Digital Divide
My position on the “Digital
Divide” is that it is not just a divide of access to the internet but, of race,
class, health, education, influence, environment, money. Many of the
inequalities that have plagued black and latino communities around the world
are also reflected in the “Digital Divide”.
As I was reading Professor
Shivers’ piece “Threading Disparities in the Digital Divide”, race, class, health,
education, influence, environment, money and access became common themes that surfaced.
These are partially seen in the Black and Latino community of The Hunts Point
Area of the Bronx, New York City and The Bay Area of California.
Let start with the
problems that are happening in the Bay Area of California where tech companies
are parking private buses in poor and unprivileged areas for their employees to
get to work in Silicon Valley. They have met with protesters who don’t think
that the tech companies are being responsible in their operation of these
private buses. There are many problems that manifest with the buses. One being that
the buses are idling in these neighborhoods polluting in the community.
Some tech companies
make the argument that the private buses run on bio fuel or other low emitting
fuels, but if they are bringing more vehicles in to the community, it can only
make more pollution, period.
These buses have been
able to operate without notice for some time, which speaks to the “influence” on
and “access” to city government the tech companies have. Much of the residents
of these areas are poor or people of color.
These private buses
also take advantage of the city bus stops to pick up passengers. This also
causes an effect on other city resources for, example reducing access to bike
lanes, double parking that delays city buses from making their appointed stops,
etc. All at the low cost of nothing, which really surprises me considering that
these tech companies are making so much money. As of late the city has begun to
charge them a nominal fee, which might not have come about without public
protest.
Other problems of the “Digital Divide” in
the Bay area include that the tech boom has contributed to a gentrification boom
in that it has left many of the Bay area’s poor and elderly residents without a
place to live. The same can be said for some small business owners that used to
be plentiful in the Bay area, but now cannot afford the over inflated rents for
a storefront.
Tech’s private buses
point out health concerns that are similar to those of the Hunts Point area of
the Bronx, New York. This is the home of the Hunts Point Terminal Market, where
almost daily idling caravans of trucks wait to enter the market.
You may be wondering
what does the Digital Divide have to do with the Hunts Point in the Bronx, New
York? Well there is a new player in the game in the form of the online grocer
Fresh Direct moving into the market. With easy access to the Cross-Bronx and
Bruckner Expressway it becomes a very desirable location. Their trucks will cause more pollution
to a population that has largest cases of asthma in New York City according to
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s study from 2007 and
2008.
In addition to many of
Hunts Point residents being poor and people of color, many of their homes are not
wired for the internet or broadband access, a problem similar to some of the residents
of the Bay Area. Less than 50% of Hunts Point residents have internet or
broad-band access according to story posted The Environmental Justice in Action
Blog on May 22,2014. So it is safe to say that they are not the bulk of Fresh
Directs consumer base.
According to a report
that was posted on Techwire.net on August 18th, 2014 from the utility
commission, the amount of internet and broadband access in the North Bay is “3.2
percent of Marin’s households are either underserved or fully unserved for
broadband. Sonoma is 1.8 percent underserved or unserved and Napa 1 percent.
The remaining six counties are under 1 percent.” Most of North Bay and Hunts
Points residents are black and latino. All this looks like a digital version of
the haves and the have, nots.
#socialmediablacklatinohunterCUNY
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