The Akron Parks Challenge is a program in partnership with the City of Akron, the Akron Parks Collaborative, Akron Civic Commons, and the Akron community. The goal is to engage neighborhoods around their public spaces to make park improvements to increase use and neighborhood vitality.The Akron Parks Challenge invites the community to pitch an idea for a single city park and how they can partner to achieve the change they wish to see. Two parks will ultimately be selected to work with the partners to engage residents in creating an improvement plan. Through the City of Akron’s 2018 capital budget, these plans will receive up to $100,000 in funding to support those improvements. Any organization, group of residents, or motivated citizen can apply.

For this application, there are two parts that must be answered:

1. Share your ideas for how you might reimagine your favorite city park. Keep in mind that it should be accessible and welcoming for all residents and visitors.
2. Share why you and your neighborhood should be chosen for this Akron Parks Challenge project.

For each answer, there is a limit of 150 words. The deadline to submit a proposal is April 30, 2018. A selection committee will review submissions for vision and viability before selecting a group of finalists. The committee will notify and interview finalists to decide which two parks will be awarded support. The selections will be announced on or before June 1, 2018.