Computers and Community in East Palo Alto: Report on the Survey Conducted Among East Palo Alto Residents Regarding Their Computer Usage and Community Involvement Prior to the Launch of the East Palo Alto Community Network

Partnership for Internet Equity and Community Engagement (PIECE) Report, March 2003

29 Pages Posted: 22 Feb 2013 Last revised: 26 Apr 2013

See all articles by Benjamin Sywulka

Benjamin Sywulka

Stanford University

Todd Davies

Stanford University - Symbolic Systems Program; Center for the Study of Language and Information

Randy Saffold

California State University, East Bay, Student Union

Roma Jhaveri

Stanford University

Abstract

This survey documents attitudes toward and use of computers and the Internet in East Palo Alto, California, in order to find out what content and services the new EPA.Net Community Network should offer to best meet the community’s needs, just before the Network's launch in early 2003. The findings of this study reveal a clear support among community members for incorporating technology into the East Palo Alto community, and a clear support for certain types of content and services. The findings also reveal that the Latino community is much farther behind in terms of computer and Internet usage than the Pacific Islander and African American communities. The biggest source of a digital divide in East Palo Alto appears to be the language barrier, which correlates dramatically with a lack of online access for Latino residents. It is clear that with 48% of the population speaking Spanish at home, and 41% of the Latinos speaking no English, serious efforts must be undertaken to allow the non-English-speaking population to interact with the community and information online.

Keywords: community networks, digital divide, community technology

Suggested Citation

Sywulka, Benjamin and Davies, Todd R. and Saffold, Randy and Jhaveri, Roma, Computers and Community in East Palo Alto: Report on the Survey Conducted Among East Palo Alto Residents Regarding Their Computer Usage and Community Involvement Prior to the Launch of the East Palo Alto Community Network. Partnership for Internet Equity and Community Engagement (PIECE) Report, March 2003, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2222360 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2222360

Benjamin Sywulka

Stanford University ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305
United States

Todd R. Davies (Contact Author)

Stanford University - Symbolic Systems Program ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305-2150
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.stanford.edu/~davies

Center for the Study of Language and Information ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305-4115
United States

Randy Saffold

California State University, East Bay, Student Union ( email )

25800 Carlos Bee Boulevard
Hayward, CA 94542
United States
510.885.2466 (Phone)

Roma Jhaveri

Stanford University ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305
United States

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