IT and Community Development

There are several important ways IT itself serves as a unique tool to help communities develop and improve themselves. First, the world’s largest library, the World Wide Web and all assorted nets are available for the taking. This includes relevant information on everything from how to start a business properly to a greater understanding of similar communities elsewhere. Even more uniquely, it can open up previously closed systems such as zoning records, community regulations and other information used by authority groups to exert control over others. While this information may not have been explicitly hidden before, the true range of local information is astounding.

Secondly, IT allows for more contact with members of the community that have left the community. On a national scale, this maintains a national sense of unity, and also may benefit the local economy, as well as allowing loved ones to stay in touch. This applies at a more local level in the United States as well. When one leaves the community for some reason, it is now easier to maintain ties, through email, messaging and chat. This can cut back on some of the community’s “brain drain” as those who made it out of troubled areas can be influenced into returning rather than fleeing. At the same time, those remaining behind can gain the benefits of close contact with successful members who have moved else where, from material support to role models. The idea that one can succeed and remain a part of the community is very important for distressed communities seeking to both develop and maintain their identity.

Public services are also being moved online at an astounding rate. While a full discussion of e-government and its merits and drawbacks is beyond the scope of this text, it does deserve some mention. Putting government services online can make them more efficient, and yet allow the communities they serve more control over how they are consumed. Putting government information online allows for greater transparency and, ideally, a less corrupt and more responsive government. By allowing information to flow both to and from the policy makers, policy can be made to better reflect the needs of those on whose behalf it is being created.

Communities should never be solely dependent on public services, however, and need to generate their own civic behavior. This is thought to be strongly correlated to social capital, but can be helped by information systems that support adaptive behavior, such as community networks. All of these factors combine with the more well-known benefits of Internet access, such as the ability to find better jobs, can go a long way towards helping a community develop.

Allan Friedman
January, 2002