The Champaign County Regional Planning Commission released some new data on internet access in the county broken down by race and income here. There are some excerpts from their overview below. There have also been a series of Cheat Sheet posts on local racial disparity data in the County and especially the Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area. Here are some quick links:
- School discipline: Education Racial Disparity Data
- "Pushout" of minority students in local schools
- Housing segregation: C-U Segregation
- Mass incarceration: as a feedback loop
- Pedestrian and Traffic Stop Data
- More County data from the Regional Planning Commission here
And an excerpt from the RPC internet access data page:
Breaking this data down into greater detail shows that computer and internet subscription disparities do exist by race, ethnicity, labor force status, and educational attainment in Champaign County. But before we get to what we can take from this, there are a few assumptions we can’t make based on this data.Full overview and data available here.
As we noted above, this data doesn’t cover smartphones as a primary means of internet access, so it’s important to keep in mind that what may be different among the analyzed populations is not whether they can access the internet, but how. Also, as we’ve noted a lot, correlation isn’t causation. We can see that individuals who are unemployed are more likely to also have limited access to computers and internet subscriptions, and it’s obvious that the internet is an excellent job-hunting resource, but this analysis of this data cannot support a conclusion that limited internet access causes unemployment, or vice versa.
That aside, there are significant lessons to be learned here. One is the importance of ensuring that online resources offer user experiences of the same quality regardless of device: users on computers, smartphones, and tablets should all be able to have an easy, intuitive, and visually engaging experience. Another is that programs to improve internet access can and should be tailored based on a community’s needs and circumstances. This data also reinforces the importance of facilities like public libraries, which provide access to computers and the internet and can be critical community resources for those who do not have other access options.
In an example of an attempt to address disparities, the Housing Authority of Champaign County is claiming some preliminary success in attracting diversity in contracts. From the News-Gazette earlier this month:
Housing authority: Growth in bids from diverse subcontractors 'impressive'...More at the full article here.
The Housing Authority of Champaign County announced recently that a plan to increase opportunities for female-, minority- and veteran-owned businesses "has produced impressive early numbers" in bids for two affordable-housing developments in the city.
It has been one of housing authority Director David Northern's main goals since he started last year, after he received calls from many minority- and female-owned businesses concerned about disadvantages in contracting...
The focus right now is on bringing more disadvantaged businesses to work on the housing authority's two biggest projects, Bristol Place Residences and the Haven at Market Place, which will have a combined 212 units of affordable housing and cost over $48 million.
Already, 34.05 percent of contracts awarded for the Haven at Market Place have gone to disadvantaged businesses. And at Bristol Place, the picture is slightly better, with disadvantaged businesses representing 35.79 percent of all contracts awarded and executed so far. That includes 10 local businesses and seven from outside the area.
Those numbers surpass the goals Champaign Neighborhood Services Director Kerri Wiman said the city, the housing authority and the developer set for Bristol Place, in addition to a goal that, once complete, the complex hire at least 10 locals, with preference given to people who may have been displaced from the area.
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