Root Policy Research is a community planning and housing research firm, providing custom, creative, and high-value analysis and strategy for our clients.

The Root Policy Team

Root is a women-owned business founded by Heidi Aggeler and Mollie Fitzpatrick, former partners at BBC Research & Consulting. Our team is made up of economists, community planners, policy experts, data analysts, and all-around good people.

GET TO KNOW US

Root was founded to advance economic consulting and policy analysis in many areas critical to the development of thriving communities.

Housing and Community Development

Housing is a fundamental part of all communities – and a critical part of community development. Yet the types of housing needed, and the best way to deliver housing to residents, differ due to household characteristics, economic pressures, and community resources.

Fair Housing

Our approach to fair housing involves a broader assessment of how well residents of all backgrounds can access opportunity. We supplement HUD data with customized maps and data models identifying how economic opportunity could be improved.

Economic Mobility

Economic mobility is a factor in all of our work but this issue goes beyond housing and economic development to influence a host of program and policy decisions for local governments from human services, to transportation, to cultural investments.

Community Engagement

Data and statistics paint a picture of a place, but the stories and experiences of the people who live there tell us what the picture means. Our approach to community engagement is rooted in our decades of experience connecting with people of all cultures, incomes, and lived experiences.

Language access

Language access planning is an important part of creating equitable, culturally dynamic, and welcoming communities—in addition to meeting certain federal funding requirements.

Child care and Education

We assess the economic benefits of enabling parents to work through child care provision, the value of post high-school education and training programs, and the economic gains communities realize by connecting school quality and housing choice.

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Testimonials

“The firm consistently produces a high quality project, in a timely fashion, with an outstanding depth and breadth of knowledge in a range of topic areas. Their responsiveness and consistently high quality of communication was beyond compare.”

Member of a Committee overseeing Fair Housing Study, State of Oregon

“I really enjoyed our work together, and deeply appreciated your mastery of the data and ability to explain it in such an accessible, objective manner.”

Former Director of Planning, City of Boulder

“You are a wealth of information on housing policy!”

County of San Diego, Regional Planning Agency