A Look at 3 Cities Leading the Way in Digital Equity

American government civic leaders continue to prioritize digital inclusion and digital equity. In Boston (MA), elected officials, and tech leaders are collaborating to expand the scope of digital equity by making sure all residents have high-speed Internet, devices, and digital skills training. Additionally, Boston has a new focus; specifically, the City has broadened the scope of the work to also include looking at how technology can ease barriers toward equity for different groups. For example, looking at city programs that help older adults who have transportation issues receive coupons to use taxis or considering things like language barriers in that work, ultimately resulting in ensuring digital products are available in more languages. In Mesa (AZ), city leaders continue to use the tools available to local government to make high-speed Internet more affordable, doing so in ways specific to the needs of their community. Particularly, Mesa has looked to broadband affordability in rural communities, and, increasingly, awareness has grown in urban communities, especially as large-school kids in big cities were unable to participate in digital learning at the start of the pandemic. Oakland (CA) has focused on increasing access to a device and high-speed Internet at home; where 98 percent of low-income students have access, up from 12 percent at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Oakland was able to do this through a joint effort between the city government, the local schools, and other community partners, forging a very effective set of public-private partnerships.