Thank you all who attended the Virtual Community Conversation on Wednesday, 7/16 with Carla Davis and Ebony Hill! During the session, we discussed the history of the project, dived deep into understanding one of our five design strategies for repair, and covered a few of the policy tools for repair we are considering for the master plan.
Participants shared thoughtful questions and feedback throughout the discussion, including:
- How does the plan think more holistically about the social infrastructure needed to build community in the “Invest in Neighborhoods” strategy? Beyond building additional housing and commercial areas and providing more community services, there should be more consideration of other key elements that make a community like schools, post offices, sports fields, and so on.
- Are there other ways to think about value capture to help support changes on the former Innerbelt land in the short-term? What kinds of federal dollars are available to invest in Akron? Can tax increment financing be leveraged in Akron’s case to help fund key developments?
- Walkability should be a core focus of the plan, and looking back at how people moved around in the city before the Innerbelt can help provide some ideas of what the natural flow of the city could look like moving forward.
To learn more about what was presented during this session, please see the presentation below or join one of our upcoming community conversations!