As part of the discovery phase of this cultural planning process, the steering committee and its research partners began to document existing cultural assets throughout Akron.
Interactive maps were provided throughout the engagement sessions digitally for Akronites to add their thoughts to the maps, as well.
This cultural asset mapping can help our community identify places and name specific absences inside the arts and culture picture of Akron.
A cultural mapping process can help us use data to understand our history and plan for our collective future. And we can plainly see the existence and importance of our cultural resources.
To better understand how Akron’s cultural assets are distributed, the planning team grouped the city’s cultural assets into one of three categories: cultural, educational, environmental, and heritage spaces.
Key Takeaways
While interesting and informative we know that the information is incomplete due to the fact it was collected via self-reporting. More detailed mapping should be conducted before decisions are made based on the date.
Cultural amenities are widespread throughout Akron and Summit County. They are well distributed throughout in areas of different racial, socio-economic, and national origin. Throughout the Akron Cultural Plan engagement process, we heard that there was a lack of cultural access for various groups which leads us to believe that though there is a good geographic spread of assets, their quality, offerings, or ability to access may not align with the population of Akron.
