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Niala Boodhoo · How many lack Web access on Chicago’s South Side?
July 8th, 2011
Students in the Everyday Digital Literacy class, at the Greater Auburn Gresham Community Development Corp.'s Family Net Center (Niala Boodhoo)
The most recent study of local Internet use in Chicago found that more than a quarter of people in Chicago didn’t use the Internet. Another 15 percent had limited access, according to the 2008 study. Now, the University of Illinois at Chicago is working with Rutgers University to see how especially Chicago’s South side is faring.
I reported on the digital divide and how it relates to job hunting last January. The story focused on the Smart Communities initiative, a federally funded program in Chicago’s South side neighborhood of Auburn-Gresham which has digital literacy classes.
In the story, UIC professor professor Karen Mossberger told me that it was just a fact that these days, that even the most basic work requires a level of web savvy that wasn’t the case even a few years ago.
Auburn Greshman is one of five Smart Communities in Chicago hoping to improve its digital divide. (Niala Boodhoo)
“It’s becoming more integrated not just into high tech jobs but into all kinds of old economy jobs,” she said back then. “Even fast food restaurants, offices, manufacturing, trucking and delivery – there are going to be some aspects of technology involved and that’s going to become even more true in the future.”
Mossberger is one of the professors conducting the survey, which will be conducted with more than 3,000 households beginning this week.
We’ll report back on the results when we have it. In the meantime, here’s my story from January:
