Editing Akron, Ohio (section)

==Economy==
[[File:Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company International Headquarters.jpg|thumb|[[Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company]] headquarters]]
Many industries in the United States either began or were influenced by the city. After beginning the [[tire]] and rubber industry during the 20th century with the founding of [[Goodrich Corporation|BFGoodrich]], [[Firestone Tire and Rubber Company|Firestone]], [[General Tire]], and also the [[Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company|Goodyear]] merger with [[The Kelly Springfield Tire Company|The Kelly-Springfield Tire Company]], Akron gained the status of "Rubber Capital of the World". Akron has won economic awards such as for City Livability and [[All-America City]], and deemed a [[high tech]] haven greatly contributing to the [[Information Age]].<ref name="Greater Akron Chamber"/> Current [[Fortune 500]] companies headquartered in the city include Goodyear and [[FirstEnergy Corp.|FirstEnergy]]. In addition, the city is the headquarters to a number of other notable companies such as [[GOJO]], Advanced Elastomer Systems, [[Babcock & Wilcox]], Myers Industries, [[Acme Fresh Market]], and [[Sterling Jewelers]]. Goodyear, America's biggest tire manufacturer and the fifth-largest private employer in Summit County,<ref name="Goodyear has tentative deal to stay in Akron"/> recently built a new world headquarters in the city. The project, Akron Riverwalk, will feature a large retail and commercial development area.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} The project began in 2007, but was put on hold because of the [[Great Recession]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohio.com/business/112051484.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220035818/http://www.ohio.com/business/112051484.html |archive-date=December 20, 2010 |title=Goodyear's headquarters moving along}}</ref> [[Bridgestone]] built a new technical center with research and development labs, and moved its product development operations to the new facility in early 2012.<ref name="Mobile Edition"/><ref name="Bridgestone Americas, Inc"/> The Eastern Ohio [[Division (business)|Division]] of [[KeyBank]], which has six branches in the city, built a regional headquarters downtown.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lin |first=Betty |url=http://www.securityinfowatch.com/Financial/1311664?pageNum=3 |title=KeyBank breaks ground on Akron, Ohio office building &#124; |publisher=Securityinfowatch.com |date=May 26, 2009 |access-date=January 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716031622/http://www.securityinfowatch.com/Financial/1311664?pageNum=3 |archive-date=July 16, 2011 }}</ref> The city has a free [[WiFi]] corridor centered in downtown. Neighborhoods in range include Goodyear Heights, East Akron, North Hill, Firestone Park, Kenmore, and West Akron.<ref name="Connect Akron Wireless Network"/>

===Polymer Valley===
Northeast Ohio's Polymer Valley is centered in Akron. The area holds forty-five percent of the state's polymer industries, with the oldest dating to the 19th century. During the 1980s and 1990s, an influx of new polymer companies came to the region.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1723 |title=Polymer Valley – Ohio History Central – A product of the Ohio Historical Society |publisher=Ohio History Central |date=July 1, 2005 |access-date=September 9, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927022648/http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1723 |archive-date=September 27, 2012  }}</ref> In 2001, more than 400 companies manufactured polymer-based materials in the region.<ref name="A New Brand Of Tech Cities"/> Many [[University of Akron]] scientists became world-renowned for their research done at the [[Goodyear Polymer Center]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Bowles |first=Mark |author-link= |title=Chains of Opportunity: The University of Akron and the Emergence of the Polymer Age 1909-2007 |year=2008 |location= |publisher=University of Akron Press; Illustrated edition |page= |isbn=978-1931968539}}</ref> The first College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering was begun by the university. In 2010, the National Polymer Innovation Center opened on campus.

===Hospitals===
[[File:Summa Akron City Hospital.jpg|thumb|[[Summa Akron City Hospital]]]]
Akron has designated an area called the Biomedical Corridor, aimed at luring health-related ventures to the region. It encompasses {{convert|1240|acre|km2}} of private and publicly owned land, bounded by Akron General on the west and Akron City on the east, and also includes Akron Children's near the district's center with the former Saint Thomas Hospital to the north of its northern boundaries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohio.com/news/82520807.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615141407/http://www.ohio.com/news/82520807.html |archive-date=June 15, 2011 |title=Akron's biomedical corridor taking shape}}</ref> Since its start in 2006, the corridor added the headquarters of companies such as Akron Polymer Systems.<ref name="Akron Ohio: Akron Ohio: Mayor's Office of Economic Development"/>

Akron's adult hospitals are owned by two health systems, [[Summa Health System]] and Akron General Health System. Summa Health System operates [[Summa Akron City Hospital]] and the former St. Thomas Hospital, which in 2008 were recognized for the 11th consecutive year as one of "America's Best Hospitals" by [[U.S. News & World Report]].<ref name="Summa Health System - Summa Celebrates 11th Consecutive Year on U.S. New"/><ref name="Summa Health System - Locations"/> Summa is recognized as having one of the best orthopaedics programs in the nation with a ranking of 28th.<ref name="Summa Health System - Hospital Rankings"/> Akron General Health in affiliation with the [[Cleveland Clinic]] operates Akron General Medical Center, which in 2009, was recognized as one of "America's Best Hospitals" by [[U.S. News & World Report]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.akrongeneral.org/portal/page?_pageid=153,166999&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL |title=Akron General Medical Center |publisher=Akron General |date=September 22, 2008 |access-date=April 3, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013104552/http://www.akrongeneral.org/portal/page?_pageid=153,166999&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL |archive-date=October 13, 2008  }}</ref><ref name="Akron General earns honors"/> [[Akron Children's Hospital]] is an independent entity that specializes in pediatric care and burn care.<ref name="Akron Children's Hospital : Why Akron Children's?"/> In 1974, Howard Igel and Aaron Freeman successfully grew [[human skin]] in a lab to treat burn victims, making Akron Children's Hospital the first hospital in the world to achieve such a feat.<ref name="bio"/> Akron City and Akron General hospitals are designated [[Level I Trauma Center]]s.

===Top employers===
According to the city's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Comprehensive Annual Financial Report : City of Akron|url=https://www.akronohio.gov/cms/site/8b1d7191c3140a87/index.html|access-date=December 27, 2021|website=www.akronohio.gov}}</ref> the principal employers in the city are:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! #
! Employer
! Employees
|-
|1
|[[Summa Health System]]
|8,609
|-
|2
|[[University of Akron]]
|5,933
|-
|3
|[[Akron Children's Hospital]]
|5,773
|-
|4
|[[FirstEnergy]]
|5,538
|-
|5
|[[Cleveland Clinic Akron General|Cleveland Clinic- Akron General]]
|4,779
|-
|6
|[[Akron Public Schools]]
|4,544
|-
|7
|[[Summit County, Ohio|Summit County]]
|3,323
|-
|8
|[[Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company|Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company]]
|2,954
|-
|9
|City of Akron
|2,406
|-
|10
|[[Signet Jewelers]]
|2,094
|}