The Case of Digital Redlining: Evaluating whether Broadband Internet Speeds are Disproportionately Accessible in Metro Atlanta Open Access

Abstract

This thesis aims to explore the probable effects of disproportionate access to internet capabilities across census tracts in Atlanta to understand the phenomenon of digital redlining. Defined by Governing, Digital Redlining refers to the “underinvestment in providing adequate broadband services to low-income areas and/or communities of color” (Quaintance, 2022). Often, these practices result in plans that issue low internet speeds disproportionately, and capabilities that are less affordable in low-income areas.  At least 18 million American households lack broadband subscriptions, and a majority of these disconnected homes reside in metropolitan areas. As broadband is becoming an essential public commodity, assessing the modes of barriers to accessibility and the delivery of infrastructure is pivotal to uncovering possible broadband adoption and network gaps and expanding digital equity. To investigate this objective, internet performance data was collected through the Measurement Lab (M-LAB) from 2010 to 2022 and was mapped and aggregated across census tracts in Atlanta. In order to account for changes over this period, a component of time was analyzed with evolving internet usage to scope the effects of gentrification in shifting populations within these areas. Further, aggregated upload and download speeds were evaluated among demographic variables to estimate the internet performance across the population of households in Atlanta. From the results of this study, there is comparatively variation in internet speed coverage which reveals inconsistencies in broadband capabilities across Metro Atlanta. 

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Literature Review 4

Broadband Internet 4

Digital Redlining and Internet Service Providers 4

The Significance of Digital Equity 5

The Digital Divide 6

The City of Atlanta 8

Methods 11

Data Acquisition 11

MapBox Visualizations 11

Atlanta Census Tract Maps 12

Conley Regression Estimation 16

Results 18

Measurement Lab: Download and Upload Speeds 18

Frequency of Download and Upload Speeds 19

Internet Speeds and Educational Attainment 26

Conley Regression 28

Discussion 30

Limitations 30

Conclusion 32

References 34

References for R Programming 37

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Quantitative Science
Degree	B.S.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Sociology, Theory and Methods
Keyword	Quantitative Theory and Methods
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Kevin McAlister, Emory University
Committee Members	Lauren Klein, Emory University Cassidy Puckett, Emory University

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