The City of South Bend has been named a 2022 “Digital Inclusion Trailblazer” by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. This was the first time the City made the list for its leadership in digital equity.
“To accelerate our cities growth and create more opportunities for all of our residents, we must take bold action to embrace technology and modernize our infrastructure,” said Mayor James Mueller. “We will continue our work to close the digital divide in the city and expand broadband access to residents in our community.”
South Bend met all six of the Digital Inclusion Trailblazer criteria. Cities have been vying for a place on the list since the honor was launched in 2016.
Trailblazers are judged based on six criteria showing a city or county’s digital inclusion leadership. These include having full-time local government staff, a digital inclusion plan, an open-access coalition, survey research, funded digital inclusion programming, and efforts to increase affordability of home broadband service.
As the Infrastructure Act continues to roll out, city and county digital inclusion plans and work will continue to become more necessary and influential. State leaders will be required to consult and include existing city plans within their state.
