Technology and Low-Income Communities:
An Interior Design Model that Fosters an Integrated Environment for
Education, Community, and Technology
The field of interior design is closely tied to home and work. Residential interior design
impacts individuals’ personal lives through the design of their home and commercial interior
design impacts their world outside the home through the design of classrooms and the
workplace. In America, the design of the home, also known by the term “first place,” and the
design of the workplace, known by the term “second place,” is well researched, documented and
developed. “Third place,” the social surroundings separate from the two social environments of
home and classroom or workplace, is a concept that evolves the community but has not yet been
developed, nourished and encouraged to a large extent in America today.
Americans have not taken the time to understand the benefits of third place that other
cultures cherish. The French, for example, perpetuate their culture in places like the Parisian
café; the British have relished in the English pub; and Germans hold their ‘beer gardens’ in high
cultural esteem. Perhaps one of the reasons ‘third place’ in America has been disappearing is
because technology essentially has created a replacement or a kind of virtual third place. This
replacement of physical third place has further disconnected multi-generational and multisocioeconomic
groups in the urban setting. Although physically close in proximity, these age and
social groups tend to rely on technology devices (smart phones, tablets, and laptops) to
communicate and interact. The disconnection is further advanced due to the fact that the
American way of life is embedded in an extreme work ethic. Americans devote most of their
time to first place (home) and second place (classroom or workplace) but have not discovered the
importance of third place. The development of third place provides a healthy alternative to home
and work. In the absence of an informal public life, Americans are denied those third place
means of relieving stress that serve other cultures so effectively.
A healthy community establishes positive places where individuals from diverse cultures,
generations and socioeconomic backgrounds can come together and establish a sense of
belonging and bond with each other. A community which has a strong sense of self can alleviate
many of the social problems that often affect urban America today.
Technology plays an important role in all phases and places in American life today.
This study will analyze third place in urban America and the growing trend of the sole reliance
on technology to be connected for personal and work lives. Banerjee (2001) asserted, “....the
dizzying pace of the information and communication technology revolution is contributing to
profound changes in the traditional concepts of place and community, local versus global
interests, individual and group identities, and the nature of daily commerce and social
relations” (p. 10).
With the evolution and distribution of any new technology, a social problem develops
when there is not equal access to these new developments. A division to the access among
socioeconomic, culture and racial groups leads to the phrase “digital divide.” Although
improvements have been made since this phrase was coined more than a decade ago, access to
today’s life blood of technology has a long way to go to achieve equality for low-income
communities. This situation is most critical for the latter half of the generation known as the
Generation Y or Millennials (in 2012, ages 13-18). The tech savvy counterparts of the
Millennials have had access to technology since birth; these less fortunate struggle to be on the
same playing field in education and then later in the workplace. The connection to technology,
the internet and virtual social relationships are essential for all aspects of daily lives including
education and career development. The “have-nots” find themselves quickly falling into a chasm
that will become extremely difficult to overcome in the future.
This study will evaluate current trends in the design of the education setting. It is critical
to determine if design approaches are successfully being adapted and employed to integrate
technology into the built environment. Incorporating the analysis of learning styles of technology
will be critical to the research methods.
Infusing third place theory into the research process, the study will evaluate and
determine if a strong physical third place can be developed for low-income teenagers that can
incorporate technology, education and community. Through investigation, data collection and
research of these topics, this study will answer the following question:
• Can the development of a strong interior model for a physical third place infused with
technology attract, engage, and educate a demographic of low-income teenagers, whose ages in
2012 are between 13-18?
