, or would you be underwater—literally and figuratively?

#DotheMath, Finance, Urban3, Top Story, Transparent AccountingTaylor SchenkerOctober 4, 2022Urban3, Transparent Local Accounting, tax base, tax revenue, flooding, natural disasters, finance, local finance, #DoTheMath

Main Street vs. Big Box Stores: A Western North Carolina Analysis

Property taxes represent the largest source of revenue for most local governments, and data shows that even unglamorous downtown areas offer more value as taxable properties than big box stores.

Mansion Blight: How the Most Expensive Homes Drain Community Wealth

Mansions on large lots, not rundown properties in low-socioeconomic-status neighborhoods, are the real blight on a community’s financial health.

Indianapolis Transit Design Prioritizes People Over Parking

Leadership in Indianapolis has taken strides toward lifting parking minimums, and making their city less car dependent and more transit friendly—all while keeping their fiscal house in order.

Urban3, Public Transit, Success Story, Top StoryKerry HayesAugust 2, 2022Urban3, transit, public transit, Indiana, Indianapolis, car dependency, incrementalism, Infrastructure, buses, Light Rail, transportation, success, success stories

"Should I Protest My Property Taxes?"

The process for appealing your property taxes can be obscure, even when the appeal is merited (and more often than not, it is). This simple guide will help prepare you for when your property is next assessed.

In Buncombe County, NC, Billions of Dollars of Home Value Go Untaxed

As an ad hoc committee recently discovered, owners of higher-valued properties are more likely to receive a tax break…simply because of bad data.

To Address the Housing Crisis, We Need a Fairer Tax System

Two charts illustrate the massive housing shortage in Buncombe County, NC, and show why we need to get property taxes right.

Housing, Sheppard, Urban3, Top Story, Transparent AccountingSeairra SheppardMay 17, 2022housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing affordability, Housing, housing cost, tax revenue, Just Accounting for Health, Urban3

Should Airbnbs Be Taxed as Residential or Commercial?

How have we come to the conclusion that most short-term rentals are taxed as “residential,” when many have no residents?

Housing, Sheppard, Urban3, Top Story, Transparent AccountingSeairra SheppardMay 10, 2022Just Accounting for Health, Urban3, airbnb, property tax, tax revenue, homeowners, Homeownership, North Carolina, housing, housing market

It Isn’t Just Us, the Entire Nation Is Burdened With Property Tax Inequities

Recently, the North Carolina Ad Hoc Appraisals Committee was challenged to face their own biases and fix their broken property tax assessment system. Here’s what happened.

Urban3 Decoder: Let's Peek Under the Hood of A Shiny Oklahoma City

Join the Urban3 team as they wade past Oklahoma City’s glittering amenities to take an up-close view of the real economic engine under the shiny enamel hood.

Economic Development, CNU, Urban3, Video, Top StoryJay StangeApril 15, 2022oklahoma, CNU, Urban3, tax base, Tax Base, resource, resource trap, Economy, economics

Not Just Bikes: Where We've Been Living This Whole Time (New Video)

Two of our favorite storytellers—Urban3 and Not Just Bikes—come together in this awesome video.

Urban3, Video, Top StoryJohn PattisonMarch 8, 2022Not Just Bikes, Urban3, Value Per Acre, maps, finance, resilience

My Family's Kansas City Story

One family’s history tells volumes about the development of Kansas City since the 1950s.

Davis, Neighborhoods, Race, Urban3, Top StorySarah DavisSeptember 15, 2021Kansas City, Kansas, redlining, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, highways, history, History, race, Race, race relations, Urban3, freeways

The Bottom-Up Revolution is... Connecting Neighbors and Harnessing the Power of Fun

Cate Ryba is Chief Operating Officer at Urban3, as well as a former city councilor, dog park creator, neighborhood revitalizer and fun run founder.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Success Story, Neighborhoods, Urban3, Local Government, Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 2, 2021The Bottom-Up Revolution, Urban3, local government, city council, community, taking action

The Way We Tax Properties Is Broken. Here Are 5 Steps to Fix It.

The inequities in the tax assessment system are national. But the solutions will have to come from the bottom-up.

Race, Davis, Housing, Urban3, Top StorySarah DavisSeptember 1, 2021Assessments, Urban3, Tax Code, property tax, race, Poverty, North Carolina, Deschutes County, Oregon, Buncombe County series, housing

When the Company Leaves the Company Town

A Studebaker factory once brought jobs to South Bend, IN, but what’s happened to the city (and its infrastructure) now that the factory has closed its doors?