A detailed case study of Detroit’s North End EII network, focusing on its social impact, goals, and community governance model.
Purpose: A detailed case study of the EII, focusing on its social impact, goals, and community governance model.
The Challenge: Detailing the context of Detroit as one of the country’s worst-connected cities, specifically affecting low-income homes.
The Solution: Description of neighborhood-governed community wireless networks implemented in Southwest Detroit, Islandview, and the North End.
Key Partners: Listing the collaborative organizations, including Grace in Action, Church of the Messiah, and the North End Woodward Community Coalition (NEWCC).
Network Priorities: A section outlining who gets priority access:
Homes with no/low-speed connections.
Households with students or elders.
Vulnerable areas prone to flooding or utility shut-offs.
Outcomes: Metrics on success, such as the 2018 pilot connecting 150 homes and the training of 45 Digital Stewards.
What is EII?
We address Internet access in Detroit through neighborhood-governed community wireless networks. Since 2015, Detroit has been one of the country’s worst connected cities. In a city with a median household income of $26,249.00, 38% of homes have no Internet connection, 63% of low income homes have no in-home broadband, and 70% of school-age children have no Internet access at home.
The Equitable Internet Initiative supports and develops historically marginalized residents to build and maintain neighborhood-governed internet infrastructure that fosters accessibility, consent, safety, and resilience.
Through the Equitable Internet Initiative (EII), we are creating the world we want to see! It’s a world with a healthy digital ecosystem that allows our communities to fully realize their right to communicate, participate, and fully engage in all areas of society. Within our communities, we practice consent, prioritize privacy, and establish best practices to secure our networks and customer data.
1 Increase Internet access in underserved neighborhoods
2 Increase Internet adoption through digital literacy programming
3 Train and develop residents as Digital Stewards
4 Strengthen neighborhoods through community organizing, participation, collaboration, and resiliency
Our Work
In 2017, we trained 45 Digital Stewards across three Detroit neighborhoods. Each steward completed a 20 week training program that included community organizing and wireless engineering. In 2018, we completed the pilot year and connected more than 150 homes across three neighborhoods. In 2019, our partners at NEWCC expanded into Highland Park. We are focused on adoption, sustainability network expansion and creating resiliency strategies for our neighborhoods.
Digital Stewards
Integral to our work are the Digital Stewards. They are community organizers, media makers, educators, artists, and neighborhood leaders. They come from the neighborhoods they work in, are Black and other people of color, and range in age from elders to teens. They demystify technology for their communities, working according to our collective EII Working Principles.
They demystify technology for their communities through intentional network build-out and design, community workshops and trainings, neighborhood advisory councils, and participatory design sessions with community.
Network Priorities
1 Homes with no or low-speed connections,
2 those with family members in educational programs,
3 homes of elders,
4 homes where families participate in government assistance programs, and
5 those located in a vulnerable areas that may experience flooding, water shut offs, black/brown outs, or other emergencies.
Learn more about our partners
BLVD Harambee NEWCC Grace in Action CTNY
What others say about eii
The Equitable Internet Initiative is a community-driven program designed to bridge the digital divide in Detroit by establishing neighborhood-governed wireless networks. By training residents as Digital Stewards in both technical engineering and community organizing, the project empowers historically marginalized citizens to build and maintain their own internet infrastructure. The initiative prioritizes equitable access for low-income households, students, and the elderly, ensuring that technology serves as a tool for safety and social participation rather than a barrier. Ultimately, the program fosters digital sovereignty by grounding its technical expansion in core principles of privacy, consent, and collective resilience.
