Skip to main content
Donate

Mobilizing Communities

This series explores the opportunities and challenges of using mobile technologies to engage and organize communities, produced in partnership with the California Endowment.

In 2011, Pew Research found that only 35% of American adults owned a smartphone. Just three years later, smartphone ownership has nearly doubled to 58%, with 90% of American adults owning some type of cell phone.

Pew Research also found in 2013 that 72% of all online American adults use social media sites like Facebook, up from only 8% in 2005. Even President Obama is "hip to all these things"; he's hosted Twitter chats, Google+ hangouts, a live Q&A on Tumblr, and an "Ask Me Anything" thread on Reddit.

But this increased connectedness doesn't necessarily translate to increased engagement on a local level. Especially in a sprawling, decentralized city like Los Angeles, growing a sense of community has proven difficult.

"Compared to the nation, Angelenos are less likely to be involved in groups, less likely to engage in organizational activism, less likely to vote, less likely to be engaged in faith-based organizations, less likely to socialize informally, and less likely to be trusting," writes LA2050, citing a 2003 study by the USC Center on Philanthropy & Public Policy Research.

Community organizations already know that engaging the communities of Los Angeles will require ingenuity, teamwork, and persistence. But how does technology fit into the picture?

mobilizing.jpg
Support Provided By

Featured

hackathon01.jpg
Hacking the Drought at L.A. Futurethon
Dozens of individuals from around the city attended the 48-hour hackathon, which addressed the issue of the drought in California, in hopes of developing innovative solutions to the drought and maybe even win a prize in the process.
techducation03.jpg
Techducation: Embracing Mobile Technology in Our Classrooms
Phones can be the revolutionary tool that we need to transform the way we connect to each other, inside and outside the classroom.
Advancement Project HealthyCity.org.jpg
Mobile Mapping Technology Helps Build Stronger and Healthier Communities in Los Angeles
With the proliferation of mobile phones, digital cartography has taken off as a community-building tool. Using geotags for posted photographs and status updates, people can relay valuable information about the communities they live in.
kgatwitter2
L.A. Area Organizations Use Social Media to Augment Face-to-Face Engagement
In Los Angeles, where busy urban lifestyles often make it more difficult for groups to organize and engage with the community, social media becomes key medium for messaging.
ridesouthla-thumb-630x420-76630
Exploring the Possibilities of Mobile Technology for Community Engagement
Community organizations already know that engaging the communities of Los Angeles will require ingenuity, teamwork, and persistence. But how does technology fit into the picture?
Active loading indicator