Smart Communities Program

A major plank of the City of Chicago’s Digital Excellence Initiative, the Smart Communities Program managed and supported by LISC/Chicago works to ensure digital access for children and families, businesses, agencies and other institutions in five New Communities Program neighborhoods.

A 2009 study showed many Chicago residents had not yet embraced broadband and digital technology due to concerns about cost, complexity, or relevance to their daily lives. Beyond providing hardware, software and training, Smart Communities aims to build a “culture of digital excellence” that will require outreach, education, and the application of 20th Century community organizing to 21st Century technology.

Built on the existing NCP platform of interconnected agencies, Smart Communities is run on the ground by NCP lead agencies The Resurrection Project (in Pilsen), Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. (in Humboldt Park), and, through a cooperative arrangement, by Teamwork Englewood, Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corp., and the Greater Southwest Development Corp. and Southwest Organizing Project (in Englewood, Auburn Gresham and Chicago Lawn, respectively). See the Smart Communities plans for Humboldt Park, Pilsen and the Southwest Smart Communities Partners.

The three “Smart Community Plans” tie into an overarching master plan centered on five strategies: build awareness, expand digital education and training, improve access to technology, generate local content about neighborhood news and resources, and help grow existing businesses and attract new ones.

The program already has funded “early action projects” including the installation of approximately 30 HP “Touch Smart” Kiosks to provide public Internet access in all five neighborhoods, a summer youth project in Englewood, Auburn Gresham and Chicago Lawn to contribute to a pending community “portal” site, and an already live portal in Pilsen that enables users to post their own content directly.

Key projects to come include a marketing campaign to boost adoption, creation of FamilyNet Centers for training and access, expansion of broadband at public computing sites, community portals for the remaining communities, expansion of youth programs in schools and at libraries, and the establishment of Business Resource Centers that build capacity.

In addition to LISC, Smart Communities has received investment from the State of Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the MacArthur Foundation, the Chicago Community Trust, and Microsoft Corp. On March 25, the City of Chicago was awarded a $7 million grant from the federal stimulus package to develop a Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (B-TOP) that will focus on the five communities.

  • Digital Excellence Program Helps Bridge Divide

    Four neighborhoods are bridging the digital divide through LISC/Chicago’s Digital Excellence Demonstration Communities (DEDC) pilot program, bringing universal, meaningful participation in technology to low-income communities.

  • Humboldt Park Primed for Tech Investment

    A broad coalition of community organizations in Humboldt Park is releasing “Connecting Our Communities,” a plan to bring more broadband and digital tools to the residents, businesses and community organizations in the area, created through LISC/Chicago’s Smart Communities program.

  • Google Broadband Excites Smart Communities

    The five participating neighborhoods in the Smart Communities Program are perfectly positioned to apply for Google Fiber, a pilot program that will test ultra-high speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations across the country.

  • Through “Smart Communities” Neighborhoods Get Smart About Digital Technology

    For the past year, residents of five Chicago neighborhoods – keenly aware of the value of computer technology and access – studied how to bring their communities up to digital speed.

  • Pilsen Portal Opens Door to a Neighborhood

    The Pilsen Portal, a pilot program of LISC/Chicago’s Smart Communities Program, was created so that residents and visitors could learn what’s going on, look up local organizations, and submit their own news, opinions or calendar items.