Jackson Hts., New York, December 19, 2010 - The London based Networked Neighbourhoods Group today published its long awaited Online Neighbourhood Networks Study. The research, by Hugh Flouch and Kevin Harris, provides insight into the impact neighborhood networks have had in 3 UK towns. The report concluded that they have:
- stimulated social capital and strengthened cohesion
- contributed to citizen empowerment and engagement, and
- build citizens’ capacity and willingness to work alongside public services.
While much of the information is supportive of neighborhood networks, one finding screams for additional attention:
“Data from Hitwise Experian suggests that affluent people, with high educational attainment, are over-represented in the population that uses the websites. This appears to be confirmed in the socio-demographic profile of our survey respondents.”
In other words, the digital divide continues. The Study focuses our attention on the need for education, training, and access projects to broaden awareness and use of these new local governance tools as they are introduced at the neighborhood level. Follow our response to this research on our Education Programs page.
The Online Neighbourhood Networks Study is available at http://networkedneighbourhoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Online-Nhood-Networks-4-page-summary.pdf.
New York, January 31, 2010 - Last year 1,200 applications were submitted to the Knight Foundation’s News Challenge grant and we were