Amarillo’s plan for broadband in El Barrio could be a playbook for other Texas communities without internet

Teresa Kenedy, president of the Barrio Neighborhood Planning Committee, right, and Angela Garcia, the group’s treasurer, stand in an unpaved alley in El Barrio. The pair hope to improve the condition of the neighborhood. (Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune)

AMARILLO — Only a few blocks separate Amarillo’s lively, bustling downtown area from the city’s historic El Barrio district.

Originally developed in 1889 to house Mexican railroad workers, the neighborhood is now home to more than 1,000 families, businesses that have been there for nearly a century and rich Hispanic history.