According to research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, home broadband internet use grew from 60 million to 80 million Americans (an increase of 40 percent) between March 2005 and March 2006—with especially promising increases in African American and middle-class users.  While these trends are promising, community technology advocates caution that the “digital divide” is about much more than access to computers and high-speed internet connections.  To truly reap the benefits of all the internet offers, new users—particularly in low-income communities and communities of color—need content focused on important issues like employment, education, housing, and health, as well as navigation mechanisms that will help them access these economic, social, and cultural resources. 

On June 8, an advisory council of prominent policymakers and advocates joined One Economy, a multinational nonprofit organization, to launch the Public Internet Channel, a comprehensive web portal that will serve as a “roadmap” of cyberspace, connecting users to relevant content that helps build democratic participation, civic engagement, and opportunities to participate and prosper in society.  Senator Barack Obama (who co-chairs the Public Internet Channel advisory council with Senator John McCain) opened the launch event at the National Press Club in Washington, DC by highlighting the necessity of internet access and substantive content in our digital age; Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley announced that Baltimore will serve as the pilot city for the launch of the Public Internet Channel; and PolicyLink Founder and CEO Angela Glover Blackwell spoke about the role of technology in building economic and social equity.  Blackwell also drew parallels between the Public Internet Channel and LouisianaRebuilds.info, a web portal created by PolicyLink, One Economy, and a team of technology professionals, that serves as Louisiana residents’ “first stop on the road home,” with information on rebuilding, homeowner and renter assistance, and other key areas like education, health, and social services. 

In 2001, One Economy created The Beehive, a website offering low-income users community information, homework assistance, business advice, and services like online tax filing.  Building on this concept, the Public Internet Channel will serve as a portal for public interest information in a variety of areas, including: safety and emergency preparedness, economic livelihood, health, education, and public affairs.  To ensure broad accessibility, the Public Internet Channel will offer information in English and Spanish at a fifth-grade reading level, in combination with multimedia components to help alleviate literacy barriers. 

To read more about the Public Internet Channel and view video highlights of the launch event, visit http://www.one-economy.com/publicinternetchannel/default.asp.  To read Washington Post coverage of the launch event, visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/07/AR2006060702283.html.

The value of local voice and experience in shaping public policy was evident once again in the Southeast neighborhood of Seattle, as community based organizations came together on June 17 to address the threat of residential and small business displacement in the Rainier Valley.  More than 110 residents representing the full diversity of the valley attended a neighborhood forum on gentrification, which had simultaneous translation into five languages. Through a resident fishbowl discussion, data presentations, and focused small group conversations, attendees assessed the state of the neighborhood and brainstormed potential strategies to mitigate rapidly increasing housing prices in one of the last affordable neighborhoods in the metropolitan region.  PolicyLink Senior Associate Dwayne S. Marsh shared success stories from other communities, highlighting principles and strategies that have been effective in curbing displacement in neighborhoods across the nation. The forum’s host organizations, which included the Tenants Union of Washington State, Homestead Community Land Trust, and LELO (Legacy of Leadership, Equality, and Organizing), successfully recruited longstanding community activists and new participants alike for the dialogue. The forum’s rich discussion set the stage for community organizations’ collaborative work on behalf of existing low-income and working class residents who wish to remain in the Southeast community to enjoy the neighborhood’s revitalization. PolicyLink also engaged a separate roundtable of public officials from the City of Seattle in a discussion on how local leaders can keep equity principles central to their programming and policy work.

To learn more about equitable development and strategies for harnessing the benefits of gentrification for low-income communities and communities of color, visit the PolicyLink Equitable Development Toolkit.

Citing statistics that 11 million mothers and newborns die each year from mostly preventable causes and 100 million children are denied education, a coalition of multigenerational, multiracial, multifaith women leaders from across the world gathered by the Dead Sea in June to launch the Global Women’s Action Network for Children, a coalition of influential women dedicated to the empowerment of women and girls, with a particular focus on maternal and child health and girls’ education.

Hosted by Jordan’s Queen Rania Al-Abdullah, the network’s conference included participants ranging from Children’s Defense Fund head Marian Wright Edelman (who co-convened the network) and American actress Renee Zellwegger to former president of Ireland Mary Johnson and newly-elected Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf; PolicyLink Founder and CEO Angela Glover Blackwell attended the conference and served as a facilitator.   Global Women’s Action Network members set next steps for advocacy projects, funding, leadership development, accountability, and communications. 

To learn more about the conference and the Global Women’s Action Network for Children, visit the Children’s Defense Fund’s website at http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=GWANC.

In late June, Illinois became the first state to legislatively link economic development subsidies for job creation with public transit and affordable housing when Governor Blagojevich signed the Business Location Efficiency Incentive Act into law.  After years of sprawling metropolitan development and inadequate investment in public transportation, many regions across the country are plagued by a “spatial mismatch,” where new jobs in booming suburbs and exurbs are typically beyond the reach of low-income communities and communities of color.  Job-rich areas often lack housing affordable to moderate- or low-wage earners, as well as convenient, comprehensive transit that allows carless residents from other neighborhoods to connect to employment. 

The Business Location Efficiency Incentive Act provides increased income tax credits to companies who agree to locate their project sites near affordable housing and/or transit; businesses with previously-established sites can qualify for tax credits by implementing remediation programs like employer assisted housing, shuttle services, pre-tax transit benefits, or carpooling.  Good Jobs First, a key advocate for the legislation, hailed the new “’location-efficient’ incentives law” as a promising measure that “will encourage companies to make siting decisions that create more job opportunities for workers who cannot afford a car, avoid costly new infrastructure expenses, reduce sprawl, and promote more affordable housing.”