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?

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.

Something Is Clearly Wrong With the Property Tax Appraisal System

Across the country, the property tax system is causing economic hardship for homeowners—and it’s because the system itself is flawed.

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.

Top StoryJay StangeApril 15, 2022oklahoma, resource, resource trap, Economy, economics, urban3, taxes, cnu Be the First to Comment

Taking a Magnifying Glass to Property Tax Inequities

What is the real reason behind our striking property tax disparities?

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.

Top StoryJohn PattisonMarch 8, 2022Not Just Bikes, maps, finance, resilience, urban3, value per acre Be the First to Comment

Property Tax Inequities Stir Movement for Change in Asheville

Strong Towns is partnering with Just Accounting for Health and Urban3 in a project to uncover the presence, and effects, of biases in tax assessment standards.

The Bottom-Up Revolution is... Data-Driven, Community-Centered Planning

Sarah Davis is fresh out of planning school and interned for Strong Towns and Urban3 this summer.

My Family's Kansas City Story

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

Top StorySarah DavisSeptember 15, 2021redlining, highways, history, race, freeways, urban3, kansas, missouri, neighborhoods, Reparations 3 Comments

Ogden and the Storage Wars

Storage facilities have no place in a productive, walkable downtown. Here’s a case study showing why, and how to deal with the problem.

Top StorySarah DavisSeptember 8, 2021downtown, storage units, Land Use, walkability, utah, urban3, transparent local accounting 3 Comments

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.

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.

Top StorySarah DavisSeptember 1, 2021Assessments, property tax, race, North Carolina, Buncombe County series, housing, urban3, taxes, oregon, poverty 5 Comments

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?

Smart (and Not-So-Smart) Uses of Incentives

Cities must be discerning in how they incentivize development. Let’s look at two examples to see what to do, and what not to do.

Top StorySarah DavisAugust 11, 2021business, urban3, value per acre, kansas, california, missouri 9 Comments

The Question Every City Should Be Asking

Let’s #DoTheMath in Ramsey County, Minnesota.

The Hidden Problems of Property Taxes

Has your property tax bill skyrocketed this year? It’s worth taking a deeper look into how your county or city does their assessments...

Top StorySarah DavisJuly 28, 2021property tax, Buncombe County series, Assessments, urban3, home buyer 4 Comments

Who Pays for Growth in Collier County, Florida: Part 2

Collier County's standards for new development on rural land repeatedly emphasize “innovative” growth...but when we look at their proposed mega-developments, it's really just business as usual.