Linking Long Beach: Bridging the Digital Divide Through Community Power
Viviana Morales | Madeleine Waddoups | Caroline Laubach | Xalma Palomino | Karina Ourfalian | Laubach|Caroline ; Ourfalian|Karina ; Palomino|Xalma ; Waddoups|Madeleine
This project, in partnership with the Long Beach Office of Digital Equity and Inclusion (ODEI), examines digital equity in Long Beach and explores strategies for city officials to expand internet access and close the digital divide. The digital divide refers to the gap between communities with reliable internet access, digital skills, and devices, and those without. Key contributing factors include limited broadband investment in low-income communities, inflated prices caused by a lack of competition among internet service providers, and the disproportionate financial burden placed on low-income households. While COVID-era funding helped bridge the gap, much of that support has since ended, and California is projected to lose significant federal digital equity funding.
To make informed, community-driven decisions about future investments and strategies, ODEI must understand how these challenges affect “covered populations,” eight marginalized groups defined in the Digital Equity Act of 2021 who experience disproportionate digital inequity.
