How Government, Businesses and Nonprofits Are Helping Cities to Close the ‘Digital Divide’

Civil and Human Rights News 04.21.11

Aliza Sherman, writing on Mashable, has up an excellent post about programs being run in cities across the United States seeking to close the “digital divide.”

As she writes:

When it comes to the Internet, conversations about the “haves” and “have nots” are ongoing. Why is closing the digital divide so important? The access issues are often broken down into a handful of parts:

  • Equality: The Internet is considered as important — if not more important — as access to the telephone. With more and more career, business, civic and social welfare information uploaded to websites, online databases and even social networks, the very people who need this information may be the ones without access to it.
  • Education: With the vast research and information resources available on the Internet, the prevalent use of distance learning and the fundamental computer and Internet skills that are gained by having online access, those without are at a distinct disadvantage.
  • Democracy: As more of our political discourse takes place online — online voting already occurs in some areas — those without access are essentially silenced.
  • Economy: Access to information technologies and other consumers via Internet connections is critical to the growth of commerce and transactional exchanges. The digital divide creates a vicious cycle: Those without economic means cannot access the Internet to take part in — and benefit from — these economic activities.

The issues of the digital divide are complex and can be politically fraught, but there are grassroots projects around the globe that focus on addressing the tangible needs of underserved communities. A number of U.S. cities have deployed digital divide initiatives to address the issues of access to not just the Internet, but also to the rich and valuable data and dialogues that can be found online.

Among the digital divides that exist is the gap between people with home access to a broadband internet connection and those without. According to statistics from the U.S. Commerce Department, while 85% of households headed by someone with a college degree had broadband internet access in 2009, that rate was only 29% for those with less than a high-school degree. Non-Hispanic Asian households (77%) and non-Hispanic White households (68%) had the highest rates of home broadband internet access, while non-Hispanic Black (49%) and Hispanic (48%) households had the lowest rates.

Sherman cites statistics showing that:

only thirty-nine percent of Chicagoans have broadband connections to the Internet. Those without it tend to be low-income families, minorities, people with disabilities and seniors, which represents a broad swath of the city’s population that is unable to gain access to crucial information and resources.

Closing the “digital divide” is a key goal of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan released last year. And civil rights groups, including The Leadership Conference Education Fund, see the issue as one of the major challenges facing the U.S. in the 21st century.

Check out Sherman’s full post for examples of programs in Chicago, Minneapolis, Oakland and other cities.