Over the last three months, I’ve been captivated by the history of Akron’s innerbelt and its impact on the city.
The innerbelt was the topic of the latest “Sound of Ideas Community Tour,” an endeavor that I’ve been producing since late last year.
The Cliffs Notes version of the Akron innerbelt is that several miles of highway were planned and then built through a predominantly Black neighborhood in West Akron in the mid-20th century. Hundreds of homes and businesses were destroyed in the process. A thriving jazz scene that once existed on Howard Street was also lost.
Now part of that very roadway sits decommissioned and unused.
This didn’t just happen in Akron, but all over the country. The construction of these highways was often considered “urban renewal” and impacted communities of color for generations.
Our event, which was held at the Knight Stage at the Akron Civic Theater, was a perfect example of what a Community Tour stop is supposed to be. With Jenny Hamel moderating, we approached a topic that deeply impacts a specific community and held a lengthy and wide-ranging conversation.
It was a conversation that was free and open to the public — where anyone could speak their mind and share how the construction of the innerbelt has impacted their life and what they hope for its future now that the city is contemplating its reuse.
We heard from former residents of the neighborhood — folks whose houses were purchased, often at depressed values, by the City of Akron and then demolished to make room for the roadway. We also heard from academics who have spent years studying not only the history of Akron, but also architecture and urban planning. And we heard how those disciplines have changed over the decades.
Finally, we heard from the representatives of Akron city government about how they’re working to transform a 30-acre parcel of the innerbelt in an inclusive way.
The city is seeking resident feedback to help shape plans for the redesign. And that’s perhaps what stuck with me most about this latest Community Tour event, how folks are taking history into consideration to remedy past injustices.
Suggestions for transforming the 30 acres include turning it into green space or developing it with an emphasis on fostering the growth of local, Black-owned businesses. Several of the residents that provided feedback said that the neighborhoods in West Akron need to be reconnected to Downtown, addressing how the innerbelt severed them from the urban core.
The clichés of history repeating itself have been used often, but for good reason. Humans can be predictable creatures. As I mentioned before, Akron wasn’t the only city where highway construction adversely impacted mostly minority communities.
But reimagining this 1-mile stretch of abandoned roadway in Akron has the potential to buck that trend. City officials appear to be earnest as they listen to former residents who were impacted by urban renewal projects.
They’re OK with taking their time, engaging in the messy business of argument and compromise.
If you have some time, I urge you to dig into the story of Akron’s innerbelt. It’s not just the story of a stretch of highway, it’s a story about community, about race, discrimination, power and how we can try to avoid making the same mistake twice.
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