Computer Centers as a Force for Change--and Placemaking
Community Technology Centers, or CTCs, are the lone survivors of the "community technology" movement; that brief stage in the development of the internet before computers were available to more than just the affluent. These centers, which at their most basic level provide access to computers for those who don't have them, continue to flourish, but primarily in low-income communities where access to technology is scarce, even in public schools. Therefore, CTCs are important not only for their specific work to span the digital divide, but also because they have the potential to act as key public spaces in areas where there is a dearth of such community places.
PPS, in partnership with the New School for Social Research and BCT Partners, has recently published the findings from an exploratory research project into how community technology centers (CTCs) could function more effectively as public spaces and as forces for positive social change at the community level. The report, which received funding and direction from the Ford Foundation, assesses the situation in which CTCs currently find themselves and recommends whether and how CTCs could be supported to take on broader community agendas.
The report summarizes the relevant literature on public spaces and community change and documents historical and current issues facing CTCs. It then examines these trends through the lenses of public space analysis and community development theory, and identifies areas for further research and action, with specific emphasis on a possible funding program for CTCs that would broaden both their mission and traditional sources of funds.
You can download the finished report in PDF format.
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