The Invisible Grids-Gendered Access to Digital Infrastructure in Marginalized Urban Spaces

Abstract

Digital infrastructure, broadband connectivity, affordable smartphones, interoperable digital public infrastructure (DPI), and culturally appropriate digital literacy are rapidly becoming determinants of social, economic, and civic participation. Yet, when this infrastructure maps onto pre-existing social inequalities, it often reproduces and amplifies them. This paper develops a theoretical account of how gendered power relations intersect with spatial marginality to shape access to, use of, and benefits from digital infrastructure in marginalized urban and peri-urban spaces. Building on cross-regional qualitative and policy literature and empirical studies from South Asia and East Africa, we conceptualize the “invisible grids,” the socio-technical arrangements, norms, market failures, and governance blind spots that render digital infrastructure unequal by design. We argue for a feminist digital-justice framework that centres intersectionality, spatiality, and infrastructural quality (not only device ownership) and that connects digital inclusion with safety, mobility, and labour justice. Policy recommendations emphasize gender-intentional DPI design, participatory infrastructure planning, targeted affordability and skills interventions, anti- surveillance safeguards, and cross-sectoral metrics to monitor outcomes. The paper provides actionable directions for policymakers, urban planners, and civil society actors seeking to move beyond hardware distribution toward structurally transformative digital inclusion in marginalized urban spaces.