This Is Akron: Residents at community forums identify solutions to improve their city – Akron Beacon Journal

By Doug Livingston

The goal was to connect.

The Beacon Journal/Ohio.com, the Devil Strip and WKSU public radio sat down with about 200 residents this month at neighborhood school cafeteria tables. Engaged citizens came to talk about life in Akron. Journalists came to listen.

What we heard was a suffering sense of community, almost everywhere. Residents resoundingly expressed a desire to connect, and be connected.