SCC-IRG Track 2: Innovations for Community-Held Infrastructure

互联网接入已成为城市基础设施的重要组成部分，提供了包括就业、银行、公民参与、教育等在内的无数服务。尽管如此，仍有数十亿人，即使是在高度互联的城市环境中（例如，我们的家乡西雅图有5%的人），仍然无法上网。为了满足这些需求，研究人员和实践者开始探索社区网络，以探索新的商业模式和连接范式。社区网络是互联网接入网络，由选民拥有、运营和管理，而不是由传统的互联网服务提供商。利用当地的能力和兴趣，这些网络有望开发新的接入模式和技术，从而实现数字鸿沟“长尾”的可持续连接，并在纽约市、底特律、乌蒂亚维克等许多地区取得了成功。该提案将与一个独特的跨学科研究和实践导向的社区组织者、技术研究人员和社会科学家团队一起，利用参与式方法和共同开发过程，开发一系列社区网络创新。研究人员将与技术从业者和社区利益相关者合作，确定当前的技术条件和社区需求，并开发直接支持当地社区的新型社会技术系统。这些议程将得到合作伙伴社区内STEM教育项目的支持，这将为当地的技术设计、实施和部署提供创意、创造和支持。本项目与合作伙伴的初步讨论为该提案奠定了一套初步方向，这些方向将根据社区讲习班的产出进行调整。其中包括以下社区主导的创新：(1)新颖的网络服务，如本地化内容交付网络、社区（非执法主导）危机管理和数字素养培训；(2)传感系统，如交通碰撞探测器（加上上述危机管理），空气和土壤监测；(3)相关安全方面，如网络安全和社区信息和数据隐私。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Internet access has become a critical component of urban infrastructure, providing innumerable services including employment, banking, civic engagement, education, and others. In spite of this reality, billions of people, even in highly connected urban environments (5% of people in our home city of Seattle, for instance), remain offline. To meet these needs, researchers and practitioners have begun to explore community networks in order to explore novel business models and connectivity paradigms. Community networks are Internet access networks, owned, operated, and managed by constituents rather than by traditional Internet Service Providers. Leveraging local capacity and interest, these networks hold the promise of developing new access models and technologies that allow for the sustainable connection of the “long-tail” of the digital divide and have seen success in diverse areas such as New York City, Detroit, Utiagvik, and many others. This proposal will develop a series of community network innovations using participatory methods and co-development processes with a uniquely interdisciplinary team of research and practice oriented community organizers, technical researchers, and social scientists. Researchers will work with technology practitioners and community stakeholders to identify current technology conditions and community needs and develop novel socio-technical systems that directly support local communities. These agendas will be supported by STEM education programming within partner communities, which will provide a context for local ideation, creation, and support of technology design, implementation, and deployment.This project's preliminary discussions with partners have grounded this proposal in a set of initial directions that will be adjusted based on community workshop outputs. These include the following community-led innovations: (1) novel network services, such as localized content delivery networks, community (non-law enforcement-led) crisis management, and digital literacy training; (2) sensing systems, such as traffic collision detectors (coupled with the above crisis management), and air and soil monitoring, and (3) related security aspects such as network security and community-based information and data privacy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.