Liberty Bridge crosses the Monongahela River just East of downtown Pittsburgh, where the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers merge to form the Ohio River. The bridge connects the Southside to Uptown, behind which rises the Hill District. Once a vibrant center for black culture in Pittsburgh, this neighborhood is now struggling with the problems typical of inner-city America.
Hill House is a community center for the Hill District and a major focus for redevelopment efforts in this neighborhood. The present project will establish an electronic bridge linking Hill House to Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh and the resources of the Internet. This link will be supplemented by connectivity at two branch libraries [6] and six neighborhood schools.
This bridge will serve two functions. The first has to do with EDUCATION: Hill House will become a network hub for Hill District schools. These links will be used to stimulate the development of CK:P projects at these schools and to show students and teachers the types of resources available over the network. In this manner the Hill House facility will help CK:P to expand into Hill District schools and the community which surrounds them.
The second function is one of community building. CK:P is familiar with the dynamics of building virtual online communities. The Hill House site will be concerned with the welfare of the Hill District community and will be used to develop resources for the immediate neighborhood. Local residents will be able to obtain network access through this facility and will use the hardware and software provided through the project to create their own online resources.