  community informatics (ci), also known as community networking, electronic community networking, community-based technologies, community technology or grassroots computing refers to an emerging field of investigation and practice concerned with information and communication technology (ict) in relation to communities and their social, cultural, service development, economic and other dimensions. it is formally located as an academic discipline within a variety of academic faculties including information science, information systems, computer science, planning, development studies, and library science among others and draws on insights on community development from a range of backgrounds and disciplines. it is an interdisciplinary approach interested in using icts for different forms of community action, as distinct from pure academic study about ict effects.gurstein, m. (2007). what is community informatics? (and why does it matter), polimetrica, milan.stillman, l. and h. linger (2009). "community informatics and information systems: how can they be better connected?" the information society 25(4): 1-1 ==background== human activity, with rare exceptions, is lived in communities. the concept of "community" and its connections to different forms of social networks has seen countless analyses and critiques. lived communities can be difficult to define, as they are often not limited by specific spatial boundaries. in urban areas, the notion of "community" has historically been conflated with the concept of "neighborhood," but in reality, communal ties typically transcend spatial neighborhoods. "communities", as people coming together in pursuit of their common aims or shared practices both physically and electronically enabled, proliferate even while their "researched" reality remains in considerable dispute. cultures ensure their growth and survival by continuing the norms and mores that are the bases of their way of life. communities can use the infrastructure of icts as a method of continuing cultures within the context of the internet and the world wide web. once a cultu
Branches_of_sociology_(interdisciplinary) Community_networks Computing_and_society Information_and_communication_technologies_for_development Information_society Library_science