Broadband Access, Civic Infrastructure, and Civic Engagement

Broadband access is a key part of a community’s civic infrastructure, and often a necessary tool for people to access information and opportunities related to community and political engagement. It is also a source of deep inequality in many parts of the country that intersects with broader inequities in who can fully participate in civic life.

This interactive CIRCLE data tool maps broadband access at the county level in 17 states (and Washington, D.C.) in the South, Southwest, and Mid-Atlantic. In subsequent panels you can select counties with low broadband access overlay counties with low broadband access and various demographic characteristics (panel 3) and other dimensions of civic infrastructure (panel 4). Explore the tool below!