Enhancing accessibility to urban resources through a more cohesive internet diffusion
Résumé
The rise of digital information technologies deeply impacts the way people interact with space. The Internet widens opportunities to access resources such as employment, social networks, education, culture, health, government, goods, etc. Public and private services are reconfigured in such a way that they are now designed for individuals who are expected to be Internet users, leading modern society to what we can call an ‘Internet dependency’. However, there is evidence of persistent inequalities in access to the Internet. The splintering of the cities caused by the uneven spread of telecommunication networks within urban spaces, and the inequalities in digital literacy (or skills in using the Internet) might strengthen social, as well as spatial inequalities.
In this paper, I explore the social implications of uneven digital opportunities in the context of French deprived urban neighbourhoods. Is the digital divide increasing previous inequalities in access to the resources that are necessary to be fully integrated in society? Can the Internet be, on the contrary, an opportunity to widen access to these resources for disadvantaged communities, especially living in peripheral areas? How do people access the resources they need in various urban contexts with or without the Internet?
The traditional measures of accessibility seem insufficient to account for the impacts of information and communication technologies on the redefinition of urban space. This paper considers how urban planners should integrate the impact of the Internet into the measures of accessibility.
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