A Pineville non-profit confronts suburban poverty

Pineville Neighbors Place is a testament to a little-known set of facts: suburbs are not always models of prosperity and education, and in many ways they lack digital resources just as seriously as urban and rural communities.

ConnectHomeUSA plans to move the dial on connectivity for low-income Charlotteans

Within four years, a Charlotte organization plans to connect 80 percent of people in federally assisted housing to the internet.

At tech workshops on Tyvola Road, seniors create an easier world

Eager-to-learn seniors with technology questions and device mishaps fill the Tyvola Senior Center on Friday mornings. With the help of a couple of senior volunteers, a county park program called “Computer Help with the Guys” is making Charlotte an easier […]

Stories

How can digital inclusion improve health care? Citizens brainstorm in a Charlotte retreat

Early analysis of the intersection of digital inclusion and health care — conducted by citizens and government employees in a kind of retreat in a Charlotte park — reveals at least 20 key concerns and potential solutions.

Viewpoint

Designing online solutions for senior citizens

When it comes to the advantages of digital access in reducing isolation among seniors, there is recognition that technology is changing rapidly. Traditional means of communication are being de-emphasized. But not everyone can afford the latest technology.

Stories

How does digital inclusion affect economic mobility?

Experts discussed the relationship between digital inclusion and economic mobility in an online community forum March 15 at Queens University of Charlotte.

Eric Freedman, dean of the Knight School of Communication, with neighborhood representatives at a Neighborhood Communication Workshop at Queens University of Charlotte, October 2013.

Stories

How do Charlotte neighborhoods communicate?

The City of Charlotte and the Knight School of Communication at Queens are working together to examine how neighborhoods communicate, and how these processes strengthen communities. A recent Digital Charlotte workshop brought together 20 representatives from 11 Charlotte neighborhoods, investigating […]

Bruns Academy third-grade teacher Cara Brown working with students and XO laptops provided through Project LIFT in Charlotte.

Stories

Project LIFT begins to show results in Charlotte

Eight months after providing 2,200 free laptop computers for elementary-age students in eight Charlotte schools, Project LIFT is seeing results. Things are looking up. Project LIFT is a partnership of public schools and private companies and foundations, designed to raise […]

Mecklenburg County and the Knight School of Communication at Queens present Hackathon 13.

Stories

Mecklenburg County opens its data for a hackathon

For the first time in its history, Mecklenburg County government is organizing a regional hackathon to provide programmers and digital storytellers with resources to transform publicly available datasets into useful tools for citizens. The hackathon will focus on new ways […]

Thomas Cole, librarian and historian with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

Stories

Discover Charlotte history, virtually

Search engines simplify the process of researching local and city history. But they raise the question of how we know what is authentic — what is fact and what is fiction? Thomas Cole, a Charlotte historian and librarian in the […]