Thanks to a unique project, Residents have had the opportunity to share their ideas about what they think would make Green even better. Ideas such as an independent bookstore within the city, a city-sponsored sports and rec day featuring family fun challenges (think potato sack races) and a senior Olympics were just some of the things residents mentioned.
These ideas were gleaned through the Green Visionary community activity booklet, a project that began in 2023. Created by the Akron-based creative agency Art x Love and sponsored by the City of Green, the booklet includes coloring opportunities, community searches (like scavenger hunts) and lots of other fun activities.
In addition, the booklet gave residents, as well as those who work and visit the city, a new voice in registering what they like about Green and what improvements and amenities they hope to see.
“One of the values of this book has come from the way we gathered information and from whom,” says Sarah Haring, community development administrator for the City of Green. “We knew we would hear from certain demographics who have time to answer surveys and also those who care about certain issues. We always value those voices. But with this project, we also heard from students, younger people and others who may not always have the opportunity to come to a community or city meeting. That was extraordinary.”
Mac Love, Art x Love’s co-founder and chief catalyst, said about 3,000 activity books were distributed, generating 302 participants. The data was tallied this summer and presented to the city to help with future plans. Some residents loved their activity book so much (which introduced some participants to places like Green’s 197-acre Southgate Park and the historic Hartong Farmstead, which they weren’t familiar with), that they didn’t want to give them up.
“Something like this builds trust between city leadership and the community,” says Mac Love, who, along with Co-founder and Chief Operator Allyse Love, have created similar books for other communities — large and small — across the country. “Some of the things people indicated they wanted in the earliest responses included more public art and landscaping in the city’s roundabouts.”
“A lot of people want to stay in Green — they like it there, and they want to spend their money in the community. But they also want more places to do that, like local coffee shops,” adds Allyse Love.
Common themes about what inspired residents, and what they identified with, also became apparent. Among those things mentioned were Green’s natural environments and parks, the local school district’s Bulldog mascot and the city’s name itself. (Mac Love particularly found the public art idea, “GREEN: We have other colors, too” to be amusing and clever.)
Haring says the activity book has been not just a wealth of information about community needs and wants but has also acted as a springboard for other activities. That has included selecting images that were submitted from activity book participants, enlarging and framing those with the intent to display them in various public places around town.
“The response has also indicated that it is time for us to develop a far-reaching arts and culture plan,” Haring says. “We have folks in the community who have a heart for that and the talent to put those ideas to good use for all of us.”
