Gloucester, a vital economic anchor for the Greater Cape Ann region, faces challenges similar to those of Massachusetts’ Gateway Cities, including ensuring that all residents can access and take full advantage of the online environment. To address this challenge, the City of Gloucester — specifically the Sawyer Free Library and municipal IT Department — has been working with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to develop Gloucester’s first Digital Equity Plan. This plan is a roadmap for how the community can address the digital divide by helping underconnected residents better access the Internet and obtain the devices and digital skills needed to fully participate in digital and everyday life. The Gloucester City Council heard a presentation on the Digital Equity Plan on Tuesday, December 10, 2024.
“The digital divide in Gloucester highlights the need for increased accessibility. Our city is taking steps to ensure that all residents have the opportunity to learn and build technology skills as the online environment becomes increasingly more important for educational attainment, upward economic mobility and personal well-being,” said Mayor Greg Verga.
The plan has been developed and funded as part of the Mass Broadband Institute’s Municipal Digital Equity Planning Program, and consists of existing conditions assessment, community engagement analysis and recommended actions that the community can collectively take, as well as recommendations for resources to implement them. Once approved by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, the City will be eligible for certain grants and funding sources, including the Massachusetts Broadband Institute’s Municipal Digital Equity Implementation Grant program.
“Gloucester’s Digital Equity Plan is an actionable plan that will drive the strategic investment of resources to deliver equitable access, opportunities and outcomes for all Gloucester households,” stated Sawyer Free Library Director Jenny Benedict, who co-led the planning process. “We are so grateful to all the community partners and focus group participants for engaging in this planning process and providing thoughtful and valuable feedback which has informed the recommendations.”
The digital divide does not impact all households equally, and as in many Massachusetts Gateway Cities, income disparity poses a barrier for the community of Gloucester. Many households struggle to afford basic necessities, including internet access and computing devices. Gloucester’s rates of over 10.7% of households lacking internet access and over 7% of households lacking a computer are high figures compared to neighboring municipalities and compared to Essex County as a whole. This gap disproportionately affects residents of color, non-English speaking residents, and immigrants.
After spending much of the last year reviewing data and conducting outreach to residents and community leaders, MAPC alongside the Sawyer Free Library and municipal IT Department, have compiled findings and recommendations for the community into a plan document. Recommendations include ways to support internet access, such as providing public Wi-Fi in community spaces, or subsidized or free internet at public housing sites. The plan also includes recommendations to expand digital literacy and device access programs, as well as to build capacity, for instance, by forming a Gloucester Digital Equity Steering Committee and launching the Digital Learning Lab at the Sawyer Free Library.
Links
- City Council Agenda: https://www.gloucester-ma.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/18024
- City Council Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/186XuuAaBr-xJynD0sdb2ALd2CM3eC104/edit#slide=id.p1
- Gloucester Digital Equity Plan Website: https://digitalequity.gloucester-ma.gov/home
- MBI Municipal Digital Equity Planning Program: https://broadband.masstech.org/municipal
- MBI Municipal Digital Equity Implementation Program: https://broadband.masstech.org/digital-equity-implementation
Good Morning Gloucester 