Company lists · Data refreshed September 2026

Top 25 Urban research institutes worldwide

RevenueBase identified 680 urban research institutes worldwide as of September 2026 and tracks 8,261 professional contacts across them, including 1,949 with verified work emails. The United States is the largest market and London the largest hub.

This list covers urban research institutes worldwide, matched on what each company actually does as described in its own words. Ranked by team size, largest first. Every row shows the company's own description, its RevenueBase Smart Search rating, and when it was last checked. Data refreshed September 22, 2026. Country and city lists for urban research institutes follow the table.

Published by RevenueBase, a B2B data infrastructure company. This list was built with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search RevenueBase customers use to build their own targeted lists and unlock verified emails and direct dials at the companies on them. How these lists are built and judged.

How to read this list HQ checked on every row RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row Refreshed Sep 22, 2026 86% judged on-target in blind review
680Companies
8,261Contacts tracked
1,949Verified emails
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The 25 largest urban research institutes worldwide

Ranked by team size
Top 25 of 680 urban research institutes worldwide, ranked by team size, largest first. Data refreshed Sep 22, 2026. RevenueBase Smart Search rates how each company's information relates to urban research institutes: strong evidence (its own description names it), partial (names part of it), indirect (matched on the rest of its profile rather than the description shown). Click a contact count to view that company's people.
#CompanyRevenueBase Smart SearchHeadquartersEmployeesContacts
1Strong evidenceWashington, DC, United StatesHQ checked Sep 22, 2026201-5001,030 contacts →

Strong evidence

“ULI - the Urban Land Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and education organization supported by its members.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
2Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 22, 202651-200378 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“SPUR brings people together from across the political spectrum to develop solutions to the big problems cities face.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
3Strong evidenceNew Delhi, IndiaHQ checked Sep 22, 2026201-500253 contacts →

Strong evidence

“Established in 1976, the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) is a premier institute of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, for research and…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
4Strong evidenceCuritiba, BrazilHQ checked Sep 22, 202651-200193 contacts →

Strong evidence

“Since 1965, the Institute for Research and Urban Planning of Curitiba (IPPUC) has been the driving force behind Curitiba's global recognition as a model city in sustainable and…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
5Strong evidenceEsch-sur-alzette / Belval, LuxembourgHQ checked Sep 22, 202651-200169 contacts →

Strong evidence

“LISER is a Luxembourgish public research institute under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
6Strong evidenceAmsterdam, NetherlandsHQ checked Sep 22, 2026201-500124 contacts →

Strong evidence

“Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS Institute) is a collaboration between Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Wageningen University & Research, Delft…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
7Partial evidenceBoston, MA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 22, 202651-200105 contacts →

Partial evidence

“We thrive on solving complex urban problems in intelligent, pragmatic ways.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
8Partial evidencePortland, OR, United StatesHQ checked Sep 22, 202651-20096 contacts →

Partial evidence

“Almost 50 years of public policy research for better human outcomes.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
9Indirect evidenceThe Hague, NetherlandsHQ checked Sep 22, 202651-20091 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Platform31 - Kennis van stad en regio - biedt concrete oplossingen voor maatschappelijke vraagstukken van stad en regio aan professionals en bestuurders.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
10Partial evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 22, 202611-5072 contacts →

Partial evidence

“The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat is a nonprofit organization dedicated to smarter, more sustainable cities and a more viable future for global populations.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
11Indirect evidenceNew York, NY, United StatesHQ checked Sep 22, 202611-5068 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Regional Plan Association is an independent, non-profit civic organization that develops and promotes ideas to improve the economic health, environmental resiliency, and quality…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
12Indirect evidenceParis, FranceHQ checked Sep 22, 2026n/a60 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“ALTO est un espace de réflexion indépendant dédié aux grandes transformations urbaines et démographiques qui redessinent nos sociétés.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
13Strong evidenceToronto, ON, CanadaHQ checked Sep 22, 202611-5058 contacts →

Strong evidence

“The Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) is a non-profit applied research organization headquartered in Toronto, Ontario.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
14Partial evidenceLisbon, PortugalHQ checked Sep 22, 202611-5053 contacts →

Partial evidence

“DINÂMIA’CET-Iscte, Centre for Socioeconomic and Territorial Studies is an ISCTE-IUL research unit which combines fundamental and applied research on economic, social and cultural…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
15Indirect evidenceMarseille, FranceHQ checked Sep 22, 202651-20050 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“L’Agence d’urbanisme de l’agglomération marseillaise réalise des études, analyses, données, observatoires, atlas, infographies… à la demande des collectivités et structures…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
16Partial evidenceBellaterra (cerdanyola Del Vallès), SpainHQ checked Sep 22, 202651-20047 contacts →

Partial evidence

“L’Institut Metròpoli té com a objectiu principal generar i compartir coneixement de qualitat i socialment útil, que ajudi a la construcció del dret a la metròpoli.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
17Indirect evidenceMuscat, OmanHQ checked Sep 22, 2026n/a44 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“ARB’s philosophy is to bring light into darkness, generating insight for decision makers in the public policy arena & business environment so that when they are faced with hard…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
18Strong evidenceIthaca, NJ, United StatesHQ checked Sep 22, 202611-5044 contacts →

Strong evidence

“The Ramos Research Institute is a research institute working on original research, polling, and policy analysis to tackle today's wicked problems.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
19Strong evidenceDortmund, GermanyHQ checked Sep 22, 202651-20040 contacts →

Strong evidence

“The ILS – Research Institute for Regional and Urban Development is a german non-university urban research institute which explores the dynamics and diversity of urban change in…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
20Indirect evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 22, 202611-5035 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“CNT is a nonprofit organization, headquartered in Chicago, that helps cities use resources more efficiently and equitably.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
21Partial evidenceLondon, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 22, 2026n/a35 contacts →

Partial evidence

“The Academy of Urbanism is a politically independent, not-for-profit organisation that brings together both the current and next generation of urban leaders, thinkers and…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
22Indirect evidenceRixensart, BelgiumHQ checked Sep 22, 202651-20035 contacts →

Indirect evidence

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
23Indirect evidenceRio De Janeiro, BrazilHQ checked Sep 22, 202611-5034 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“https://linktr.ee/plataformasIPPUR”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
24Indirect evidenceMetz, FranceHQ checked Sep 22, 202611-5033 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“agenceaguram /#aguram L’AGURAM est l’organisme d’étude et d’ingénierie sur l’aménagement et le développement territorial qui accompagne la métropole messine et les agglomérations…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026
25Indirect evidenceSão Paulo, BrazilHQ checked Sep 22, 202651-20032 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Criado em o Centro de Estudos da Metrópole (CEM) é um dos Centros de Pesquisa, Inovação e Difusão da Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Cepid-Fapesp) e reúne…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 22, 2026

Showing 25 of 680 urban research institutes worldwide

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Urban research institutes worldwide at a glance

As of Sep 22, 2026
23.6%Verified-email coverage
12.1Average contacts per company
1-10Median size (employees)
3.2%Largest-city concentration · London
Sep 22, 2026Page data refreshed

Companies by employee count

1-10
343
11-50
231
51-200
69
201-500
15
501-1,000
6
1,001-5,000
6
5,001-10,000
3
10001+
6

Email recency is reported on each country list linked below.

How this list was built

Company categories are rarely black and white. RevenueBase reads each company's own description of its business to decide whether it belongs among urban research institutes, so some rows will be adjacent to the category rather than pure plays. The description and RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row are there so you can check each match yourself.

Source
The RevenueBase company graph: 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts resolved from primary sources, queried with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search available to every RevenueBase user.
Coverage
Every country. Country and city lists for urban research institutes are linked below.
What qualifies
Companies worldwide whose own description of what they do matches “urban research institutes”. Matching reads each company's description, not its industry code or its name.
RevenueBase Smart Search
RevenueBase Smart Search is how this list is assembled and how each row is rated. RevenueBase's data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to a category defined in a user's own words. Each row is rated strong evidence (its own description names urban research institutes), partial evidence (it names part of the category) or indirect evidence (the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile). The description supporting each rating is quoted on the row.
What we exclude
Companies whose own description does not clearly place them among urban research institutes, and records with no verified work email.
Match quality
In blind human judging of this matching method, 86% of matched companies were on target. Expect roughly 1 in 7 rows to be adjacent to the category rather than a pure play. Every row shows the company's own description and its RevenueBase Smart Search rating so you can judge each match yourself. Read the full methodology: how the lists are built, how the judging worked, and what the figure means.
Ranking
Team size, largest first: companies are ordered by the number of professionals RevenueBase tracks at each one. Employee ranges shown are reported bands, for context.
Verification
Every listed company carries at least one verified work email, 1,949 across the full list. Contacts re-verify on a rolling cadence, and each contact's own verification date is shown inside RevenueBase.
Refresh
This page's figures were pulled from the company graph on September 22, 2026. Lists refresh periodically as the graph is re-checked.
Corrections
Wrong category, wrong headquarters, or a company that has closed? Use “Report an issue” on any row. Reports go to the RevenueBase Data Team and feed back into the company graph.

Urban research institutes by location

2 lists · largest first

Every Urban research institutes list RevenueBase publishes, by country and city. Counts are matching companies in each list as of its own refresh date.

Countries

Frequently asked

What is RevenueBase Smart Search?

RevenueBase Smart Search is how RevenueBase decides which companies belong on this list and how strongly each one fits. Its data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to the category the list is about. Each row is rated strong evidence when the company's own description names urban research institutes, partial evidence when it names part of the category, and indirect evidence when the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile.

How many urban research institutes are there worldwide?

RevenueBase identified 680 urban research institutes worldwide as of September 2026, matched on each company's own description of what it does rather than its industry code.

What is the largest company on this list?

Urban Land Institute, headquartered in Washington, tops this list with the largest team on record.

Which country has the most urban research institutes?

The United States leads with 193 companies, followed by Germany (35). Every urban research institutes list by country and city is linked on this page.

Which city has the most urban research institutes?

London leads with 22 headquartered companies, followed by New York (22) and Cambridge (10).

How do I get contact information for these companies?

A free RevenueBase account lets you run this exact search and work the top results, verified emails and direct dials included. Upgrading unlocks all 1,949 verified decision-maker contacts tracked across these 680 companies.

How current is this list?

The list refreshes periodically as the company graph is re-checked. This page's figures were pulled on September 22, 2026.

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About this data

RevenueBase is a B2B data infrastructure company. Its company graph covers 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts, with emails verified on a rolling cadence rather than scraped once and left to decay. These company lists are generated directly from that graph with RevenueBase Smart Search, the same natural-language company search every RevenueBase user has: describe a market in plain words, get the companies that match, and add verified emails and direct dials for the people at them. It is the same data that powers RevenueBase's B2B data products, and a free account includes 500 credits to start. How these lists are built and judged.