Policy & Impact Brief: When City Workers Pick Up Their Phones, Underserved Neighborhoods Benefit
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POLICY & IMPACT BRIEF #2 | MAY 2026
When City Workers Pick Up Their Phones, Underserved Neighborhoods Benefit
New Rutgers SPAA Research Shows How Frontline Government Workers Use Civic Tech to Bridge the Digital Divide in Newark
Dr. Gregory Porumbescu, associate professor, Rutgers SPAA
New research from Rutgers University’s Gregory A. Porumbescu and Vishal Trehan, together with the City of Newark’s Agbonlahor Edomwonyi, points to an unexpected fix in Newark: frontline workers. Given flexible tools and a clear signal from leadership, they stepped in where residents couldn’t—and the city’s most underserved neighborhoods were better off for it.
Vishal Trehan, doctoral candidate, Rutgers SPAA
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