10 HOFSTRAHORIZONS

Can community be sustained inthe 21st century withoutdependency on global mediaconnections? To what degreedoes our contemporary visionof community depend on com-

munication? How much can a commu-nity depend upon external connectionsand remain an identifiable community?Paul Goldberger, the former architectur-al critic of The New York Times, hasdescribed the urban impulse as “animpulse toward community — animpulse toward being together, andtoward accepting the idea that howeverdifferent we may be, something unitesus” (Goldberger, p. 3).

The World Charter on the Right to theCity, a document developed by a rangeof social movements, municipalities,national governments, universities andnon-governmental organizations, wasproposed in 2004. It is an instrumentinvented in order to recognize the idealcharacteristics of a city, those that makea city more human, more sustainableand more democratic. This instrumenthelps to accomplish these goals by iden-tifying those rights that complement andextend the exercise of city-dwellers’ clas-sic individual human rights. The chartercalls for these rights to be recognized aspart of the international human rightssystem, and is being used by UN-HABITAT

and UNESCO to launch an internationaldebate about these issues.

The charter predicted that by 2005,urbanization would have reached 65percent. This means that the conditionsof people living in cities with regard tophysical, economic and social needs arebecoming an ever more critical concernin terms of quality of life around theworld. Demographic trends also reflecta move toward suburbanization, aprocess begun on Long Island. The com-bination of the physical and virtual tech-nologies of transportation and commu-nication define cities, suburbs and ruralareas, and the relationship betweenthem. The city has many faces: somecontemporary and some historical. Weare not neutral about whether an envi-ronment is urban, suburban or ruralbecause we live, work, go to school,shop and play in these linked environ-ments. These landscapes are the sites ofsocial interaction once thought to beessential to our social well-being. Butthese landscapes have also been funda-mentally altered by two major develop-ments: transportation and communica-tion — both of which have radicallyaltered our “geography of place.”

The study of urban communicationbegins with the notion that cities areinherently places and products of com-munication, and they provide meeting

spaces for interaction and/or observa-tion. However, urban America and sub-urbia are facing a critical time.Communication technologies alter therelationship between city and individual.In addition to traditional face-to-facecommunication, the urban communica-tion environment includes: regional andlocal media, the ethnic press, the globalmedia, and the media technologies thatprovide security through surveillance,such as closed-circuit television (CCTV)surveillance cameras, microphones andeven webcams. Images of the city injournalism and popular culture aboundin music, films, television and advertis-ing. Cell phone towers, broadband andWi-Fi rollout challenge public and pri-vate policy makers who seek to findways to maintain, update and improvecities by integrating the latest technolo-gies. Major initiatives that rely on mediatechnologies to make urban streets safeand rejuvenate city centers are takingplace throughout the country. Theseprograms are reflected in the widespreadintroduction of Internet protocol (IP)networked closed-circuit television(CCTV) camera systems like thoseinstalled throughout Chicago, and freewireless Internet access in urban publicplaces, as evidenced by a project beingundertaken in Philadelphia. TheExecutive Committee of Wireless

Urban and Suburban Communicationin the Digital AgeSusan DruckerProfessorDepartment of Journalism, Media Studies, and Public Relations

HOFSTRAHORIZONS11

Philadelphia describes the initiative as aproject that “aims to strengthen thecity’s economy and transformPhiladelphia’s neighborhoods by provid-ing wireless Internet access throughoutthe city. Wireless Philadelphia will workto create a digital infrastructure foropen-air Internet access and to help citi-zens, businesses, schools, and commu-nity organizations make effective use ofthis technology to achieve their goalswhile providing a greater experience forvisitors to the city” (WirelessPhiladelphia Mission Statement, 2005).

The study of urban communicationaround the world has spawned newresearch and curriculum developmentand a new foundation to promote andsupport this work. In the Media Studiesprogram at Hofstra University, a specialtopics course titled “Media and UrbanCommunication” has been offered. Theauthor is a founding board member ofthe newly formed Urban CommunicationFoundation, which was established withthe recognition that urban centers andsuburbia (intimately connected) are fac-ing a critical time, and that communica-tion scholars have much to contributeto this issue. The fundamental ques-tions being asked are:

1) What can communication research andtheory provide in order to better under-stand and design vibrant urban centers?

2) Should city planning and media planningbe linked and coordinated?

3) What can communication experts con-tribute?

4) What is the role of journalism in main-taining a community?

There was a time when newspapercoverage and the city were synonymous.All else was peripheral. There was atime when radio and television were pri-marily local and served to define place,particularly important from a regulatoryperspective. There was a time whenlocal broadcast coverage and the city

were synonymous. In terms of radio andtelevision, the de-emphasis of localitycan be traced to the rise of clear channelstations and super stations, cable andthen satellite. As we gained the ability tocommunicate over broader and broaderareas, local became regional, local wasremoved from place, and some localwent global. Now we speak of things“glocal.”

There was also a time when thetelephone defined community —

defined by operators, party lines, thename of a person or a business’s tele-phone exchange and later by the areacode and dialing prefix. We are now inthe process of “de-locationizing” thetelephone — triggered by the rise in useof the mobile phone. This is due to themobile phone operating from“nowhere.” There was a time when theregulation of broadcasting was based ongeography and the public interest of acommunity. But was there ever a time

Millennium Park, Chicago, November 2004. Photo by Susan Drucker.

12 HOFSTRAHORIZONS

when cities were recognized as centralto communication and journalism stud-ies, structured programs that can pro-vide relevant expertise?

The state of community in the cityand suburb is a precarious one, as itfaces serious challenges from a numberof internal and external sources:

1) Corporatization2) Immigration3) Balkanization4) Gentrification5) Communication technologies

Communication technology hasbeen the product of careful economicplanning; however, its accelerated rate ofinvention over the past few decades andits integration into the fabric of con-sciousness has been so gradual as toappear seamless. Weare so immersed in atechnological worldthat it has become vir-tually (in the old senseof the word – almostor nearly) impossibleto examine ourselvesand the transformationof self and city andsuburb by incrementsin the advancement ofcommunication tech-nology.

Innovation isoften linked to a senseof apprehension anduncertainty. In the 15thcentury, uncertaintysurrounded the introduction of move-able type and altered the way we com-municate knowledge, which in effectaltered our views regarding worship.Printing put the Bible into the hands ofall people; it was no longer a luxuryitem for the few, and is evidenced by therise of Protestantism, with its doctrineof the “priesthood of all believers.”The invention of television as a massform of entertainment and news wasseen by some critics as a threat to the

more traditional forms of performanceand news dissemination – the stage, themotion picture, and the newspaper. Andthe impact of each new medium wasradical and changed the nature of socialinteraction. Each of these inventionsaltered the urban place as it relates tothe intricate nature of mass communica-tion, interpersonal interaction, and pub-lic space. We express concern about theimpact of communication innovationupon the urban landscape. We continueto ask similar questions regarding theimpact of the digital revolution uponour traditional conceptualization of thecity. What impact will Wi-Fi have uponsocial spaces? How does the ubiquitousmobile telephone alter our sense of pri-vacy and our relationships with others?Will the integration of the telephoneand text messaging plus Voice overInternet Protocol devices alter the con-

cept of the office andthe workplace? Towhat extent willincreased telecommu-nication mobility bereflected in the designand development ofhousing? How is pub-lic space augmented orenhanced throughcommunication tech-nologies?

New technology isconstructed upon theaccumulated layers ofprevious innovations.Each period of techno-logical change and

innovation creates new expectations andassumptions. Communication scholarsrefer to these different periods as mediagenerations.

Cities and their media infrastruc-ture are built by layering one media eraupon another. As archaeologists unearthlayers of history through the process ofexcavation, layers of technologies accu-mulate, reshaping and sometimes oblit-erating the previous media generation.As durable and eternal as the form andfunction of the city can appear, the rise

of new technologies incrementallyerodes the form, function and influencea city can exert. For many, unaugmentedcities (those without radical communi-cation innovations, such as fiber opticcables) are outdated relics of the pastwhile others look to augmented citiesand digital communities as the means ofsalvation, supporting the continuedvalue of cities. Augmented or tradition-al, the fundamental function of a city isstill the heart of the matter. The chal-lenge for current society is to maintain asense of community without creatingmore and more isolated or fragmentedpopulations who rely solely on thesenew forms of media for communication.

To this end, communication schol-ars have been working. With their var-ied expertise, we scholars have been try-ing to affect public policy and law toprevent the uncontrolled evolution ofmedia technology and its effects. TheWorld Charter on the Right to the Cityrepresents an important step in theeffort to critically examine the urbancondition and the quality of life andcivil society in cities. The charter, whileconsidering the challenges of globaliza-tion, is weakened by not explicitlyaddressing the fundamental issues of

London's city lights display the interconnectedness ofmodern technology. Photo by Susan Drucker.

Modern urban life,shifting demographics,

and the ascendancyof suburbanism

challenge scholarsand policy

makers withdiverse expertise.

HOFSTRAHORIZONS13

Susan J. Drucker joined the faculty ofHofstra University in 1989 as an assistant pro-fessor in the Department of Speech Arts andSciences. Today, she is a professor in theDepartment of Journalism, Media Studies andPublic Relations, as well as an accomplishedscholar. Professor Drucker earned a B.A.,summa cum laude, from Queens College of theCity University of New York with a joint major incommunication and political science as well as amajor in history. She earned a J.D. from St.John’s University School of Law and subsequent-

ly earned an M.A., summa cum laude, in mediastudies from Queens College/CUNY. At St.John’s University, she specialized in constitution-al law and its relationship to communication andmedia. In addition to this specialty, she focusedon land use and real estate law. Although theseareas may seem removed from each other, theyare both relevant to her research on communica-tion and the city today.

Professor Drucker teaches courses incommunication law, media history and society;global media; urban communication; celebrity,media and culture; and media and privacy.She has also been involved in further curricu-lum development in the Media Studies pro-gram. She serves as faculty adviser to LambdaPi Eta Honor Society and is the track coordina-tor of Media Studies. She is on the Board ofDirectors of the Urban CommunicationsFoundation, an organization supportingresearch on communication and the urban con-dition.

Professor Drucker specializes in communi-cation and law, cross-cultural communicationand the relationship of communication technolo-gies to public space. Her work examines the

relationship between media technology andhuman factors, particularly as viewed from alegal perspective. She is on the board of direc-tors of the recently established UrbanCommunication Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profitorganization supporting research on communi-cation and the urban condition. She publishesextensively on the emerging laws of cyberspace,press freedoms, and wired cities. Much of herpublished work on urban communication hasbeen co-authored with her longtime writing part-ner, Professor Gary Gumbert. She lectures widelyinternationally.

Professor Drucker is the recipient of numerousawards, including the Eastern CommunicationAssociation’s Distinguished Research Fellow Award(2002), Distinguished Teaching Fellow Award(2004), and Distinguished Service Award (2005).

Her most recent books include Real Law @Virtual Space: The Regulation of Cyberspace(2nd edition), co-edited with Gary Gumpert. Sheis currently working on a volume titled TheCommunication Division of Cyprus. Her latestbook, Heroes in a Global World (with GaryGumpert), will be published by Hampton Pressin spring 2006.

communication so integral to citiestoday and in the future. Among the 23articles of the charter, two addressdimensions of communication. ArticleVI underscores the importance of theright to public information from cityadministrations, or from the legislativeor judicial authorities; this in an agewhen e-government and digital citiesoffer “one-stop” public access for localinformation. From news channelsbroadcasting 24/7 to the proliferation ofonline publications, the illusion is theapparent increased coverage and infor-mation about government. Article IXreaffirms the right of association, assem-bly, expression and the democratic useof urban public space, emphasizing thatcities should make public spaces avail-able for meetings and informal gather-ings. However, the social functions ofthe city and the technological communi-cation infrastructure are neglected in thedocument.

“In the 20th century the prosperityof communities was defined largely bythe proximity of an interstate highwayto the community. Today, communitiesand neighborhood developments withaffordable broadband access and goodconnections to regional and nationalnetworks will prosper” (Cohill, p. 60).Many cities and suburbs are repairingdecaying infrastructure while buildingnew communication infrastructures toprovide services like broadband access.Ubiquitous computing, mobile, wirelessconnectivity, fiber optic telecommunica-tions systems, and surveillance camerasreflect the wiring of cities; they are nowa reality and a part of our everyday lives.

Modern urban life, shifting demo-graphics, and the ascendancy of subur-banism challenge scholars and policymakers with diverse expertise.Communication scholars have much tooffer in the development of public policyand law, which takes into account com-munication needs, practices and culture.

References

Cohill, A. M. (2005, July). Broadband master

planning. Last Mile: Broadband Design and

Development. pp. 60-61.

Goldberger, P. (2001, February 1). Cities,

Place and Cyberspace. www.paulgold

berger.com/speeches.php?peech=berkeley.

Site visited May 30, 2005.

Rush, J.W. (2005, July). New Orleans:

Combining sewer repair with telecommu-

nication construction. Last Mile:

Broadband Design and Development. pp. 30-35.

UN Report: State of the World’s Cities Report

2004/5 Globalization and World Culture.

(2004). http://www.unhabitat.org/media

centre/sowckit.asp. Site visited July 14, 2005.

Wireless Philadelphia Mission Statement.

(2005). http://www.phila.gov/wireless/.

Site visited October 1, 2005.

World Charter on the Right to the City –

Proposal. (2004). http://www.cohre.org/

library/World-Charter-on-the-Right-to-

the-City-October-04.doc. Site visited

July 14, 2005.