Our History: Then & Now
Thriving Cities Group: From Research Insight to Community Intelligence
Thriving Cities Group emerged from a foundational question that continues to drive our work: How can we design and expand the potential of data and knowledge for the common good—not just for cities, but for every definition of community?
We began as a research project at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture (IASC) at the University of Virginia in 2012, and re-established as an independent initiative called Thriving Cities in 2016.
Under the leadership of Dr. Josh Yates, we spent those early years working and learning in 10 cities, engaging researchers, city leaders, philanthropists, and nonprofits around fundamental questions about life in modern communities. Thriving Cities’ research lead to the creation of the Human Ecology Framework, an ecological view of community wealth and wellbeing that can help cities assess and identify strategic opportunities for engagement and investment.
What we discovered was both frustrating and inspiring: community leaders everywhere were drowning in data but starving for insight. Decision-makers had access to more information than ever before—census data, nonprofit records, city planning documents, health indicators—yet the infrastructure to make sense of it all simply didn't exist. The people making life-changing decisions about housing, funding, and neighborhood support were essentially flying blind.
Since those formative years, we've had the privilege of working with community foundations, universities, and coalitions across the United States. Each partnership has deepened our understanding of the invisible infrastructure gap—the disconnect between the wealth of community data and the ability to transform it into actionable wisdom.
This journey has led us to where we are today: pioneering Community Intelligence Platforms that don't just collect data, but reveal the hidden connections between housing, health, education, and economic opportunity. We're building tools that amplify human wisdom rather than replace it, that democratize access to sophisticated analysis, and that turn information into impact in real time.
As we lean into the potential of technology to expand our reach and deepen our impact, we believe we're not just adapting to change—we're shaping a better community history in the making. One where every community leader, regardless of resources, can see clearly, decide wisely, and act effectively on behalf of the people they serve.
01 — What does it mean to thrive?
02 — What does it take to thrive?
03 — Who gets to thrive?
In early 2018 Thriving Cities became an independent nonprofit organization (501c3) called Thriving Cities Group.