Akron gives residents chance to meet the 4 finalists to design future of Innerbelt area

• The construction of the Akron Innerbelt in the late 20th century displaced residents and business owners, most of whom were Black.
• On July 25, community members will have a chance to meet representatives from four urban design consultant firms that are finalists in planning the revitalization of the Innerbelt area.
• On July 30, Ideastream Public Media's Sound of Ideas Community Tour will host a conversation about the Innerbelt.

The city of Akron has selected four urban design consultant firms as finalists to plan the revitalization of the Akron Innerbelt area.

And free events centered around the Innerbelt will take place in July. The city will host one on Thursday, July 25, and Ideastream Public Media will host another on Tuesday, July 30.

From 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 25, at House Three Thirty, four firms — Sasaki, PORT, Cooper Carry and Agency — will each present their ideas for the Innerbelt and share their qualifications for 15 minutes.

The community will be able to provide feedback on the four firms' plans at the event, according to a news release from the city.

“This event is an important one for our residents to hear from the finalists and provide feedback," Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said in a prepared statement. "We’ll use that feedback as our team makes their decision and chooses the firm we will partner with on the Reconnecting Communities Master Plan.”

City officials aim to decide on a final plan, called the Reconnecting Communities Master Plan, in August, according to the city's website.

The Thursday event will include ice cream and light snacks, followed by the presentation and a meet and greet with representatives from the firms.

For community members who cannot attend the event in person, the Mayor's Office Facebook page will livestream the event, according to the release.

'Sound of Ideas' to host Innerbelt discussion at Civic Theatre

On Tuesday, July 30, Ideastream Public Media's Sound of Ideas Community Tour will host a conversation about the Innerbelt at the Akron Civic Theatre's Knight Stage. From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., "Sound of Ideas" host Jenny Hamel will talk with an expert panel about discrimination that occurs in city planning "and whether communities can rectify historic wrongs," according to an Eventbrite page for the discussion.

Hundreds of homes and dozens of businesses — the majority of which were owned by Black people — were demolished by the Innerbelt's construction that began in 1970.

Hamel will also discuss the current state of the Innerbelt and future plans for it.

The conversation will be recorded and will air the following week on WKSU 89.7-FM.

Reserve a ticket to "Sound of Ideas Community Tour: Reimagining Akron’s Innerbelt" on eventbrite.com.

A brief history of the Akron Innerbelt

The Akron Innerbelt was first proposed in 1960.

“In 1970, construction of the Innerbelt began, erasing a vibrant neighborhood and displacing residents and businesses," Malik said.

The Innerbelt's decommission began in 2017 during former Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan's administration.

In 2020, the city of Akron hired Liz Ogbu, an architect and spatial justice activist, to engage with community members.

In 2021, an Innerbelt advisory group came together; that group has included people who lived in or whose families lived in the neighborhoods displaced by the Innerbelt, Akron City Council members and nonprofit and business leaders.

In December 2023, Horrigan apologized for the harms caused by the Innerbelt.

Also that month, the city and Ogbu's Studio O released the Reconnecting Our Community - Phase 1 Report, which documents community engagement efforts and recommendations for the Innerbelt area.

Patrick Williams covers growth and development for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at pwilliams@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @pwilliamsOH.