Tactical Urbanism growing in Akron Communities

 

Story by Jason Segedy

 

You may have heard about the growing Akron2Akron movement, which organizes monthly walking tours of Akron neighborhoods, led by local residents.

The walks have attracted people of all ages and all backgrounds, and they have been a great way to connect with other people, to get to know your own neighborhood better, and to get to know another neighborhood that you may not be as familiar with.

What Better Block means for your neighborhood

Story by Chris Miller, The Akronist

The intersection of North Main Street and Cuyahoga Falls Avenue
in North Hill will be the location of Akron’s
first Better Block event (Photo: Chris Miller)

 

By now, you’ve likely heard about the Better Block event that takes place next weekend in the North Hill neighborhood of Akron, but this program is much more than the sum of its parts. Better Block’s an exercise in civil disobedience and imagination. It’s also a look ahead at what a neighborhood could be. And while it’s happening in North Hill this time, it could happen in your neighborhood, too.

On May 15 through 17, the “Temple Square” block in North Hill (the intersection of Cuyahoga Falls Avenue and North Main Street) will be adorned with temporary landscaping, bicycle lanes and popup businesses in currently empty storefronts, along with live music, art, an open air market and a number of other attractions.

Y-Bridge Memorial Community Garden Pays Respects, Unifies Community, Beautifies Land – 2013-03-27

By Katie Sobiech

Alex Miller, Co-Founder of Akron Urban Gardens, and life-long Akron resident, isn’t just talk, but has put his community dreams into action through the Y-Bridge Memorial Community Garden.

Recently graduating from Akron University with a degree in Urban Planning and a focus on food policy and planning, he has set his mind towards cultivating unity and beautification in Cascade Village through gardening.

“All the issues that surround that –the whole arena – including urban agriculture – has melted my butter for years,” Miller said.

This passion led him and his Co-Founder, Dana Starvazi, in creating Akron Urban Gardens, under which the Y-Bridge memorial falls.