Urban3

@UrbanThree

Data-driven storytelling. We help communities make better land use decisions through an understanding of data and community design. Tax policy and map geeks.

Asheville, NCurban-three.comJoined October 2014

1,030 Following

3,750 Followers

Urban3’s Tweets

Pinned Tweet

Urban3

@UrbanThree

Sep 8, 2021

Have you ever seen #Miami like this? Take a closer look -- those aren't buildings. They're taxes. We help cities see where their dollars are coming from, where they're going, and why. Visit UrbanThree.com if you'd like us to take your city for a spin.

GIF

106

Join

in Jackson, MS! Neighborhood Economics is hosting one of the nation’s leading conferences on economic justice April 24-26. Let's get to work:

neighborhoodeconomics.org

Neighborhood Economics Jackson, MS - A National Conversation

Join us as we facilitate ongoing conversations across geographies that help people build the economic architecture so everyone will thrive.

Next week,

will be in #LakeWales to talk about how land use decisions today can help them build a stronger, more sustainable economic future. We're excited to be working with our friend

@VictorDover

on the Lake Wales Envisioned effort!

lakewalesnews.net

Standing Room Crowd Hears Lake Wales Envisioned Kickoff

A packed house greeted a team of planners, traffic engineers and developers Monday afternoon to hear presentations that may help shape the future of Lake Wales. Experts shared the keys to creating a...

Urban3

@UrbanThree

Mar 20

For more insights on the challenges and opportunities facing #Shreveport, check out

@cateryba

's recent conversation with

@levettefuller

on The Possible City podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the

Quote Tweet

Urban3

@UrbanThree

Mar 20

"[D]ense urban development, especially multi-story, multi-use buildings, results in the highest property values... Shreveport’s future will depend on our ability to understand and willingness to act on this new information." heliopolis.la/shreveport-jus

Shreveport just found out why we can't fix our roads

Urban3 analyzed Shreveport's land value and our ability to manage our deficits, such as broken water pipes and crumbling roads.

Urban3

@UrbanThree

Jan 20

We're hiring! We are looking for a Data Analyst with a a strong background in equity & urban planning. Apply here:

urbanthree.com

Careers - Urban3

We are currently not hiring. “Working with Urban3 gave me a beautiful balance of work and play, with a creative team. I have been able to broaden my network, dive into new topics, like the property...

Incubator starts #UWFs across US cities with the support of

says Carl Smith in

Dag Detter on LinkedIn: Are Local Governments Leaving Billions on the Table?

Are US Local Governments Leaving Billions on the Table, asks Carl Smith at Governing. By undervaluing publicly owned assets, jurisdictions are missing out on…

Urban3

@UrbanThree

Jan 18

Match your dog day at the office at Urban3! 😍🐶 From left to rt: Taylor, Hallie, Lanier, Alice.

Thanks to

for letting

talk about the affordable housing bond referendum that voters will consider Tuesday. "The simple reason we shouldn’t give county officials an additional $70 million is that they could already have those funds."

mountainx.com

Vote against the bonds and hold our leaders accountable

"Our wealthiest households are not paying their fair share now, and these bonds will simply add to the inequity, asking disproportionately assessed lower-income households to continue to shoulder...

Urban3

@UrbanThree

Oct 26, 2022

Our very own GeoAccountant Josh McCarty, speaking in

tomorrow!

We are thrilled to Host our local lecture series on urban design with AVL downtown Assoc and bring

@bernicebuffalo

to Asheville - register & join us 11/2 6pm for "Building Our City: Small Scale Development Matters Now More Than Ever" eventbrite.com/e/building-our

@Eventbrite

eventbrite.com

Building Our City: Small Scale Development Matters Now More Than Ever

Small Scale Development Matters More Now Than Ever: Lessons from Buffalo with Bernice Radle, Founder and CEO of Buffalove Development

Chk out

's prez for

re: how we can use simple math to calculate development impact costs on communities. He also speaks to the many ways municipalities lose needed tax revenues from single family developments.

1000fof.org

Past Webinars

Florida’s process of managing growth has evolved considerably over the years. This webinar focuses on the current process related to comprehensive planning and rezonings, legal options, and effective...

Urban3

@UrbanThree

Oct 11, 2022

It’s hard to believe that we’re already in the fourth quarter of 2022. Click here to learn more about where we're helping residents, developers, and local leaders use data to make smarter decisions about the future of the places they love.

linkedin.com

An update on some new client engagements across the country.

It’s hard to believe that we’re already in the fourth quarter of 2022, a year that in many respects has been our busiest and most productive in Urban3’s history. In addition to our groundbreaking...

Is your community financially prepared to handle a natural disaster? It's important to figure out now how much your municipality may lose, prepare your community for hard choices & learn how to adapt land use & zoning requirements to protect future revenue

strongtowns.org

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?

Strong Towns is hiring! If you are organized, like working behind the scenes to keep everything running smoothly and are a patient communicator, apply for our Action Team Coordinator position. (1/2)

strongtowns.org

Announcing 2 New Positions at Strong Towns

Strong Towns is hiring an action team coordinator and a video content creator!

Buncombe County low income residents, disproportionally BIPOC, are overcharged $1.5M/year in property taxes, while the highest end homeowners are undertaxed by $4M/year. Read more about our push on policymakers to live up to their promises of equity.

planetizen.com

How Tax Assessments in a Supposedly Progressive County Are Reinforcing Racism

Buncombe County in North Carolina was one of the first places in the U.S. to support reparations for Black residents. So why is the county not doing a better job of addressing property tax inequities...

Urban3

@UrbanThree

Sep 17, 2022

We're honored to see our friend

@VictorDover

from

@DoverKohl

continue to cite our work in his discussions with leaders and residents as they work to build stronger, more sustainable communities in Southwest Florida.

floridapolitics.com

Victor Dover encourages elected officials, developers to rethink planning paradigms

Developments should focus on public spaces, not isolation.

Did you know? Mansions, not rundown properties in low-socioeconomic-status neighborhoods, are the REAL blight on a community’s financial health. Joe Minicozzi explains how exactly this happens by reviewing the property tax findings of his firm,

@UrbanThree

strongtowns.org

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.

Urban3

@UrbanThree

Aug 24, 2022

Check out this job we just posted on Idealist!

Thank you to

for their guidance and support. If you're an employer or business owner who wants to learn more about how a living wage can boost your business, please let us know!

At Urban3, we believe that numbers never lie, which is why we're so proud to join a growing network of Living Wage Certified Businesses. The data is clear: investing in our people makes our firm stronger, which makes it possible for us to deliver greater value to our clients.

10. We remain passionate in the belief that every single thing that we do should be to create places that are so insanely great we cannot wait to share them with others! Nothing else is worth designing, planning, paying for, or building.

9. We haven’t really learned from the Great Recession. As fast as zoning spread across the U.S. in the 1920s, we will see the expedited interrogation of zoning as an impediment to municipal economic equity throughout the rest of the 2020s.

8. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) will begin to take more deserved blame for its abject failures in preventing the degradation of the natural environment at the hands of narrow-minded and over-funded transportation planners.

7. Big tech will continue to become more a part of municipal decision making. For communities that get all jazzed about having smart car meters and other tech-gizmos, it may be better to look at your existing hardware and data before you move on to the next techno savior.

6. Electric cars will become affordable and commonplace. These may be great for reducing carbon emissions, but to the degree that they must travel on paved roads and highways, the long-term implications for sprawl and its devastating cost implications will be bad.

5. The pandemic will recede, and with it, local governments will want to end most of the great #COVIDstreets interventions that they were suddenly courageous enough to prototype. They shouldn't!

4. Maps matter! We live in a geospatial environment, and data is spatial, so it needs to be communicated as such. Understanding maps and geography will be critical to understanding political equity (anyone heard of gerrymandering?)

3. Traditional political identities will continue to dissolve. The crises in today’s America are ones of inequality and financial instability. People will move in the direction of whichever leader — not whichever party — seems to understand this best.

2. America’s diversity will become even more diverse. More Black families moving to the suburbs & more Hispanic families moving into cities. Meanwhile, more and more baby boomers are retiring every year, which will show up in the planning & development of our cities and suburbs.

1. We’re in for a lot of media hype about the coming of the metaverse, but that will only make real-life cities more appealing and necessary.

In honor of Urban3 turning ten years old,

@JoeUrbanThree

offers a top ten list of predictions about the forces and fallacies that are going to change cities in the year ahead: (THREAD)

Next year, we're going to be working closely with our partners at

@UncAvl

@StrongTowns

, and the Racial Justice Coalition AVL to examine racial and economic disparities in the way property is assessed throughout western North Carolina. Stay tuned.

citizen-times.com

'My taxes on my home went up over $100K' Shiloh resident says of 'unjust' appraisals

A Buncombe County committee and a UNC Asheville-led project seek to address racial and economic disparity in tax assessment.

Urban3

@UrbanThree

Dec 10, 2021

Urban3 analyst @OriRyanBaber is always looking for the resources to help cities stay safe, strong, and resilient. Learn more about his journey here. urbanthree.com/blog/meet-the- #WheresTheMoney

urbanthree.com

Meet the Urban3 Staff: Ori Baber, PhD - Urban3

Dr. Ori Baber is an analyst at Urban3, a modest job title that conceals his many contributions to the firm’s work.

"I would love to use

's analysis to help cities figure out where it makes sense to protect things and how to help pay for those larger infrastructure projects as they relate to mitigating climate change." Meet Taylor, our new analyst:

urbanthree.com

Meet the Urban3 Staff: Taylor Schenker - Urban3

Taylor is one of Urban3’s newest analysts -- a designer and educator who is passionate about creating the future of resilient cities.

Urban3

@UrbanThree

Nov 10, 2021

Is your community leaking money? Time for a check-up! Don't miss out on the Steamboat Springs Economic Summit, November 12, from 8am - 2pm, where

@JoeUrbanThree

will be guiding communities towards a financially resilient future. Register here:

events.com

Economic Summit 2021

ECONOMIC HEALTH:Time for a Check UpTo improve the quality of life and economic well-being of our community we focus on activities, programs, and policies that work in concert towards a more sustain...

Urban3

@UrbanThree

Nov 10, 2021

People often misconstrue new development as positive growth, but our models prove that activating smaller buildings is much more financially productive over the long term. We were glad to help make the case for giving new life to the historic Hotel Aiken.