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About The Greater Louisville Project

The Greater Louisville Project is an independent, non-partisan civic initiative organized by the Community Foundation of Louisville and supported by a consortium of philanthropic foundations that includes The James Graham Brown Foundation, Brown-Forman, The C. E. & S. Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Community Foundation of Louisville, Gheens Foundation, The Humana Foundation and The JP Morgan Chase Foundation and the Stephen Reily and Emily Bingham Fund.  Carolyn Gatz, an independent consultant, directs the Project.

Its mission is to act as a catalyst for action, providing research, data, and analytic tools in support of the agenda for long-term progress outlined in the 2002 Brookings Institution Report, "Beyond Merger:  A Competitive Vision for the Regional City of Louisville."   The Greater Louisville Project publishes the  "Competitive City Report," tracking progress against key community indicators.

"Deep Drivers of Change"

In 2003, the Greater Louisville Project focused on six areas identified in the 2002 Brookings Institution report.  Those areas were primary education, postsecondary education, economic development, creating quality neighborhoods, investing in working families, and balancing metropolitan growth.

Since then, GLP has honed in on three Deep Drivers of Change: Education, 21st Century Jobs, and Quality of Place. The Deep Drivers of Change are a few big, but attainable, goals that can inform our civic agenda by highlighting both the possibilities and the challenges facing Louisville.

The Education Deep Driver calls for raising Louisville’s persistently low levels of education attainment, including increasing high school graduation rates, certificate, associate degree and bachelor degree completion.  Implicit in achieving this goal is a reduction in high school dropouts, an improvement in college preparation and improved access to and quality of early childhood education.

  • Increase the proportion of working-age adults with a college education to 40% from 30% - or a total of 150,000 – by 2020. Increase the percentage with an Associate’s Degree from 7% to 10%. 

The Deep Driver focused on Growing 21st Century Jobs calls for increasing the proportion of residents engaged in technical and professional occupations with the underlying goal of raising incomes.  Implicit in achieving this goal is providing skills and knowledge training for workers in lower-wage occupations and retaining, growing, and attracting employers that provide professional and technical jobs. 

  • Increase the proportion of workers employed in higher-value, higher-wage technical and professional jobs to 40% from the current 35%.

The Deep Driver on Quality of Place calls for strengthening the qualities and characteristics that distinguish Louisville and protecting its strength as a regional hub.  Implicit in this goal is a continued focus on revitalization of the downtown core and reinvestment in the urban core of Louisville.

  • Reverse current trends in order to retain 70% of the regional population and 60% of the regional job base in Louisville Metro in order to ensure its continued strength as the hub of the Region.  Expand and enhance the Quality of Place that distinguishes Louisville, including public safety, greenspace and parklands, distinctive neighborhoods, affordable housing, arts, cultural, and recreational attractions. Improve standing in traffic congestion, environmental issues and health status.