Dan Rice of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition

What does it take to turn a city’s overlooked assets into its greatest strengths? In this episode of Closer, Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace talk with Daniel Rice, President & CEO of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition. Dan shares how Akron shifted moved away from “whale hunting” for big corporate wins to investing in parks, trails, and public spaces as core economic strategy. He reflects on three decades defined by more than 150 partnerships.  And Dan offers a practical playbook for cities: start with community, test ideas, stay consistent, and let success build momentum. Closer is a conversation hosted by Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace about the strategies that make cities more social—and why that is the smartest investment in the urban toolkit.