Akron, once considered a model for other cities recovering from economic decline, “has lost its edge,” a new report says.
The sobering 32-page study released Wednesday found that the city has fared worse than the country as a whole and five of its peer cities on many key indicators ranging from household income to the poverty rate to attracting young professionals.
But all is not lost because the community is well-positioned, especially with its first new mayor in nearly three decades, to confront its problems with a fresh set of eyes, says the “62.4 Report,” a reference to the square miles in the city.
Kyle Kutuchief, program director for the Knight Foundation, which commissioned the Columbus-based Greater Ohio Policy Center to analyze the community, compared hearing the troubling data to visiting the doctor and getting bad news about a significant ailment.
“We need to know where we stand,” he said. “This is the hard part.… Now, that positive conversation begins on how do we fix this.”
The Greater Ohio Policy Center studied the city’s economic health, the economic health of its residents, neighborhood stability and demographic trends from 2000 to 2013.
It then compared Akron to five other cities: Erie, Pa.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Hamilton, Ohio; Syracuse, N.Y.; and Worcester, Mass.; and conducted interviews with multiple government and civic leaders.
Knight Foundation and Greater Ohio representatives presented the report to Akron leaders Tuesday.
The report notes that the Brookings Institution hailed Akron as a national model in 2008 for economic recovery.
“However, Akron’s comparatively strong reputation may no longer align with the situation on the ground,” the report says. “Recent data analysis indicates that Akron has lost its edge over cities that were similarly situated in the year 2000.”
The study comes on the heels of a blue ribbon task force report commissioned by Mayor Dan Horrigan and released earlier this month that noted Akron has significant financial challenges. The mayor has pledged to challenge the status quo.
“This is further proof that adhering to the status quo is no longer an option,” Horrigan said in a prepared statement. “We now have a baseline to measure our future successes. My administration is moving swiftly to spark a revitalization of Akron with new perspectives, a fresh vision and with creative minds.”
The findings
The Greater Ohio Policy Center produced one troubling statistic after another for Akron from 2000 to 2013.
While many won’t be a surprise, it is sobering to see them chronicled in the same report.
Among them:
• An 8.3 percent decline in population — the biggest drop among the comparison cities.
• A 16 percent decline in per capita income, nearly double the national average.
• A 42 percent increase in foreign-born residents — a good jump, but still behind the other five cities.
• Only 20 percent of city residents have a college degree, the second-lowest percentage among the comparison cities.
• Inflation-adjusted median household income fell by $9,158 to $33,909, the biggest drop among the cities and more than double the national figure.
• Zero growth in the percentage of young professionals living in the city. The other cities saw at least 10.8 percent growth.
• A 57 percent increase in individuals living in poverty — the second-highest rate among the cities. More than 27 percent of the population was living in poverty in 2013.
It also noted that retail jobs have nearly overtaken manufacturing as the second biggest industry in the metropolitan region.
Meanwhile, the county has fared much better and there is a great disparity between the city and county.
Lavea Brachman, the center’s executive director, noted that Akron sits in the middle of the pack with many other Ohio cities, but her group wanted to see how the city stacked up against communities outside the state.
The report also highlighted many positive efforts going on in the community such as Bridges Summit County, First Things First and Summit 2020.
The recommendations
The report offers five main recommendations.
The two most important are developing a collaborative approach among public and private investments, and focusing on improving the economic development downtown, Brachman said.
“You can’t grow a region when the hole in the doughnut continues to hollow out,” she said.
The other suggestions involve developing and retaining local leaders; focusing on training the city’s low-income and low-skilled residents; and providing housing for middle- and upper-class families.
The reaction
Jason Segedy, the city planning director who also serves on the Greater Ohio Policy Center board, said he wasn’t surprised by the findings.
Since being appointed to his job last month, he has said one of his top priorities is growing the city’s population and improving its housing.
“If we can find a way to grow the city’s population, that can help with these numbers,” Segedy said. “My takeaway [from the report] is it reinforces the need to try to make our city a more attractive place for people to live.”
He added that he doesn’t see any reason Akron can’t rebound.
“Akron has proven over the years that we are pretty good at overcoming challenges,” he said.
Nicole Mullet, president of Torchbearers and executive director of ArtsNow in Akron, said it was particularly painful to see the statistic regarding young professionals.
But the report provides an opportunity to see deficiencies and make improvements, she said.
“Half the battle is knowing,” Mullet said. “We are looking to move the needle.”
Although Sharon Connor, who heads the Residents Improving Goodyear Heights Committee, hadn’t had an opportunity to read the report yet, she refused to see “gloom and doom” when hearing about the data.
It’s an exciting time for the city, especially with younger leaders taking over, she said.
“Akron has a great opportunity to move forward in other directions under new leadership,” Connor said. “That’s going to be exciting to watch. ... New vibrancy is going to radiate in the city.”
Brachman also is optimistic about the city’s future.
“I think Akron is at a crossroads and I think there’s so much momentum here and new, younger leadership,” she said. “It has the potential to really take off and be a leader and develop its own promising practices.”
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ.