October 12, 2021
According to the American Community Survey 5-Year Estimate, between 6% and 22% of Hudson Valley households (by county) had no internet service in 2019. The better connected counties were Putnam, Dutchess and Westchester. Yet even in Dutchess County, where 91% of household did have internet, 10,184 households did not. People may live beyond the physical infrastructure that connects to the internet, they may not be able to afford monthly internet service fees, or they may not own a device to connect. Whatever the reasons are that people do not have internet service, when the pandemic forced much of life online, these households were left out.
Read more about the digital divide and Pattern’s plan forward here:
https://www.pattern-for-progress.org/portfolio/the-pathway-forward/
