According to the FCC, Detroit, Michigan is an extremely severe digital divide. Diana Nucera is the director of the Detroit Community Technology Project. She and her team started a movement with the efforts to shut down the gap; they plan on doing so by building Internet themselves. The group began the project by focusing on underprivileged neighborhoods and installed high speed Internet that would solve the community’s digital problems. One of the major initiatives of the group is to not only provide the tools and equipment but to provide digital education.
We chose to analyze and look closely at Interent Access datasets in New York City. We felt that this was a relevant topic in the current climate. The data includes information about locations with free access to wifi, including their address, wifi provider, and wifi limitations. After analyzing the data, we decided that the best way to present the information in an effect and clean way would be to create a data visualization.
Racism against the Asian American community has been a topic of discussion very much prevalent in the news now. Clara Jean Kim, a professor at the University of California, Irvine states that, “From the moment that the first Chinese arrived in the 1850s until today, Asian Americans have been considered not White but also considered not Black”. Historically, there have been numberous times where Asian Americans have been the ones targeted against during times of crisis which is very much seen today during the global pandemic.
After analyzing the data, we found a strong correlation with areas with a higher average income having more access to free hotspot locations as well as household wifi. In areas with a lower average income, students rely on going to places such as the library to pick up Wi-fi signals. This may be the solution in “normal” times, but with the added danger of leaving the house due to COVID, how are students expected to fix this problem? This highlights the disparity between a high and low socioeconomic status in relation to technology and Internet access. Internet access at home and practice with digital learning and work will prepare a child for a stable job in the workforce where understanding of digital tools is a necessity.
Here are a collection of resources to become more educated about Interent Access as well as ways to help. Detroit's Marginalized Communities Are Building Their Own Internet Donate to Detroit Community Technology Project Low Internet Access is Driving Inequality Donate Internet Access to Underprivileged Students
