View source for Mesh/Oakland

This page is for documenting research on access to computers and Internet in Oakland, active organizations tackling the digital divide, and local ISPs that allow for sharing bandwidth in their Terms of Service.

=Research=
According to the [http://www.internetaccesslocal.com/states/california/oakland US Bureau of Labor Statistics & Bureau of Census], 32% of Oakland residents lack internet connectivity, with an additional 5.6% connected elsewhere but not at home.

The [http://freepress.net Free Press] published a short report on media inequality in the Bay Area in January of 2014. From the [http://www.freepress.net/sites/default/files/resources/Media_Inequality_in_the_Bay_Area.pdf report]:
* "AT&T and Comcast are the dominant telecommunications service providers in the Bay Area, though competitive providers like Sonic.net serve small pockets in the North Bay and the peninsula. Broadband adoption in the Bay Area is high relative to the state and national averages. As of June 2011 (the most recent data-reporting period), most portions of the Bay Area had broadband-adoption levels near or above 80 percent of households. But there are numerous neighborhoods in areas like Alameda, Oakland, Richmond and San Jose where broadband adoption is well below the state and national averages. Over the past decade, the California Public Utilities Commission has removed regulations and oversight of the stateâ€™s major telecom providers. This deregulation was supposed to lower prices and improve consumer choices, but the rates for basic services tripled in just a few short years."

[[File:Digital Divide OUSD Map.png|800px|right]]

A 2014 Oakland North article, "[https://oaklandnorth.net/2014/12/01/ousd-study-finds-link-between-lack-of-internet-computer-access-and-poverty-level/ OUSD study finds link between lack of Internet, computer access and poverty level]" [https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1tUW-afu_eLg2A8qsWt1mF8QnR8Y maps out] the digital divide among Oakland public schools:

"'I feel a little different, because some people at my school do have Internet access at home' said Stewart, age 13. 'They donâ€™t have to worry, cause they can go home and do it. But I canâ€™t.' Stewart is not the only student in Oakland who faces this kind of difficulty. According to a study conducted by Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) in August and September, 14,097 students do not have computers and/or high-speed Internet access at home. That represents about 40 percent of the student population in Oakland."

[http://www.media-alliance.org/downloads/TVA-Oakland-Broadband-Study.pdf City of Oakland Wireless Broadband Feasibility Study] (2009) - Lengthy report on the feasibility of providing free municipal wifi throughout the city of Oakland. Research included focus groups with representatives from the various districts of Oakland, public comments, and extensive mapping of a wireless network operating on the 2.4GHz and 4.9Mz bands.
*"Participants made a distinction between "free" and "affordable" service, and overwhelmingly chose not to endorse the provision of free Internet access to businesses and residences. Providing public access, free or otherwise, at public facilities, such as libraries and community centers, or high traffic areas, such as bus shelters, the convention center or the downtown area, was generally seen as a much higher priority than providing residential Internet service of any kind. (p.15)"
*"The top concern, identified by city staff, businesses, local agencies and six out of seven focus groups, was that any system be flexible and interoperable. In other words, that it can be used by all city departments (although every department wouldn't necessarily need access to all the features and capabilities), that it serve as a means of communications with other public agencies, and that the public can use and benefit directly from it, as appropriate. System reliability (including disaster survivability for emergency systems) and security were also perceived as being necessary by most participants.

Complete coverage of the City and mobile access to real-time data was not seen as a necessary technical requirement by most groups, however both were particular priorities of City staff. Both requirements will have to be met if City of Oakland departments are assumed to be regular users of any citywide wireless broadband system. Additionally, there
was a general concern expressed during most focus groups, the town hall meeting and some workshops that all areas of the City be served equally, if not fully. (p.18)"

=Organizations=
We've been working on a spreadsheet of Oakland community organizations [grassroots, schools, churches, non-profits, etc], which can be found [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ao_Q7DQvNFT-dEdhZUJaQ3dDY2plMjMxR3BNNmJuRlE#gid=0 here].

The following is a curation of organizations addressing the digital divide in Oakland (via [http://oaklandwiki.org Oakland Wiki]:

*[http://www.otxwest.org/ Oakland Technology Exchange West] - see our [[Mesh/Interviews/OTXwest|Interview Notes]] from 2013
*[http://youthradio.org/ Youth Radio] - see our [[Mesh/Interviews/YouthRadio|Interview Notes]] from 2013
*[http://kaporcenter.org/ Kapor Center for Social Impact] - see our [[Mesh/Interviews/KaporCenter|Interview Notes]] from 2013
*[http://www.lpfi.org/ Level Playing Field Institute] (related to Kapor Foundation)
*[http://urbanstrategies.org/ Urban Strategies] - contact is Steve Spiker - see our [[Mesh/Interviews/UrbanStrategies|Interview Notes]] from 2013
*[http://oaklandmakerspace.com/ Liberating Ourselves Locally] - a POC and women-centered makerspace in East Oakland - see our [[Mesh/Interviews/LOLspace|Interview Notes]] from 2013
*[http://www.stridecenter.org/ The Stride Center]
*Community Computer Centers run by the nonprofit [http://www.occurnow.org/ OCCUR]
**[http://oaklandwiki.org/Lion_Creek_Crossings_Technology_Center Lion Creek Crossings Technology Center]
**[http://www.eastmont.net/ Eastmont Technology Center]
*[http://themade.org/ The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment] - free classes for kids and adults.
*[http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/opr/s/facility/OAK029392 Mosswood Recreational Center] - contact is Dan Finlay, a friend of Sudo Room.
*[http://oaklandwiki.org/Oakland_Public_Library_Computer_Education Oakland Public Library Computer Education]
*[http://oaklandwiki.org/Oakland_Unified_School_District_Adult_%26_Career_Education Oakland Unified School District Adult & Career Education]
*[http://www.techbridgegirls.org/ Techbridge] - Inspiring girls in science & tech
*[http://odalc.org/ Oakland Digital Arts & Literacy Center] (ODALC or Oakland Digital, for short) - Executive Director is Shaun Tai
*[http://youthuprising.org/ Youth UpRising]
*[http://ucbessa.berkeley.edu/ Black Engineering and Science Students Association] - out of UC Berkeley
*[http://www.oases.org/ Oakland Asian Students Educational Services]
*[http://ewastecollective.org/ Alameda County Computer Resource Center] - ewaste recyclying program that builds refurbished laptops for low-income and unemployed Oakland residents
*[http://www.pcc.org/ PC Community Computer Users Group]
*[https://plus.google.com/106001843683607005171/about?gl=us&hl=en Acorn Computer Learning Center] - Computer training school
*[http://urbanhabitat.org Urban Habitat]
*[https://plus.google.com/100238391319809373543/about?gl=us&hl=en Business Education Technology]
*[http://www.eoba.org/ EOBA - East Oakland Boxing Association] - Tutoring/Academic Assistance
*[http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/opr/index.htm City of Oakland, Office of Parks and Recreation]
*[http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/DHS/s/SAD/OAK022069 Assets Project] - Provides job training in computer literacy for Oakland residents aged 55+
*[http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/teens/events-programs/ready-set-connect Ready Set Connect] - A project of the Oakland Public Libraries
*[http://www.hackthehood.org/ Hack the Hood]
*[http://www.media-alliance.org/ Media Alliance]
*[http://www.blackgirlscode.com/ Black Girls Code]
*[http://www.getconnectedoakland.org/ Get Connected! Oakland] - the City's initiative to connect business and more working on tech and internet access. Seems to be just a PR front

=Mesh-friendly ISPs=

Some ISPs allow sharing of Internet access and others do not. We provide node owners with a list of local ISPs that are known to allow sharing of Internet access and advise them that some ISPs may not allow sharing. The worst case scenario here is that one or more users get their Internet disconnected for terms of service violation.

The ISPs in the East Bay that allow Internet Connection sharing (that we know of) are:

*[http://www.monkeybrains.net/ MonkeyBrains wifi]
*[http://www.sonic.net/ Sonic.net DSL]
*[http://www.lmi.net/ LMI (Sonic.net reseller) DSL]
*[http://www.netwood.net Netwood DSL]
*[http://www.hughesnet.com Hughes Net Satellite Internet]

From deprecated [[Mesh/Communities]] page (needs merging with above).

=Key=
+ = contact(s)

! = rooftop(s)

$ = interested in a space

''Italics are relevant musings.''

=Locations=
''See also [http://meshmap.sudoroom.org prospective node map]''
*West Oakland*!$
*San Antonio*!
*Adam's Point*!
*Ghost Town*!
*Piedmont*
*Oakland 5th Ave Marina*!

==Schools==
''Resilient communication; internship opportunities; mentorship''
*Laney College*$
*Talk to Hilary Naylor [Oakland Unified School District]

==Libraries==
''Hooking up library catalogs would be rad... and libraries are the last bastion of nurturing public spaces.''
*Talk to Ivan

==Public Areas==
''Public wifi on the streets and in parks''
*Lake Merritt
*[http://oaklandwiki.org/Mosswood_Recreation_Center?&redirected_from=mosswood%20recreational%20center Mosswood Recreation Center] in Mosswood Park.

==Cohousing Communities==
''Hyperlocal economies/sharing/barter/timebank; resilient communication tools; neighborhood watch; storytelling''
*[https://www.cohousing.org/directory/view/2618 Swan's Market]
*[https://www.cohousing.org/directory/view/21228 Hidden Creek]
*[https://www.cohousing.org/directory/view/5928 Mariposa Grove]
*[https://www.cohousing.org/directory/view/6221 Temescal Commons]
*[https://www.cohousing.org/directory/view/6222 Temescal Creek]
*[https://www.cohousing.org/directory/view/20710 Triple Point]

==Urban Farms & Community Gardens==
''Hook up sensors to be informed eg; if garden needs water, coordinate shifts, info on plant care, cropswap coordination...''
*[http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/opr/s/cgardening/index.htm Official list of community gardens in Oakland]
*[http://oaklandwiki.org/People%27s_Grocery The People's Grocery]
*[http://www.phatbeetsproduce.org/ Phat Beets]
*[http://www.cityslickerfarms.org/ City Slicker Farms]
*[http://oaklandwiki.org/Ghost_Town_Farm?&redirected_from=ghost%20town%20farms Ghost Town Farms]

==Farmer's Markets==
''Announcing special kinds of produce / advertising healthy local food and crafts/vendors''
*Oakland Wiki has [http://oaklandwiki.org/Farmers%27_Markets a great list]!

=Groups=
==Organizations Working to End the Digital Divide==
It may be possible to get seed funding or community outreach help from organizations that are working to end the "digital divide."
*FCC Connect America Fund - FCC initiative to expand broadband to underserved communities. Budget up to $4.5 billion per year. https://www.fcc.gov/general/connect-america-fund-caf
*FCC National Broadband Plan - A policy-making initiative of the FCC to expand internet access - https://www.fcc.gov/general/national-broadband-plan
*HUD Connect Home - US Government program through Housing and Urban Development to bring cheap ($10 per month) broadband to underserved areas using existing ISPs - http://connecthome.hud.gov/
*Everyone On - NGO - working to bring affordable 4G service to undeserved communities in the United States - $1.8 million per year in income. Headquartered in Washington DC. http://everyoneon.org/
*Close The Gap - NGO - Mostly focused on providing computers and internet to the developing world. â‚¬6.3 million in assets. Headquartered in Belgium. http://close-the-gap.org/
*Computers for Everyone - Menlo Park, CA based NGO working to provide reused computers to low income community members - http://www.computersforeveryone.org/
*Computers For Classrooms - Chico, CA based NGO working to provide reused computers to low income community members - http://www.computersforclassrooms.org/
*Computers 4 Kids - Sacramento, CA based NGO working to provide reused computers to low income community members - http://www.c4kca.org/
*Oakland Digital - 1224 Harrison St, Oakland - "an award-winning design studio that bridges the opportunity and digital literacy divide among Students, Businesses, and Entrepreneurs" - http://oaklanddigital.org/whatwedo/

==Local Businesses==
''Free wifi attracts new people; community bulletin boards; local media streams''
*SoleSpace*!
*Taco trucks!
*Give a presentation to the Oakland Rotary Club: http://www.oakland-rotary.org/
*Give a presentation to the Berkeley Rotary Club: http://berkeleyrotary.org/

==Hacker/Makerspaces==
''DIY instructables; Microcontroller projects; developing application; community media; community bulletin boards to promote classes and events; find tools / skilled people / projects''
*[https://sudoroom.org sudo room]*!$
*[http://oaklandmakerspace.wordpress.com Liberating Ourselves Locally]*!
*[http://thecrucible.org The Crucible]*!
*[http://acemonstertoys.org Ace Monster Toys]*!?$
*[http://mothership.hackermoms.org/ Hacker Moms]*!?
*[http://www.nimbyspace.org/ Nimby Space]!
*[http://counterculturelabs.org Counter Culture Labs]*!$

==Community Media==
''Local streams from community spaces that foster self-expression, art and politics; archives and zine library; radio podcasts; ''
*[http://youthradio.org Youth Radio]*!
*[http://oaklandnorth.net/ Oakland North]*
*[http://oaklandlocal.org Oakland Local]*
*[http://www.akpress.org/ AK Press]
*[http://inkworkspress.com/ Inkworks]
*[http://slingshot.tao.ca Slingshot]
*[http://www.timelessinfinitelight.com/ Timeless, Infinite Light]*
*[http://www.pmpress.org PM Press]

==Non-Profits==
''By Donation-based gift economies and lending libraries; solidarity organizing; "craigslist free and de facto locally-relevant"''
*[http://www.urbanstrategies.org/ Urban Strategies]*!
*[http://www.otxwest.org Oakland Technology Exchange West]*! - Tons of equipment for building computers, which they then give away/work-trade to local youth who need them!
*[http://oaklanddaylabor.com/ Oakland Workers' Collective] - Day laborers organization.
*[http://grassrootshouse.org The Grassroots House] - Workspace for radical organizers. In Berkeley.
*[http://www.youthuprising.org/ Youth Uprising]
*[http://thelonghaul.org/ The Long Haul]*! - Infoshop.
*[http://urbanhabitat.org Urban Habitat]
*[http://www.techbridgegirls.org Techbridge] - supporting girls in science and technology

==Collectives==
''Community events/gathering organizing; skill-sharing; documentation''
*[http://aplaceforsustainableliving.org/ A PLACE for Sustainable Living]*! - Permaculture mecca located at 1121 64th St in Oakland.
*[http://rpscollective.org/ Rock Paper Scissors Collective]*!? - Arts collective and neighbor-friend of sudo's.
*[http://oaklandwiki.org/Sustaining_Ourselves_Locally Sustaining Ourselves Locally]*! - Food justice collective and neighbor-friend of LOL's.
*[http://theholdout.org The Holdout]*!
*[http://oaklandwiki.org/The_Vulcan The Vulcan]*!

==Worker-Owned Cooperatives==
''Self-organizing and coordination tools; hyperlocal economies; ''
*[http://designaction.org Design Action Collective]*!
*[http://radicaldesigns.org/ Radical Designs]*!
*[http://arizmendi.coop/ Arizmendi]!
*[http://oaklandwiki.org/Mandela_Foods_Cooperative Mandela Foods Cooperative]!
*[http://www.dig.coop/ DIG Cooperative]

=Projects=
''These projects are headed by friend's of the mesh group and could plug in in some really interesting ways:''
*[http://nerdsfornature.org Nerds for Nature]*
*[http://oaklandwiki.org Oakland Wiki]*
*[http://timebank.sfbace.org/ BACE Timebank]*$
*[http://sunsynchrony.com/ Sun Synchony]*!
*[http://openoakland.org Open Oakland]*
*[http://eastbayprisonersupport.wordpress.com East Bay Prisoner Support]
*[http://timelistgroup.org Timelist Group]*$
*[https://twitter.com/RADBRAINS4LYFE Rad Brains] - Radical mental health collective. #mutualaid

No contacts, but seem interesting:
*[http://groundscoreco.com/about/ Groundscore Collective] - Public art.

=Ideas=
*Talk to landlords who own a fair number of properties.
*Find folks who might be interested in doing curriculum development for getting kids engaged in community media.
*How to remain the anti-Ingress? http://searchengineland.com/ingress-googles-ar-game-a-stealth-local-data-effort-175417
*More psychogeographic explorations of the urban landscape in which we live and move
**Integrate with bioblitz (NFN).
*Housing projects?
*Put a post on NextDoor for each neighborhood - http://nextdoor.com

=ToDos=
*Do a presentation/focus group at LOL
*Make contacts at schools and libraries
*Pitch the mesh at an upcoming Open Oakland monthly general meeting
*curriculum development

=Maps of High Demand Areas=
* [https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/embed?mid=1tUW-afu_eLg2A8qsWt1mF8QnR8Y&ll=37.79054383720123%2C-122.21140885&z=12 OUSD's Google Map represents a large survey of Oakland schools] to determine how many students throughout the district need a computer and Internet access at home
* [Http://i.imgur.com/NuVLk5j.png Areas where people bike and run] - based on [http://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#13/-122.26461/37.82212/blue/both Strava Data]
* [http://i.imgur.com/lNt0CvR.png Areas where people take photos] - based on [http://www.sightsmap.com/ Sightmaps]
* [http://i.imgur.com/xbrJI16.png Homes with fiber to the end user] - based on [http://www.broadbandmap.gov/technology Broadband.gov]

=Map of the Backbone Fiber, Data Centers and Free Wifi in Oakland and Berkeley=
[https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=z0NRPXTT9E8s.kKCA6hyEgsQA Map of the East Bay]

Key:

Red Lines = Existing backbone fiber optic lines in the East Bay

Red Dots = Data Centers connected the the internet backbone (which can be used for future exit nodes)

Green Dots = Existing Relay Nodes with internet access

Blue Dots = Existing Mesh Nodes without internet access

Light Gray Dots = Locations with free wifi (which could become future relay nodes)

Dark Gray Dots = Locations that would benefit from free internet

[[Category:MeshResearch]]