Introduction
Where you live matters. The extent of this impact can be surprising—your neighborhood, suburb, or rural town can shape your health, income, exposure to pollution, and even how long you live. The impact of historic urban housing redlining from the past is still visible in today’s data, showing how location connects to opportunities or lack thereof.
This report offers a detailed look at the Greater Evansville Region, including the challenges it faces and the strengths it possesses. While some data is concerning, positive developments like new housing, economic growth, and educational opportunities are reshaping the area.
The report contains eight chapters covering issues affecting our region—all presented in an easy-to understand and engaging manner. We examine vulnerabilities from five chapters to identify those neighborhoods that are most affected by overlapping social vulnerabilities and present our results in the conclusion of the report.
This report covers the five-county Greater Evansville Region. This includes Vanderburgh County, Warrick County, Gibson County, Posey County, and Henderson County, Kentucky.
Partners
This report was created as a collaboration of The Polis Center at Indiana University Indianapolis, Grow platform, Welborn Baptist Foundation, United Way of Southwestern Indiana, and the valuable input of several community stakeholders and content experts. See the full listing of community contributors below. We have relied on data from the Grow SAVI community information system and several other authoritative datasets. We invite you to read the report and share your thoughts about building a better future for your community and our region.
Authors
Asger Ali – The Polis Center at IU Indianapolis
Jay Colbert – The Polis Center at IU Indianapolis
Matt Nowlin – The Polis Center at IU Indianapolis Consultant
Contributors
Calhoun, Josh – HOPE Evansville, Executive Director
Craven, Meghan – Welborn Baptist Foundation, Grow Program Coordinator
Dumas-Hines, Frances – Evansville Vanderburgh County School Corporation, Director of Performance Management
Herr, Lynn – Vanderburgh County Health Department, Director, Clinical & Outreach Division
Jenkins, Logan – Circular Venture Lab, Founder, Executive Director & Indiana Center for Emerging Technologies Executive Director
Marton, Maria – Urban Seeds, Executive Director
Reineke, Katie – Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, Outreach Manager
Seibert-Townsend, Denise – Catholic Charities of Evansville, Executive Director
Sena-Martin, Elisabet – Immigration Welcome & Resource Center, Executive Director
Stock, Tyler – Evansville Regional Economic Partnership, Executive Director of Talent EVV & Director of Talent
Stuckey, Margaret – United Way of Southwestern Indiana, Community Impact Director, Grow Data Report Project Co-Lead
Tharp, Elizabeth – Welborn Baptist Foundation, Learning & Impact Officer, Grow Data Report Co-Lead
Valadares, Kevin, PhD – University of Southern Indiana, Professor of Health Services, Chair of Health Administration, Chair of Health Informatics and Information Management
Welcher, Jessica – Community One, Executive Director
Where You Live Matters is a product of Grow
in partnership with The Polis Center.
Guide