By Jason SegedyDecember 22, 2015Follow me on Twitter @thestile1972This post, which looks at the City of Akron as a whole, is a companion-piece to my 20-part series, detailing the social and economic characteristics of Akron’s neighborhoods.It is currently a time full of opportunities and challenges in Akron. The mayor-elect, Daniel Horrigan, will take the helm in January as the city faces its most severe set of economic challenges since the collapse of the rubber and tire industry.On the other hand, this is a time of great energy, enthusiasm, and civic engagement in Akron - especially as a new generation of leaders across the public, private, and non-profit spectrum continues to work together in substantive ways both great and small.2015 represents a true demographic turning point for our city. Our loss of not just population, but now households, too, is a direct result of our using up all of the viable, marketable housing that we had, and our tearing down more housing than we have been able to rebuild.Simply put – we are now at the place where we are physically unable to grow, because we are experiencing a net loss of housing – year after year, as it gets older and older.On average, we tear down 500 single-family homes every year in this city. On average, we build 10.New residents can move to Akron, of course, but they will simply be replacing someone who already lives here.We are playing “musical chairs” with our housing stock – one person replaces another, and every once in a while, another chair is taken away.We used to have 290,000 people. We’re at 199,000 today. I am convinced that we can grow again. Those of us that already live here know that Akron is a great place to live. Our challenge is to attract new residents to our city.We do this by making a great place even better - by building new housing, by rehabilitating existing buildings, by encouraging entrepreneurship and commercial redevelopment, and by using artistry in urban design to create irresistible places for people to live, work, and play.No matter how great of a place this city is to live (and it is) we can’t grow again if we don’t figure out how to build more housing than we tear down. It’s simple arithmetic. Right now, we have lots of houses that people don’t want, and not enough houses that people do want.Why does it matter if we keep losing population?Because the size of our population has incredibly important ramifications for our tax base; our employment base; the performance of our schools; the distribution of everyday amenities like grocery stores, shops, and restaurants; the delivery of public services; and less tangible, but equally important things like our sense of place and our sense of ourselves. As our neighborhoods are abandoned, decline, and become hollowed out, access to social and economic opportunities diminishes along with the population: the jobs disappear, the doctor’s offices disappear, the grocery stores disappear – relocated, often, to a distant and increasingly inaccessible locale. To pretend as though the economic and social well being of city residents is not directly impacted by population decline is to turn a blind eye to reality itself.So, with all of this in mind, stick with me over the next three weeks, as we explore the city’s neighborhoods, one-by-one - and think about the challenges and opportunities that we have, working together, to revitalize them.CITY OF AKRON: AT A GLANCEPeople:Population: 199,110White: 62.2%Black: 31.5%Other Race: 6.3%Median Age: 35.7Under 20: 26.7%20-44: 34.8%45-64: 25.9%Over 65: 12.6%Akron’s percentage of minority residents is higher than the national average. The median age is lower than the national average, with percentages of children and older adults that closely mirror the national average.Households:Households: 83,712Average Size: 2.311-Person: 34.8%Family: 56.3%Non-Family, Multi-Person: 8.9%Median Income: $33,598Income under $50k: 66.9%Income $50-100k: 24.6%Income over $100k: 8.5%Akron’s average household size is much lower than the national average. Household incomes are far lower than the national average.Housing:Median Value Owner-Occupied: $87,200Value <$100k: 62.3%Value $100-200k: 29.8%Value >$200k: 7.9%Units: 96,288Owner-Occupied: 54.5%Renter-Occupied: 45.5%Vacant (not for sale or rent): 5.7%Median Year Built: 1952Built pre-1960: 64.0%Built 1960-1979: 21.6%Built 1980-present: 14.4%1-unit Detached: 67.2%Akron is one of the most affordable large housing markets in the entire United States, with home prices that are far lower than the national average. The percentage of renters is higher than the national average. The vacancy rate is quite a bit higher than the national average, while the housing stock is much older than the national average. The percentage of single-family, detached homes is higher than the national average.Demographic MapsNOTE: At present, the maps below are fairly small and not able to be enlarged. I’m looking into modifying the HTML code for my blog in order to enlarge them (with some trepidation), but, in the meantime, the most important thing to know when interpreting them is that there are eight colors - 4 shades of blue and 4 shades of yellow/red. Each color represents 1/8 of the block groups in the city. The darkest blues are the bottom 1/8 of block groups (on whichever demographic characteristic you are looking at) and the darkest reds are the top 1/8 of block groups.Dark red areas are significantly higher than the city-wide average, while dark blue areas are significantly lower. Light blues and yellows are close to the city-wide average.Percent White PopulationPercent Black PopulationPercent Other Race PopulationMedian AgePercent under 20 years oldPercent 20-44 years oldPercent 45-64 years oldPercent over 65 years oldAverage Household SizePercent 1-person HouseholdsPercent Family HouseholdsPercent Non-Family, Multi-Person HouseholdsMedian Household IncomePercent Households earning under $50,000Percent Households earning $50,000-$100,000Percent Households earning over $100,000Median Value of an Owner-Occupied HomePercent Homes worth less than $100,000Percent Homes worth $100,000 to $200,000Percent Homes worth over $200,000Percent Owner-Occupied HomesPercent Renter-Occupied HomesPercent Vacant (not for sale or rent) HomesMedian Year Homes Were BuiltPercent Homes built before 1960Percent Homes built 1960-1979Percent Homes built 1980-presentPercent 1-unit detached Homes
