Book excerpt: Bringing emerging and established writers, artists, and photographer together, this collection explores what has happened in Akron, Ohio over the years and what may be happening in the future. Between 1910 and 1920, Akron was the fastest growing city in the United States, tripling in size and exploding from a population of 69,000 to 208,000. Its period of rapid growth coincided with the expansion of the rubber and tire industry, which in turn corresponded with that of the automobile industry. But since the mid-1970s, industry has abandoned Akron, and the city has lost 31% of its population. Once opulent neighborhoods are now swaths of abandoned homes; the factories that made Akron the Rubber Capital of the World lie dormant. Providing readers with diverse group experiences, this book is grounded with a strong sense of place through the unique voices, original points of view, and stories of city life in Akron.