How about turning the Akron Innerbelt into a temporary forest and public space?
Or constructing a giant treehouse village and fort at Hardesty Park in the Wallhaven neighborhood?
Or developing an entrepreneurial co-op at the International Institute of Akron to help immigrants?
Those local proposals are among the 144 finalists nationwide seeking to share $5 million in grants through the third annual Knight Cities Challenge.
The competition, sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, is designed to invest money in ideas to improve the 26 communities where the Knight family once operated newspapers, including the Akron Beacon Journal.
The foundation announced the finalists Tuesday, saying there were more than 4,500 applications. Eight of the finalists are from Akron.
The projects nationwide range from installing artwork to creating a food truck playground to developing a bicycle-powered fleet of hot tubs. In addition to Akron, the cities involved include Detroit; Philadelphia; San Jose, Calif.; Miami and St. Paul, Minn.
The winners will be announced in the spring. The overall $15 million effort has funded 69 ideas over the first two years.
“It’s a really good mix of new ideas and innovative ideas,” Kyle Kutuchief, the Knight program director in Akron, said about the latest local proposals.
He said he enjoys the competition because the community gets to discover not only creative ideas but also creative people.
Bridget Ambrisco, who is executive director of Friends of Metro Parks, submitted the application for the treehouse village and fort at the city-owned Hardesty Park.
She and her husband, Alan, and their two children, 5-year-old Elise and 3-year-old Brendan, enjoy using the park and playground. She envisions five or six treehouses there.
“It just came out of nowhere in my head,” she said. “Everybody loves treehouses, and I honestly believe that kids don’t get outside enough to imagine and play.”
She also likes the idea of getting parents to interact with each other and said it would promote more walking in the neighborhood.
If the project is funded, Ambrisco said she would have to get permission from the city and would gather input from the community before designing the project.
San Francisco-based artist Hunter Franks, who hosted a 500 Plates event on the Innerbelt in October 2015, wants to turn an acre or two of the concrete highway into a temporary forest and public space.
During the 500 Plates gathering, he asked participants what they’d like to see done with the Innerbelt.
“Overwhelmingly, people wanted to see some kind of green space,” Franks said.
The idea is to connect neighborhoods and downtown. He envisions seating areas, a water feature and programming such as movie screenings and concerts for about a four-month period.
Here’s a look at the other six Akron finalists and descriptions of the proposals provided by the Knight Foundation:
• Decked Out (submitted by Da’shika Aliece Wells and Andre Street): Connect people of different backgrounds through a recurring dance party in downtown Akron that will encourage engagement while adding to the vibrancy of the city.
• Designing Equity in Our Communities by Congress for the New Urbanism (submitted by Lynn Richards): Create public spaces that are designed for everyone by ensuring public participation in the development of all city projects, including a plan for the city Innerbelt design.
• The FREE-FORM Sculpture Project by Groundswell Design Group (submitted by David Fierabend): Bring new life to downtown Akron with a new art installation that celebrates the movement of the Ohio and Erie Canal through form, color and wind.
• New American Enterprise Co-Op by International Institute of Akron (submitted by Susan Wuscher): Increase economic opportunities for new Americans by creating a co-op that will provide entrepreneurial skills including educational and technical resources to the foreign-born community in Akron.
• @Play Akron by ART x LOVE (submitted by Mac Love): Encourage deeper community connections through custom games and recreational activities that highlight the unique history, identity and character of each of the city’s communities.
• (Re)Creation Rubber Matches by Stay in Play Recreation LLC (submitted by Andrew Novak): Increasing social and economic vibrancy by rehabilitating two sand volleyball courts in the heart of downtown Akron.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ .