| This thesis provides an exploration of the use of publicly available information technologies by residents in Toronto's Parkdale area, and their relationship to new forms of citizenship. Through interviews with technology users and local service providers, key themes have been elaborated and placed in context alongside an analysis of government, business and media documents. The result is an attempt to deepen theoretical perspectives on the challenges and potential for information technologies to foster what Nicholas Rose (2000) describes as “activist” approaches to citizenship.; The material spaces of technology services are also examined, reflecting in many ways Winchester's and White's (1988) elaboration of geographies of marginalization. Drawing on empirical work by Laws (1994) and Brown (1994) it is argued that the locations of Internet and computer-based services both reflect and shape their use, and have broader implications for considerations of democratic participation. |
