500 People Ate Dinner on a Freeway in Akron This Weekend
How’s this for a creative reuse of outdated 20th century infrastructure? This weekend, 500 people in Akron, Ohio, sat down and had dinner together on the Innerbelt Freeway.
The event, dubbed “500 Plates,” brought together people from all over the city to talk about the future of the Innerbelt. The city is planning to decommission the lightly-used 1970s-era highway and redevelop the land — but exactly how is still under discussion.
Here are some of the ideas being floated:
I’d love to see the Ohio-Erie Canal daylighted where it is piped under the freeway. #500Plates #Akroninnerbelt
— Per Johnson (@percjohnson) October 4, 2015
Hearing some great ideas around a biking grid. #akroninnerbelt #500plates — Tina Ughrin (@tughrin) October 4, 2015
The plates all had a recipe from a different Akronite on them. Everyone who came was invited to take home a plate with someone else’s recipe printed on it.
Next up, the organizers plan hold neighborhood-level discussions about the future of the Innerbelt.
This is awesome! #500Plates#Akronpic.twitter.com/kVFAvfRp4i
— Quin A. (@RealtorQuin) October 4, 2015
The project was envisioned by San Francisco artist Hunter Franks, with support from the Knight Foundation.
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