250,000 BY 2050

Since its peak at about 290,000 residents in the 1960s, Akron has lost a third of its population. How will it bring people back?

Writing, reporting, illustration and photos by Abbey Marshall

Acentury ago, Akron was the fastest-growing city in the country. With four major tire manufacturers located in the city, industry and opportunity was attractive.

Between 1910 and 1920, the population swelled from 69,000 to 208,000. By 1920, half the tires in the world were produced in Akron.

But after 80 years of leading the nation in rubber production, industry began to sputter to a halt. By 1982, not a single passenger tire was built in the city.

As a result, population numbers were gouged by a third since the 1960s, when the city peaked at 290,000. Now, Akron has slightly fewer than 200,000 people. But officials have set an ambitious goal: to recoup some of what they’ve lost and grow the city’s population by 26% in just 30 years.

Strategies for growth

When Dan Horrigan took the mayoral reins from Don Plusquellic in 2016, he set an ambitious goal: get 250,000 people in Akron by 2050.

The reason for setting that goal, aside from the snappy branding of “250,000 by 2050,” is to recoup about half of what Akron had lost. “When you look at Akron’s trajectory loss, our peak was 290,000 and we’re right around 200,000 now. It’s the idea we could climb more than halfway back to our peak,” says Jason Segedy, Director of Planning and Urban Development. “It is ambitious but view it as a guiding star. Even if we get half that goal, that’s a major win.” The goal is not simply about bringing people in — it’s also about retention. The city cannot grow without serving the people who already live here, Segedy says, as many Akronites ultimately leave for the suburbs.

So far, the focus is on “stopping the bleeding” before the city can move into meaningful growth, Deputy Mayor for Integrated Development James Hardy adds.

According to census data, the city has not grown since the 1960s, but retention efforts in the last decade appear to be working. Between 2000 and 2010, there was an 8.3% drop in population, translating to about 18,000 residents. But between 2010 and a 2019 estimation (2020 census data is not yet available), there was only a .8% loss, or 2,000 residents. In an effort to turn retention into growth, the Horrigan administration has identified housing policy as their key strategy.

Development in Akron slowed significantly after the population boom, with 64% of homes in the city built before 1960 and more housing built during the Great Depression than since 2000. In 2015, just 14 new houses were built in Akron.

Much of the city’s remaining housing stock is not only old but in disrepair. In 2017, the city released Planning to Grow Akron, a report outlining its strategy to stimulate the housing market and attract residents to live in Akron. That report detailed the state of housing, problems facing the market and proposed solutions. One of the solutions to the downtrodden housing market was a 15-year property tax abatement, which meant residents who built new homes or significant additions did not have to pay any property tax on the home or addition for 15 years.

The program, launched in 2017, is intended to spur population growth by spurring the construction of new housing in the city.

Though the city is forgoing nearly $2 million in property taxes through the program, city officials view it as a success. In contrast to the 14 homes built in 2015, development has since boomed, with approximately 1,800 housing units completed or in the planning, design and construction phases in the last four years. Home values are rising too, in line with nationwide trends, says Deputy Mayor for Integrated Development James Hardy.

“For the first time in a long time, we’ve seen a significant increase in property values,” Hardy says. “We’re getting more equity in homes that people lost and thought they wouldn’t get back in the 2008 housing process.”

But Hardy and Segedy both acknowledge how much work is left to be done.

A second report, Planning to Grow Akron 2.0, was released May 12. It builds upon the first report, but also addresses gaps and poses more complex problems and solutions. For example, Segedy says the city also needs to focus on rehabilitating old homes as well as building new ones.

“This report focuses on how we can strengthen the housing market to get more investment in capital in homes that are already here in developed neighborhoods that already exist,” he says. “We need to be strategic in how we realign our neighborhoods in a 21st century reality.”

A main task will be to modernize the city’s zoning code. Akron is heavily zoned for single family housing, but Segedy says they want to aim to make neighborhoods more walkable and friendly to duplexes and multifamily houses as well.

Making growth equitable

At the time of the 2017 report, approximately a quarter of the city’s housing was in “great” shape while another quarter was “extremely distressed.” The remaining half was at a tipping point: Older homes in middle-class neighborhoods that

needed a boost.

Planning to Grow Akron 2.0 looks at strengthening the market in “middle neighborhoods,” which make up half the city’s housing and are at a “tipping point.” Segedy says by targeting these middle neighborhoods, which are often adjacent to disinvested neighborhoods, conditions will also improve in those surrounding areas. But each neighborhood faces unique challenges and has individual needs, strengthen the housing market to get people working for economic development at the neighborhood level say.

“Even if [the people making how we realign our neighborhoods in policy] live in the same city, each neighborhood has its unique set of challenges,” says Tina Boyes, executive director of Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance. “The more we can do that’s engaging residents and improving visual spaces for residents gives folks hope. Those are walkable and friendly to duplexes and visual and relational cues that things are looking better.” The Neighborhood Alliance has worked to revamp Kenmore Boulevard in recent years, branding the neighborhood as an arts and music district with recording studios, music shops and concert venues. Eight new businesses opened on the boulevard in the past year.

Even still, Tina says neighborhoods like hers need substantial city support to be on track for the population growth they want. Meanwhile in North Hill, unlike many other areas in the city, the neighborhood’s population is growing because of its high refugee resettlement rate. Still, the neighborhood has a higher percentage of renters than average and experiences its own unique set of challenges.

Katie Beck, executive director of North Akron Community Development Corporation, says she is concerned about the city’s allocation of resources across the neighborhoods.

Boyes says her neighborhood, categorized as a middle neighborhood in the report, is at a crucial point. Kenmore, which lost 12.7% of its residents in the past two decades according to data from the city, is susceptible to losing families to adjacent suburbs of Barberton and Coventry Township. “A big problem in this neighborhood, and really all over the city, is the issue of absent landlords,” Beck says. “That needs to be addressed in some way, for sure, because many refugees are being taken advantage of. Both Boyes and Beck agree that trust is crucial in neighborhoods that have faced disinvestment as the city focuses on huge investments in areas like dtowntown.

In addition, they call for more inclusive housing policies that won’t leave some people, such as renters, behind.

The tax abatement quality may be attractive to developers, but unless a landlord in a new building reduces rent as a result, renters are seeing few if any benefits from programs like the tax abatement.

Meanwhile, data from the U.S. Census Bureau found between 2000 and 2018, median rent in Akron jumped 48% while incomes rose just 29%. The city plans to address wealth distribution and equitable homeownership with the newest housing strategy report.

“Everything we’re doing under Planning to Grow Akron 2.0 boils down to: Are we creating wealth for existing residents who historically have not been able to access it?” Hardy says. “There has been a systemic exclusion of many residents — particularly residents of color — in property ownership. That is still the fastest and most effective way to build generational wealth.

“We are trying to correct a century of systemically racist housing policy,” he continues. “There’s going to be only so much the city can do on the equity issue without the state and federal government coming in and transforming the way they deal with housing.”

Despite the challenges, everyone who spoke to The Devil Strip seemed optimistic about the goal — given caution, thoughtfulness and inclusion in how to achieve that growth. “It’s going to be hard work,” Boyes says of the 2050 goal. “The investments we’re making right now over the next 3–5 years are going to define what Akron looks like in 10, 20, 30 years. We need to invest in points of opportunity throughout the entire city.”

// Abbey Marshall covers economic development for The Devil Strip via Report for America. Reach her at abbey@thedevilstrip.com.

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By 2050, community health workers hope the city no longer needs them. This is their story — and their vision for the next 30 years.

Above: Community health worker Ericka Malone at Stoner-Hawkins Park in West Akron.

Reporting, writing and photos by H.L. Comeriato

Ericka Malone leans over the edge of a wooden park bench. She loops a finger around the bottom of her shoe and steps into a pair of black, lace-up heels.

Behind her, a few neighborhood kids huddle near the playground. They scatter, laughing in the afternoon sun.

This neighborhood is part of the 44320 ZIP code, where infant mortality rates are among the highest in the state.

Kids born here are less likely to make it to the playground because they’re less likely to survive infancy in the first place.

Malone has lived here most of her life, and is now one of dozens of state-certified community health workers trying to change the way we think and talk about infant mortality. Every day, she helps new parents navigate everything from breastfeeding and applying for Medicaid benefits, to accessing mental health care and finding safe, affordable housing.

By 2050, she hopes the supportive communities she helps build each day are plentiful, and that parents, caregivers and babies no longer need the services community health workers provide.

But the work required to reduce infant deaths across the city may span generations. And to make real change, Malone says community health workers will have to adapt — and train a new generation of health workers to carry the torch.

Racism affects health outcomes for both moms and babies

In 2016, the infant mortality rate among Black infants in Summit County was 4.5 times the infant mortality rate among white infants.

The following year, Akron mayor Dan Horrigan appointed Tamiyka Rose as the city’s health equity ambassador and secured state funding for Full Term First Birthday — a collaboration between 19 Summit County agencies designed to reduce infant mortality and preterm births across the county.

Since then, the county’s overall infant mortality rate has fallen by about 9%. But for community health workers, that decrease isn’t a simple victory.

In 2019, Black babies born in Summit County were still 2.8 times as likely as white babies to die before their first birthdays — and more likely to be born early and underweight.

Community health workers like Malone address that disparity on the ground, working with clients to help them access prenatal care, transportation, fresh foods, educational opportunities and even help paying rent and utilities — all resources that lessen stress and help ensure the delivery of healthy, fullterm babies.

But Malone says Black parents need more than just resources to help their babies stay healthy during their first year of life. They also need spaces to heal from the generational trauma of racism and connect with their babies and one another.

Why are Black infants at such a high risk?

Across the country, Black babies experience far higher rates of infant mortality than white babies. Akron is no exception.

Rose says that isn’t because Black Akronites are “less healthy,” but rather, because they experience the effects of centuries of systemic violence and inequity.

“The good news is that our infant mortality rate dropped,” she says. “The bad news is we have a huge disparity still, and that disparity is because of the structural racism in our society.”

Nationally, Black parents are 50% more likely than white parents to give birth prematurely, regardless of other factors like income and education levels.

Left: Community health worker Ericka Malone at Stoner-Hawkins Park in West Akron. Right: Community health worker Deatra Hunt near the Reach Opportunity Center at Summit Lake.

last year, compared to just 8.2% of white moms.

The trauma that Black people experience as a result of racism builds up over time, contributing to preterm labor, says Dr. Ciara Dennis-Morgan, clinical director at Minority Behavioral Health Group in West Akron.

In neighborhoods across the city, parents may struggle to pay rent, find safe housing and access mental healthcare — all barriers that heighten stress levels.

When pregnant people experience chronic stress, the adrenal glands release high levels of cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone — which studies have linked to premature births.

Currently, the city’s goal calls to reduce premature births to the national average of 9.8% by 2025, and completely eliminate deaths caused by unsafe sleep.

Low birth weights and premature births

more likely than white parents to give put babies at risk — but so do other factors

Babies born prematurely may face a higher risk of death and long-term health complications, including issues with the brain, lungs, eyes and heart. neighborhood — can also pose risks.

Sleeping in bed with an infant or putting babies to sleep with siblings is never safe, says Rose. Instead, babies should always be put to sleep alone, on their backs and in a crib or foldable playpen.

To help reduce sleep-related deaths, initiatives under Full Term First Birthday provide playpens to new parents and caregivers for free.

Maintaining a healthy diet is also essential to a healthy pregnancy, but decades of racist housing and zoning policies have affected the availability of fresh produce in many neighborhoods.

When people who are pregnant can’t easily access nutritious foods for themselves, their babies may not get the nutrients they need to stay healthy.

Shaleeta Smith, manager of Maternal Child Health at Summit County Public Health, says she’s had trouble finding fresh foods in her own neighborhood.

“Within a five mile radius, all there is is corner stores, and there’s no healthy fruits and vegetables available at my disposal,” Smith says. “So when we talk about disparities, I really feel like we have to think [about] more than just what the data tells us.”

How mental health care and strong support networks help keep babies healthy

To counter accumulation of trauma and grief, Black parents also need access to free or low-cost mental health care.

“Years ago, we used to think about postpartum and connecting women to services after they have the baby,” Dennis-Morgan says. But over the last decade, a more holistic and preventive care model has emerged.

Through the Ohio Department of Medicaid, Full Term First Birthday sponsors six infant vitality initiatives across the city, including the Centering model — a collaboration between the Summa Health Equity Center, Project Ujima and the Minority Behavioral Health Group.

The CenteringPregnancy Program brings pregnant people together in a circle with their healthcare provider and 8-12 other expectant parents due at the same time.The circle provides a safe, supportive space to talk through victories and challenges. move on to the CenteringParenting Program and maintain those connections as their children grow.

‘I am all the things that I didn’t get as a kid.’

For nearly four years, Malone has worked as a community health worker through the Summa Health Equity Center, managing a full caseload and facilitating Centering Circles.

Before she became a community health worker, Malone was a young mom herself.

At just 12 years old, she became the primary caregiver for her own newborn child, and a handful of her younger siblings.

“I pretty much did it all by myself,” Malone says. “I grew up in a very abusive, alcoholic, substance abuse, any-and-everything-youcould-imagine home, which is why I became the mother of two by age 15. My mom — between her addiction and prison bouts and just life — I basically raised all of my siblings.”

In 1999, Malone graduated from Firestone High School at the top of her class. She became a licensed cosmetologist and barber and an

Left: Community health worker Deatra Hunt near the Reach Opportunity Center at Summit Lake. Right: Community health worker Ericka Malone at StonerHawkins Park in West Akron.

ordained minister.

Now, she provides holistic support for new moms facing many of the same challenges she did.

“I am a caregiver. I’m a lover. I’m an educator. I’m an encourager,” Malone says. “I am all the things that I didn’t get as a kid. Any and all ways that you can show a person love and honor and respect, that’s what I try to do. Because I know the importance and value of having the village.”

For Malone — the mother of two adult children and three teenagers — the care and community she helps provide as a community health worker is second nature.

“I try to meet [people] with love, whatever that looks like — which is probably why this job stresses me out so damn much,” Malone says. “I try to show up and be a trustworthy person in their lives and show them that I’m honest and open and truly here to help.”

“I’ve been in the game for way longer than I’ve had an official title,” she adds. “I’ve been doing this as long as I can remember.”

A legacy of community health and birth work

The knowledge held by Black birth workers is often shared and passed down through generations.

“You have to have the heart to do this work,” says Deatra Hunt, a community health worker with Minority Behavioral Health Group. “There’s no way you can do this work and not be emotionally vested.”

On a spring day near the shoreline of Akron’s Summit Lake, Hunt’s earrings glint in the sun. Today, she’s hopeful about her work. But it isn’t always easy.

“I did [have a client] and the baby passed away at 6 months old,” Hunt says. “This was a client that was close to me. I’d take her places, I’m watching the baby and holding the baby, and that sense of loss…”

For Hunt, 51, who has five children of her own, helping moms, parents and caregivers navigate their grief and joy is both painful and edifying.

“People have to realize their own pain and deal with it the best they can,” she says. “So when they bring it up, just being there and going through the memories and offering that support. That makes it hard, but it’s so worth it. That, too, is a labor of love.” job and educational opportunities.

“A lot of times, it’s that one peg,” Hunt says. “It’s that one thing, that you just don’t think is wrong. If you help them with that, now they’ve got a little ‘oomph’ in them to move on to other things that are going on in their lives, to change things.”

What does the future look like?

At Stoner-Hawkins Park, the setting sun turns the playground gold.

Malone sits on a bench near the basketball court. Behind her, a pair of toddlers race toward a swingset.

Right now, Malone is training and mentoring the community health workers who will carry her work into the next decade. The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t made it easier.

“With all the disparities that have come to the surface because of the pandemic — the number of additional lives lost, the digital divide, the additional healthcare issues — I pray that the fallout from this, three to seven years from now, won’t be as bad as I think it’s going to be. However,” she says, “I think it’s going to be heavy.”

Malone’s work isn’t just about her West Akron neighborhood — or the women she works with every day. It’s about a much larger hope for future generations. Before she hands over the reins to a new generation of community health workers, Malone hopes to see a drop in infant deaths and premature births, along with an increase in the kinds of support networks families need to help babies thrive.

Malone’s bigger vision — one she acknowledges may not materialize in her lifetime — is this: “all the systemic barriers will be gone, generational racism and generational poverty will cease to exist. Black moms, Black babies and Black bodies don’t have to keep dying, Lord, at the hands of each other or by police or the U.S. government.”

“The day I no longer have to talk to my clients about domestic violence cases. The day I don’t have to talk to slumlords who are evicting them for whatever reason. [The day] that all babies are happy and healthy on their first birthdays. The day I don’t have to clock in to do this work anymore,” Malone says. “That’s when I will have arrived.”

// H.L. Comeriato covers public health at The Devil Strip via Report for America. Reach them at HL@ thedevilstrip.com.

Above: The Wild Asia Exhibit at the Akron Zoo opens to the public on May 29, 2021. Photo Ilenia Pezzaniti Right: The Wild Asia Exhibit at the Akron Zoo homes Red Panda’s, Tigers, and White-cheeked Gibbon’s, all which are endangered species. Photo Ilenia Pezzaniti

Meet Akron Zoo’s Newest Animals

By Aja Hannah, photos by Ilenia Pezzaniti

Seven critically endangered animals opened Akron Zoo’s Wild Asia on May 29. This season, guests will get to meet Sumatran tigers, Eko and Diburu; red panda sisters Coco, Lulu and Penny; and white-cheeked gibbons Milo and Parker.

Eko is a big, lazy boy from the Oklahoma Zoo. This 4-year-old Sumatran tiger likes to lay in the sun, lounge in his pool and sometimes spray people with urine when he gets annoyed with the attention. He is kept separate from the female Diburu because tigers are usually solitary animals. Diburu, a 3-year-old from the San Diego Zoo, likes to use the keeper stairs to get to her loft. She’s a skinny lady and very curious. She likes to watch the people going by and the animals in the other exhibits.

Marketing and PR Manager Elena Bell did mention that they have breeding recommendations for the tigers so there may be cubs in the future. Kansas City Zoo, are about 1.5 years old. They are cute burgundy fluffballs about the size of baby blackand-white pandas. They are definitely more graceful than traditional baby pandas. They like to climb branches in their exhibit and eat bamboo and sit with their fuzzy butt facing you much like a corgi would. Because their usual habitat in the Eastern Himalayas is much cooler than summers in Akron, they even have an air-conditioned alcove so they can strip bamboo at their leisure.

While the public’s focus is on the red pandas, Bell believes the gibbons may be the underdog that the public grows to love. A gibbon is a lesser species of ape. As requested by the public, the gibbons are the muchanticipated primates that have been added to the zoo. Milo and Parker are also a bonded pair with a large exhibit. They met in October 2017 in Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and they came to Akron Zoo together.

They can also grow their family. Their towering exhibit is certainly large enough for it. Right now, these two are super excited to settle in and swing around on the ropes. Parker, an inquisitive lady, likes to sit up on the roof and keep a lookout while Milo is a show-off for visitors. The gibbon exhibit has multiple viewing areas with large windows. Viewing areas cover several stories into the air with a treehouse structure at the very top. There is an indoor section of the exhibit as well as a slide at the very top for kids to go through.

Wild Asia has that new smell too and there are meticulous, special touches everywhere. Tiny decals were hand-placed on the windows of the viewing areas to stop birds from slamming into them. The tiger and gibbon exhibits have special double doors that almost open into the exhibit. They are called training walls and they can be used for educational programming. The director of Red Panda Network, Ang Phuri Sherpa, visited the Akron Zoo from Nepal and consulted on the Wild Asia elements. A handwoven bamboo sunshade from Shanti Farms hangs in the red panda exhibit. On opening day, live entertainment will feature the traditions of Burmese, Nepali, Mon and Hmong cultures from the local Asian American community. Tickets to the member-only preview event have already sold out. Wild Asia is the second of a two-part $17 million capital project, the largest expansion for Akron Zoo to date. Planning began in 2014 and the first part, Landon & Cynthia Knight Pride of Africa, was opened in 2019. Wild Asia was slated to open in 2020 and — as anyone can guess — the pandemic brought it to a halt.

As a special note, the tigers and primates are susceptible to COVID-19. These species are all classified as critically endangered and facing habitat loss in the wild. People are destroying their homes for palm oil plantations. Palm oil is used in food, drinks and hygiene products. At Milo and Parker’s old home, a free app was created so you can scan barcodes of products before you buy it and the app will tell you if the palm oil in your product is sustainable. It’s called Sustainable Palm Oil Shopping App.

// BIO: Aja Hannah is a writer, traveler, and mama. She believes in the Oxford comma, cheap flights, and a daily dose of chocolate.

Pick Your Own Flowers available at SVSM Garden

by Emily Anderson

Have you ever been driving down Market Street and noticed that coollooking garden next to St. Vincent-St. Mary High School?

That’s what Alyssa D’Amico did, every day on her way to work. D’Amico has a passion for gardening and farming. She couldn’t help but wonder if she could get involved in that garden that looked like it had so much potential. One day she decided to check it out, and that’s how she came to be the caretaker of the flower gardens and organizer of Heads Up Flowers.

D’Amico has a wide variety of farming experience — she spent her 20s at WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) and learned about growing food. She’s worked on expansive private farms and urban gardens. who believes strongly in the value of growing food and feeding people. She changed her mind after working with adults with disabilities and using gardening, flowers specifically, as a therapeutic activity. “Flowers are important too,” she says, noting the meditative qualities of caring for and arranging them and the positive effects of their beauty.

Heads Up Flowers is a project at the SVSM school garden that provides “you-pick” hours for the community each week, pop-up events and a flower stand. During “you-pick” hours — Mondays from 6-8 pm starting July 5 — visitors pay $10 cash or Venmo and are provided with some pruners and an empty jar. You walk through the flower garden and fill up your jar with a bouquet to take home. her backyard. This season there will be zinnias, cosmos, marigolds, snapdragons, strawflowers and herbs like mint and basil, just to name a few. Perennials like echinacea and daisies are coming up and there is a whole patch dedicated to dahlias.

During the you-pick hours, people are encouraged to bring a blanket and their kids and hang out. D’Amico wants the space to belong to the community, and for everyone to feel comfortable in the garden with the flowers.

D’Amico added a cashless flower stand to the gardens, which will be filled with picked flowers ready to be arranged into a bouquet. This is the third year she’s taking care of the gardens at SVSM, and she’s gaining knowledge and confidence all the time. She’s looking forward to observing the land and working at her own pace. D’Amico dries flowers for wreaths she sells. Her favorite flowers to use are strawflowers because they look exactly the same when they’re dried out, and they last forever. “They hold a lot of memories,” she says.

Currently, D’Amico has her own caregiver business for adults with disabilities. Her evenings and weekends are spent in the garden, but she says it hasn’t stressed her out yet. For more information, visit the website www.headsupflowers. com or follow Heads Up Flowers on Instagram and Facebook.

The Heads Up Flowers gardens are located at 249 W. Market Street. Youpick hours are every Mondays from 6-8 pm, starting July 5.

// Emily Anderson writes stories and bartends in Akron. Follow her on Instagram @ladybeerdrinker.

Top: STA students as young as 3 years old perform traditional Nepali music Photo by Nahla Bendefaa Bottom: Dinesh Sunar during his parlour demonstration Photo by Nahla Bendefaa

Sunshine Taekwondo Academy Celebrates two-year anniversary with event highlighting four-time Guinness world record holder Dinesh Sunar

by Nahla Bendefaa

April 2021 marked two years of Sunshine Taekwondo Academy. For owner Kaushila Khanal Karmacharya, that is cause for celebration.

Sunshine Taekwondo Academy is one of a number of Nepali-owned businesses in the Akron area. The academy not only offers Taekwondo classes, but also a space for young Nepali children to take traditional dance and singing classes, making it a cultural and social hub for the Nepali community.

Like many small businesses, the past year has not been easy to navigate as courses had to be moved online and public health mandates limited the kind of activities the academy could carry out. That made the event hosted by Sunshine Taekwondo Academy all the more exciting as it was the first time many of the children, parents and community members could gather. The event was a celebration of community leaders as well as a number of guests that were honored at the beginning of the ceremony. It was clear that gatherings such as this one had been missed over the past year.

Children of all ages took to the stage for performances. From martial art and Taekwondo demonstrations to several Nepali dance and music performances, children of all ages took to the stage to showcase the skills they had been honing over the past years and months.

The main attraction was the presence of Dinesh Sunar, also known as “Parkour Dinesh,” a stuntman and parkour athlete who has broken four Guinness World Records to date. As the star billing of the event, Sunar made use of the academy space to showcase his daredevil skills. A fan favorite, Sunar’s showcase was met with chants of “superman” from the audience. Most recently, Sunar has submitted evidence in March 2021 to break the record for “most standing full twist somersaults in 30 seconds.” With the current record being eight somersaults in 30 seconds, Sunar managed to do 13 in 30 seconds. The Guinness World Record certification process can take up to 24 weeks.

A self-taught parkour artist and stuntman, Sunar has worked on more than 50 Nepali and Bollywood movies. He is also certified by the World Freerunning Parkour Foundation. In the past, Sunar had broken the record for “most twisting backflips off a wall in a minute” and then “in 30 seconds.”

“It was not easy, but he used to watch TV and movies and used to practice on the sand [in his village in Nepal],” Karmacharya says, “Later on, he learned on movie sets and then got a teacher.” when he was getting ready to come to the United States. Karmacharya is currently working as his mentor and visa sponsor while he works on Guinness World Record submissions and America’s Got Talent auditions.

While staying in Akron, Sunar is taking Taekwondo classes at Sunshine Taekwondo Academy for the first time in his life. He is also assisting around the academy with daily administrative tasks.

You can stay up to date on Sunar’s parkour and his work as a stuntdouble on his Facebook page and YouTube Channel.

// Nahla Bendefaa is a journalist, photographer and content creator from Akron, Ohio by way of Kenitra, Morocco. She enjoys rewatching Friday Night Lights, painting and confusing Spotify’s algorithm while making her way through a seemingly never-ending tea collection.

Before we begin our fiction section, allow me to speak from the heart for a moment.

As I write this, I am 28 years old, and

I spend a great deal of time thinking about climate change. It’s part of every decision I make, from where

I shop to how I travel to whether or not I want to have kids. If that feels shocking or overly personal, I encourage you to ask your family members or friends under 40 for their thoughts. Polling data show that I have quite a few peers.

This anxiety is evident throughout popular culture, too. Climate change — or rather, our failed efforts to stop it — is an element of almost every dystopia. Water is scarce, food is limited, extreme weather events have decimated our cities. You’ve seen all these movies.

In most of those dystopian futures, we also see rampant economic inequality, allowing some to dodge the most severe impacts while others drown in them. In others, white supremacy reigns, locking migrants, refugees and people of color out of power and limiting their agency. In most, technology exacerbates these trends and facilitates their advancement, surveilling us and rewiring our minds and our relationships. You’ve seen all these movies.

“Right now, the [dystopian] stories that many of us are telling about ourselves are hurting us,” climate journalist Kendra Pierre-Louis writes in her 2020 essay Wakanda Doesn’t Have Suburbs. “It is not universal— there are cultures Indigenous to North America, for example, that are still enacting a different story—but this story of inherently destructive humans is the most mainstream.”

“We need different stories, ones that help us envision a present in which humans live in concert with our environment. Ones in which we eat, play, move, and live in ways that are not just lighter on the Earth but also nurturing to us as humans, with at least some of the trappings that many of us have come to expect of modern life.” us envision a present.

The Devil Strip believes, and has always believed, that the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves matter. Growing up in greater Akron in the 1990s and 2000s, the stories I heard and internalized were downtrodden, albeit not quite dystopian. You’ve heard all these stories too: “This place is dying. The weather sucks. People are leaving. If you want to succeed or to live an interesting life, you need to leave too.”

We don’t believe that about our present, and we don’t believe it about our future, either.

We’re not here to pretend that, in the next 29 years, clever thinking and dedicated activism can solve all Akron’s problems. We know we can’t control global economic forces or unchecked viruses. We’ll undoubtedly be grappling with lots of new problems by 2050. like for the people who live within it.

The next pages contain a series of those visions, imagined by emerging Akron leaders and Devil Strip writers. We’ve presented them as if you were reading them in a copy of The Devil Strip you picked up in February 2050, so that they might feel like a cohesive whole. That said, these are a few of many possible futures. They are not in themselves business plans or policy proposals.

But they could be seeds for both of those things — imagined futures from which we work backwards, all the way to today, when we take our own first steps toward realizing them.

— Rosalie Murphy, editor-in-chief

Note: Rosalie Murphy, our former editor-in-chief, originally came up with the idea for the 2050 issue, commissioning emerging community leaders for the stories you’ll read in the coming pages.

It ain’t your grandpa’s local news anymore Unless your grandpa is cool

by Chris Horne

Disclaimer: The following is a work of realistic fiction for our special 2050 issue, published in June 2021. These stories are meant to spark imagination, not forecast the future of Akron.

I am old now. Not the old I thought I was at 36 when I launched The Devil Strip online, but old enough that, 36 years later, I’ve lived a whole other life and my byline hasn’t appeared in these pages in ages. Honestly, I’m surprised we’re still printing magazines.

So shout-out to Gen XXX for reviving print like Gen X did vinyl. Otherwise, we’d be just another snortable infopowder like everyone else. I don’t know what hipsters are called now, but they’ve been on a roll. I forkin’ love how they brought “The Good Place” back and made substitute swears a thing.

Point is, plenty has changed as time and technology continued their ruthless advance, but the basics are the same.

Humans are wired to connect and form communities. However, by the mid-2010s, we were swamped with twin epidemics of social isolation and chronic loneliness, which became the kindling for a fire that manifested as widespread polarization, misinformation, civil unrest and news deserts. Pundits called it a threat to democracy itself.

I’d argue the greater threat was 400 years of propping up white supremacy and misogyny, in which journalism was also complicit, but still. It was bad news. opportunity to connect people to each other, our cities and shared purpose by creating the common ground where our community gathers. Journalists can be the folks who know all the other folks and introduce them to the folks they need to know.

Sure beats being in a profession that the public has less confidence in than banks and the criminal justice system.

The most important story remains the one we tell ourselves about ourselves because our thoughts and behaviors are interconnected. When you tell yourself you’re worthless, you treat yourself poorly. Conversely, the quickest way to believe you’re worthwhile is to treat yourself well. Cities are like that too, which is why we keep whispering sweet somethings in Akron’s ear.

The Devil Strip has always been created for, by and about Akronites, but by doing that, we’ve influenced American journalism too. Back in the day, local news mostly amplified crime, scandal, conflict and tragedy. When you center the worst things about a city, the underlying message is that only a fool would try to improve a place that’s so clearly a lost cause.

Today, most indie news orgs know what we always have: More people need to care more about where they live if we’re actually going to make a difference.

What better way to accomplish that than to show our readers how many of their neighbors already care enough to get involved? That’s why we focus on everyday Akronites who wouldn’t dare wait to be elected for public service or appointed to leadership before they stepped up to meet the needs they see. To find and share these stories, we opened our newsroom to basically anyone, even when they didn’t have prior journalism experience. About 25 years ago, that became the Neighborhood Network, which has equipped and empowered thousands of locals to shape the story Akron tells itself about itself, earning hundreds of them some fun money and lifetime shares in our co-op.

No, local news co-ops haven’t swept the country as I’d hoped, but our unique approach has, so I’m happy. Setting aside the Midwestern humility of my adopted home, I even think this is why America is doing so much better these days.

Well, that and Elon Musk finally decided to keep his weird ash on Mars.

The Devil Strip didn’t push journalism in this direction alone. It took a wave of indie news orgs like ours to reimagine the whole thing from scratch. We kept what works — a commitment to values, ethics, truth and free speech — but were unafraid to dump the rest, borrowing some good ideas and loaning ours out too.

Of course, like sponsored content and jeggings, legacy local news is still with us. However, what first seemed like the imminent death of local news was really legacy local achieving its Super Saiyan form, accelerated by hedge fund ownership and the rage they monetize with ads.

These once proud mastheads are now just husks masking a skeleton crew who localize and listify wire stories from sister publications and “news” items formed by AI journobots that cobble together bits of pseudo-public conversations so they can feed it back to us for easy clicks. If these bullshirt artists were all we had, America would be royally forked. The good news is that, while traditional outlets were pivoting to self-flying jetpacks, The Devil Strip and our buddies figured out how to use local news to build and strengthen social bonds. Because we carried that flag long enough, there are finally more of us than our diminished corporate counterparts.

Hey! Speaking of flags, know the one flying over city hall? The Devil Strip helped Akronites make that happen! I still don’t understand why they wanted to put an agitated possum on it, but sometimes democracy gets strange.

Akron, like everywhere else, still has its challenges. And no, strangers aren’t out here holding hands, singing Kumbaya, but that’s mostly because 30 years ago we realized no one washes their hands nearly enough, dudes especially.

Yet, we’ve made progress. The Devil Strip has messed up plenty, but each time, our people — our co-owners — have helped us make it right.

We’ve made friends. We’ve had fights. We’ve even married and buried a few folks. It’s been hard sometimes, but we’re surrounded by so many Akronites who’ve committed themselves to making life here better for everyone that we’ve never lacked the motivation to keep going.

Now that’s said, since our population has topped 330,000 people, I think it’s cool to stop growing for a while.

// Chris Horne is the founder and former publisher of The Devil Strip Local News Co-op, who tricked his smokeshow wife into living out of a self-driving electric hover RV so they could travel the country after their kid, current U.S. TikTok Laureate Madeline Horne, went to college.

One neighborhood demonstrating how to achieve world peace.

by Katie Beck

Disclaimer: The following is a work of realistic fiction for our special 2050 issue, published in June 2021. These stories are meant to spark imagination, not forecast the future of Akron.

On any given Saturday night, the multi-lane intersection of North Main Street and East Cuyahoga Falls Avenue bustles with people on foot, bike or scooter. Delivery drones fly above picking up orders of local cuisine and homemade goods for customers within five miles.

Packed soccer courts circumvolve with players yelling at every failure and grinning with every success. Each storefront alongside the road stands with its own bold design and cultural homage, welcoming guests for drinks, art, retail and unique experiences.

Multigenerational families gather in People’s Park, an outdoor public green space with swinging hammocks tied to trees and picnic tables filled with homemade food and restaurant take out. The chatter of different languages undulates like waves from an ocean: bursts of Nepali jokes and laughter, whispers of Arabic prayers and songs of K’iche’ voices belted.

This year, Akron was named as one of the top cities to visit in the United States by Travel and Leisure, with North Hill as a contributing factor due to its diverse array of experiences for visitors, as well as its corresponding equity. The investment and development of physical infrastructure leading up to this national debut was the catalyst that has centered and benefitted the residents directly.

Not only has Temple Square seen a sparring of activity from outside travelers, but also the business district on Howard Street, which highlights the history and contributions of the Black American community in the area. Music clubs, local shops and small restaurants manifest the power of the surrounding neighbors. At the intersection of East Cuyahoga Falls and Howard is the North Hill Heritage Courtyard which has an art installation erected with market stalls, grills and seating. time resident of North Hill and acknowledges what makes North Hill so unique.

“This is a place where we take care of each other. Our homes, our businesses and our performances are all at the center of who we are and now the rest of the country is starting to recognize that,” says Win. He sees his time in public office as a chance for young immigrants to see themselves in political positions some day. “I never thought that I could be mayor of a city until I came to Akron.”

At the North end of the All-American Bridge stands Waters Park, a public greenspace on the eastside of North Main Street’s beginning edge. Senior

“After the COVID pandemic, I felt inspired to reconnect people and there was an opportunity to address a major barrier: language.”

citizens play shuffleboard every week. The tennis and soccer courts fill with teenagers when school lets out and remain packed until midnight. An amphitheater, inspired by classic Greek drama, provides a platform for children to practice and perform in peace. At the southern peak of the park, an assemblage of visitors rotate between the seating that faces downtown. It is the best view of the city skyline.

In the purview of this site stands a colorful polymer cityscape, connecting the city’s own downtown to the structure of the art piece, installed by Polymas, Akron’s largest sustainable manufacturing facility. The company started production in 2027 after purchasing the building that once housed St. Thomas Hospital. Elsa Mash, one of the founders of Polymas, moved to North Hill in 2024 after graduating from the University of Akron in Polymer Engineering.

“After the COVID pandemic, I felt inspired to reconnect people and there was an opportunity to address a major barrier: language.” Mash herself is a polyglot as she grew up in several different countries while her parents traveled in the U.S. Army. “I had to adapt wherever we went. I was quick at learning the basics of any language, but it was never enough to really communicate.”

Mash and her co-graduates collaborated on ListenERS, an ear piece that was built for cross-lingual conversation, allowing speakers to hear interpretations in real time. They designed it with the North Hill community in mind by creating easy-to-use technology with recycled materials. The ListenERS have revolutionized the ability to provide language access and have proven to be useful for other creative settings.

Mash says when Polymas started production, she knew that the strength of the workforce would be essential to their success. “We wanted to dismantle a system that has thrived off the exploitation of workers, especially in communities of color.” In its nearly 25 years of existence, Polymas has created 10,000 high-wage jobs for North Hill residents, and they’re not done. The company plans to expand next spring with a second facility for a new product that is in the works.

At 8:00 p.m. every Saturday night in Temple Square, the doors of GumDip Theatre swing open for audience members who have excitement for a live band or the revelation for a theatre performance. From local dancers who rent the space to share their work to international professionals who are attracted to the neighborhood, the 500-seat theater has welcomed thousands of artists since its opening in 2028.

At the box office, there are ListenERS available for those who do not have headphones, and instructions are written in the digital program of how to connect them to the theater’s app. When the curtain rises, audience members hear an opening announcement in their native language, and the production continues in their native language. This experience is a special local feature of the ListenERS as it does not interpret in real time, but instead plays recordings of the lines on cue recorded by local interpreter-actors, who have created their own field of work.

Sital Bal-Beck, an actor and artistic director of Gum-Dip Theatre grew up in a multicultural home and was born the same year the theater opened. “It’s been incredible to witness the caliber of work that is produced here. It’s begun to heal many community members.” Bal-Beck, along with an ensemble of 20 multilingual actors are commissioned per project that comes through the theater. The public response to this element of This type of performance model has grown quickly throughout the country for concerts, plays, musicals and even stand-up comedy. As the number of climate refugees entering the U.S. increases by the year, leaders in North Hill have built a pathway for people of all language capabilities to enjoy live arts and other cultural experiences throughout the business district.

“Hundreds of people sit next to each other without the ability to speak directly. But when they all see the same play, they all share the same breath. Their experiences are different but their presence is serendipity.”

// Katie Beck is a creative community builder, director, writer, facilitator, speaker, and artivist who works to build spaces that highlight and prioritize underrepresented voices.