Policy, Planning, and People: Promoting Justice in Urban Development

Chapter 8. Social Equity in the Network Society: Implications for Communities

Chapter 8 Social Equity in the Network Society: Implications for Communities Penny Gurstein Digital networks are increasingly replacing or complementing social networks of face-to-face communication, furthering the formation of globally interdependent relationships within the economy, state, and society. The “network society” typified by Castells (1996) and van Dijk (1996) created by these new relationships is the result of a shift in spatial and temporal patterns that undermine the importance of local, regional, and national boundaries in many facets of social life. The consequences of this fraying of boundaries are still unfolding. What is and will be the impact of networked relationships on just and equitable resource allocation globally, nationally, regionally, within communities, and between households? Who are the winners and losers in this global phenomenon? What are the opportunities and uncertainties? What are the implications for regional and community development as well as for localized place-based communities? What role can policy and planning play in encouraging equity? This chapter addresses these questions in light of research that reveals the complexity of the spatially diffuse relationships that are forming, and the impact these relationships are having on people’s lives, communities, and regions . While some of the research reports positive outcomes and promises new opportunities for inclusion, many of the findings point to troubling consequences that link the network society to increasing disparities in income distribution, fragmentation in workplaces and communities, and the blurring of boundaries between public and private space and time. Other studies 13423-Policy Planning and People_Carmon1.indd 161 3/14/13 9:48 AM 162 Penny Gurstein point to new barriers to social inclusion for some social groups, as well as a declining quality of working life for many workers. To understand this phenomenon will be a four-step process. The first defines the network society and situates inequalities that are perpetuated in this society in terms of a “digital divide.” The next makes sense of the workforce that is being created through these processes and the implications for regional and community development. We then move from the question of workforce to broader issues of governance and democratic processes in the network society. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how the network society can be harnessed to provide equitable benefits in planning and policy-making. Exclusion in the Network Society The Logic of the Network Society The concept of the network society evolved from a recognition of the importance of the creation, distribution, diffusion, use, integration, and manipulation of information as a significant driver of the economy, as well as the role these processes play in shaping political and cultural activities. The network society has been portrayed as one where the social structure is open and decentralized , with people and organizations involved in several networks concurrently ; activities are “footloose,” free from spatial barriers; and physical spaces are replaced by virtual spaces (Albrechts and Mandelbaum 2005). Van Dijk defines the network society as a “social formation with an infrastructure of social and media networks enabling its prime mode of organization at all levels (individual, group/organizational, and societal)” (2006: 20). For Van Dijk, networks have become the nervous system of society. As one moves through and interacts in a network society, just as in a web, the center is continually shifting relative to reference points, what Derrida (1978) described as “decentering” in an analysis of the deconstruction of Western European hegemony. New networked forms of organization and network logic—and with this pervasiveness, flexibility, and convergence—are transforming capitalism and replacing vertically integrated hierarchies as the dominant form of social organization . As economic and social activities increasingly organize around hubs and networks, what Castells (1996) called the “space of flows,” the established understanding of the role of social, ethnic and national entities in providing societal structure and meaning is being diminished. 13423-Policy Planning and People_Carmon1.indd 162 3/14/13 9:48 AM 163 Social Equity in the Network Society The Digital Divide In this new informational environment, those who have control of information technologies and their use are the “haves” in this “network” society, and those who don’t, or must rely on those who do to provide access and work opportunities, are the “have nots.” This “digital divide” (Norris 2001; van Dijk 2005) is a gap between people with access to digital and information technologies, as well as the resources and skills needed to use those technologies, and those...