UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Networks of Detroit a Dissertation Submitted in Partial Satisfaction of the Requirements
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Networks of Detroit A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Information Studies by Dustin O’Hara 2019 © Copyright by Dustin O’Hara 2019 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Networks of Detroit by Dustin O’Hara Doctor of Philosophy in Information Studies University of California, Los Angeles, 2019 Professor Ramesh Srinivasan, Chair In this dissertation I present three case studies that are illustrative of how heterogeneous factors, including cultural values, institutional policies, and political interests, can inform the design, configuration, and use of internet-related technologies. My analysis builds upon the concept of internet “tussles” (Clark et al. 2005) and, in doing so, I propose an analytic method that I refer to as multi-tussle. Tussles are characterized by conflicting interests between two or more parties that are mediated by the internet. Tussles involve a combination of technical mechanisms and people, and the many ideals and values that motivate their use of the internet. The case studies that I present in this dissertation pull from my fieldwork in Detroit. ii The dissertation of Dustin O’Hara is approved. Paul Dourish Christopher Kelty Leah Lievrouw Ramesh Srinivasan, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2019 iii This dissertation is dedicated to my daughter, Vivien “Scout” O’Hara. iv Table of Contents Introduction Section Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………………………………………... 1 1.1 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………......9 Chapter 2: Internet Tussles – a framework for analyzing heterogeneous networks ..……. 11 2.1 Growth in internet use leads to internet tussles……………...………………………………11 2.2 Internet Tussles: Design, Configuration, and Run-time....……………….………………….15 2.3 “Tussle spaces” another name for values………………...……………….………………….23 2.4 Conclusion……………………………………..………...……………….………………….29 2.5 Bibliography……………….……………….……………….……………….………………31 Chapter 3: Ethnographic Methods………………………..…………………………………. 33 3.1 Ethnographic Methods in Information Studies………………………………………………33 3.2 Ethnographic Site & Fieldwork………………………….……………….………………….36 3.3 Detroit as Allegory: Rise, Decline, and Reinvention………………………………………..40 3.4 Internet access in Detroit…………………………………………………………………….54 3.5 The Economic Logic and Emancipatory Ideals of Wireless Networking…………………...64 3.6 Bibliography……………….……………….……………….……………….………………72 Case Study Section Chapter 4: Community Networks……………………………………………….……………78 4.1 The North End Neighborhood……………….……………….……………….……………. 79 4.2 Commotion wireless……………….……………….……………….……………….………96 4.3 Conclusion…..…………………………….……………….……………….………………102 4.4 Bibliography……..……………….……………….……………….……………….………103 Chapter 5: Parkman Library……………………………………………………………….. 109 5.1 The Parkman Library……………………………………………………………………… 109 5.2 “Frontline Mediators” ……………….……………….……………….……………………113 5.3 The Institutional Topology of Universal Service……………….……………….…………122 5.4 Conclusion...……..……………….……………….……………….……………….………131 5.5 Bibliography……..……………….……………….……………….……………….………133 Chapter 6: “Free WiFi” and Commerce…………………………………………………….138 6.1 “Whopper WiFi”……………………………..……………….……………….……………138 6.2 Project Oxygen & Meraki……………….……………….……………….……………….. 144 6.3 Conclusion..…………………..……………….……………….……………….…………. 152 v 6.4 Bibliography……………….……………….……………….……………….……………. 154 Analysis & Conclusion Section Chapter 7: Multi-Tussle: applying the tussle concept to qualitative research..…………...157 7.1 Community Networking Case Study...….……………….……………….……………….. 165 7.1.1 Design-time……………………………………….……………….……………….. 165 7.1.2 Configuration & Run-time in Detroit…............….……………….……………….. 168 7.1.3 Configuration-time…….......….………………….……………….…………………169 7.1.4 Run-time…………….………………...………….……………….……………….. 171 7.2 Public Library Case Study….………………...………….……………….……………….. 176 7.2.1 Design-time………………………………………………………………………….177 7.2.2 Configuration-time………….……………………………………………………….179 7.2.3 Run-time…………….………………...………….……………….……………….. 182 7.3 Commercial “Free WiFi” Case Study………...………….……………….……………….. 186 7.3.1 Design-time………………………………………………………………………….186 7.3.2 Configuration-time………….……………………………………………………….189 7.3.3 Run-time…………….………………...………….……………….……………….. 190 7.4 Conclusion………………………….………...………….……………….……………….. 194 7.5 Bibliography…….………………….………...………….……………….……………….. 195 Chapter 8: Conclusion………………………………………………………………………...197 8.1 Bibliography……………….……………….……………….……………….……………. 201 Chapter 9: Photo Essay..……………………………………………………………………...202 vi Acknowledgement I would like to thank the individuals who made this dissertation possible. In particular, I would like to thank my committee, Ramesh Srinivasan, Leah Lievrouw, Christopher Kelty, and Paul Dourish -- your feedback helped clarify the focus of my research. I would like to thank my advisor Ramesh Srinivasan for his mentorship throughout the doctoral program and the detailed feedback and attention he provided as I wrote the dissertation. I would also like to thank Fabian Wagmister and Jeff Burke for the creative and intellectual mentorship, and friendship, that started when I was an undergraduate student at UCLA. I would like to thank my friends and family for their curiosity and willingness to talk (and often listen) about Detroit and the internet. And from my time in Detroit, I would like to thank Chris Mccarus and Benjamin Chodoroff, who went out of their way to help me understand their city. vii Biography Dustin O’Hara grew up in Southern California. Much of his youth was spent building imaginary contraptions at home, long days at the beach with family and friends, and many afternoons at his father’s graphic design studio. Dustin attended UCLA as an undergraduate student, earning a bachelor’s of arts from the Design | Media Arts department in 2007. Prior to pursuing a PhD Dustin worked on the PBS documentary series Roadtrip Nation, apprenticed at the Green Gulch Zen Buddhist farm, earned an MFA from the Digital Arts New Media program at UC Santa Cruz, and lived in London where he worked with Microsoft as a creative technologist, and was awarded a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to direct a new media project exploring the history of a neighborhood park. In 2012, Dustin’s daughter Vivien “Scout” O’Hara was born. Now, Dustin enjoys building imaginary contraptions with Scout. viii Chapter 1: Introduction In this dissertation I present three case studies that are illustrative of how heterogeneous factors, including cultural values, institutional policies, and political interests, can inform the design, configuration, and use of internet-related technologies. My analysis builds upon the concept of internet “tussles” (Clark et al. 2005) and, in doing so, I propose an analytic method that I refer to as multi-tussle. Tussles are characterized by conflicting interests between two or more parties that are mediated by the internet. Tussles involve a combination of technical mechanisms and people, and the many ideals and values that motivate their use of the internet. The case studies that I present in this dissertation pull from my fieldwork in Detroit. At this point the reader might ask, but why Detroit? The high level answer to this question is that Detroit’s recent history of decline, ongoing struggles, and rapid transformation make it a compelling and useful case study for examining the limitations and unintended consequences of laissez-faire capitalism, liberal democracy, and our collective use and projected aspirations for digital technologies. The 2015 U.S. Census identified Detroit as the poorest major city in the United States, and one of the most economically and racially segregated metro regions in the U.S. (“U.S. Census Bureau” 2018). With one of the highest rates of households without internet access (roughly 40%), Detroit is described as an example of how the “digital divide” is contributing to greater economic inequality (Bach 2017; Kang 2016). But to describe Detroit as without internet is misleading. Reliance on the internet is ubiquitous, and those most typically considered “have-not populations” in the digital divide regularly interact with digital technology. As a topic, internet access is often described in simple binaries, as something one has or does not 1 have. However, the institutional priorities and system configurations that support internet access are diverse and varied in their design. To illustrate these differences I present three case studies from my time in Detroit, with each involving a combination of interviews, observations, and historic records. The multi-tussle approach offers a analytic framework for managing and thinking through complex heterogeneous cases. In chapter two, following this introduction, I examine David Clark’s tussle argument. Having been involved with internet research since the 1970s, Clark began writing about the tussle concept in the early 2000s as a way of grappling with the consequences of the internet’s explosive growth and the diversity of users and conflicting interests that emerged. Clark was particularly concerned with protecting the internet’s ‘openness,’ or ability for anyone to build and release new internet applications. Writing with the internet’s ‘technical community’ in mind, Clark argued that it was important that they, as a professional community, take non-technical factors seriously. Citing actor-network theory (Latour 1990; Callon 1990) and other science and technology studies scholars, Clark argued for a more self-reflexive understanding of the role