Warren County is planning for major growth over the next 25 years, when studies show it could double in size.

We first told you about the big 2050 project back in March, when they were soliciting feedback from the community.

So what did leaders learn and what comes next?

Our Laura Rogers tells us more as Kentucky Edition goes on the road to Bowling Green.

How can we plan for the future rather than just let it happen and see what happens?

That was the question on Doug Gorman's mind following a planning session for the 2017 total solar eclipse.

Afterwards, I spoke with a person I told him from Bowling Green and Warren County, and they said, well, you'll be well over 200,000 people by 2050.

That got Gorman thinking about the challenges that could pose as far as infrastructure and traffic.

And I'm a planner, and I want to start thinking about how can we plan for this growth and massive growth, rather than just have it happen to us?

You can't build a future that you haven't imagined first.

He connected with Sam Ford at Innovation Engine to manage the big 2050 project.

What are we really going to look like when we're, significantly larger town and region?

And how do we start building for that?

This thing took off with tech support from Google's Jigsaw division.

They led a month long online campaign called What Could Be Gbps?

What we accomplish was the largest town hall in the history of America, a visionary town hall that collected 4000 ideas for Bowling Green, Warren County's future.

If you want the future of where you live, you're going to be creative about things you can do.

This effort harnessing that creativity to see a future with great potential.

This isn't a roadmap of where we're going, but it's a compass.

Randy Goodman is among the 100 listening partners who offered input and support.

One of the things we all agreed about is we want to be able to afford to live and work here in 2050.

As executive director at habitat for humanity, Goodman sees the need for affordable housing every day.

We're trying to up our game to build more homes to help meet that growing need.

The final report, compiled by artificial Intelligence, indicated a need for strategies that address affordability and solutions to homelessness.

We can't simply build our way out of this.

It's going to take partnerships between the city and nonprofits, but also between private investors and others to help bridge this gap, to make sure we can continue to grow in our community.

Ryan Dearborn has seen bowling greens growth over the past 25 years.

People are going downtown.

There's more businesses.

It just seems to be more vibrant.

He came to Western Kentucky University in 2001, and is now raising his family and making his career and Bowling Green.

I want Bowling Green to have its own identity, where people can look at Bowling Green and say that Bowling Green is its own thriving community.

Dearborn says he'd like to see a bowling green that will appeal to his children's future.

They won't have to go seek their fortunes in another community, but they'll stay here because it has enough entertainment, it has enough jobs, it has enough diversity.

Much of that reflects it.

In the final report, a report that Gorman says worked due to its inclusivity.

You can imagine if you had 5000 people on a zoom call and you want to ask one question.

The chaos that would ensue.

Instead, this effort allowed more than 1 million responses to thousands of ideas with the click of a button.

The survey wasn't an end.

It was a beginning.

The information collected now returns to those listening partners, divided into eight pillar groups to move ahead with planning.

They'll be able then to look at the see which ones they think are feasible, and then be able to present a report so that we can start looking at that.

Gorman emphasizing they won't wait until 2050 to put these plans into action.

It's a dreaming thing.

People can have a dream.

We like things in Bowling Green.

Maybe they say that, but here's what we'd love to see next.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm Laura Rogers.

Thank you Laura.

These efforts have gotten national attention, including from Judy Woodruff and PBS NewsHour, who just last week featured bowling Green in its series America at a crossroads.