Building a Better Owensboro: A New Path Forward for Owensboro-Daviess County (2024)

About: A community report for Greater Owensboro, KY, prepared by The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation in partnership with Greater Owensboro Leadership Institute.

Authors: Richard C. Harwood and John P. Conroy

Publish Date: 2024

Description: Greater Owensboro is family-oriented, faith-based, and built on deep interpersonal relationships. People take enormous pride from living here. Still, the area is dealing with an array of challenges. Today, it faces a fundamental choice: Will it adhere to the status quo and risk stagnation or seize opportunities to come together and build a better Greater Owensboro?

This report includes the eight main themes that emerged from the conversations and interviews; voices of the people from Greater Owensboro; a snapshot and analysis of the fundamental structures, networks, and norms of Greater Owensboro through the lens of The Harwood Institute’s Public Capital Framework; and key recommendations for investing in and growing the community's civic capacities and renewing a sense of possibility and hope.