“These people are from outside the city.” “There is no environmental value.” “Opponents are spreading falsehoods.” These are all things I said as deputy mayor for integrated development for the city of Akron. They are phrases I am now hearing from friends and former colleagues advancing the proposed White Pond housing development. Good people, who love this city and sacrifice a great deal in service to it. Having been out of city hall for 18 months now, I have the benefit of hindsight and I now see how such words are not only unhelpful but hurtful.

We desperately need new housing construction and rehabilitation in the city of Akron. Our housing stock has been annihilated by the combination of the foreclosure crisis and age. This is particularly true for low-income residents, whose options for safe, stable, affordable housing seem to dwindle by the month. This reality is connected to the dire need for new single-family starter homes in many neighborhoods, and yes, even higher-end apartments. At almost every price point Akron is facing a supply problem. The nation as a whole is facing this very same crisis. Those I’ve spoken to who oppose the White Pond development understand this. They are not saying no new housing under any circumstance. They are asking for thoughtfulness, and a voice in the development of their community.

Thus, we arrive at the fundamental problem: Our approach to development in Akron is flawed. From my vantage point now, helping poor cities across the country seek reinvestment, I can see we are not alone. For some time we have utilized a “whack-a-mole” form of development that is inherently reactive. Mayor Dan Horrigan has worked tirelessly to push back against this culture, helping create plans to halt Akron’s population losses and seek new ways of economic development. Elevate Greater Akron — the joint city, county, chamber economic strategy — is a prime example of such efforts. Yet we keep finding ourselves in situations like White Pond, where residents feel at odds with city hall and vice versa. It doesn’t have to be this way.

It has been 35 years since a new comprehensive plan for land use in Akron has been commissioned. Such plans take time and money, but they offer neighborhoods the opportunity to voice their aspirations for development. A comprehensive planning process is but one way we can improve our approach to development that can help us avoid confrontations and share the ownership of change.

Private developers are not the enemy, and neither are Akron’s residents or our public servants. Our system of development is pitting good people against each other. We can change that system, and in doing so, co-design a brighter future.

James Hardy is an Akron resident.