The city of Akron is set to bring pedestrian improvements, mobile grocery stores and housing to its decommissioned Innerbelt, according to a new master plan announced Thursday.
The plan, developed by urban planning firm Sasaki, aims to better connect Akron’s East and West Sides, while correcting historic mistakes that displaced thousands of Black residents to acquire property for the Innerbelt prior to its construction in the 1970s.
“It’s not just about putting back physically the way it was, but rather looking at economy, housing, open space, culture, history,” said Siqi Zhu, associate principal with Sasaki, “try to repair all of these different aspects and not just the physical sort of highway and roads.”…