Over the course of eight months, Long Beach residents in four historically underserved neighborhoods attended collaborative workshops with the goal of launching technology-focused pilot projects to increase safety and community.
Nearly 30 residents from the Willmore, Westwide, Ramona Park and Hamilton neighborhoods have chosen or already launched their pilot programs as part of Long Beach’s Smart Cities Initiative. The projects are part of the LB Co-Lab, a civic technology program established in 2021 that engages residents through workshops to design technology solutions to address challenges in their neighborhood.
LB Co-Lab was created with $70,000 in Long Beach Recovery Act funds and a $150,000 grant from the Knight Foundation Donor Advised Fund of the Long Beach Community Foundation. The City’s workforce development partner, Pacific Gateway Workforce Innovation Network, provided participants with technology training, professional certificates and career development.
“As technology is a greater part of our day-to-day lives, it is our job to ensure technology and innovation projects are co-designed alongside our most traditionally underserved residents,” Mayor Rex Richardson said about the program in a public statement.
Participants attended monthly workshops from March to October 2023, where they learned about new technologies, identified needs in their neighborhoods and completed a technology certificate training program. Participants also received a $1,000 stipend for their participation and time commitment.
The Hamilton, Ramona Park, Willmore and Westside neighborhoods were chosen based on five criteria, according to a press release from the City:
- How COVID-19 impacted the neighborhood
- The size of the neighborhood’s young adult population
- The neighborhood’s unemployment rate
- The average level of educational attainment
- The existing digital divide in the neighborhood, meaning what technologies are available and what the community has access to.
Each neighborhood was allocated an initial budget of $35,000 to design and implement their technology pilot project. Each solution was vetted by residents, and they also decided details on their projects such as its location and performance metrics by which to evaluate their project’s success.
Three technology pilot projects have launched at various locations across the city, with the fourth project currently in the implementation phase. These projects include:
The Willmore neighborhood – Project launched in May 2024
Participants sought to promote pedestrian and cyclist safety to create a sense of well-being in their community. They chose to to deploy three privacy-compliant (does not record information about individuals) sensors to measure bicycle, pedestrian and vehicle movement at key neighborhood intersections
All data collected is privacy-compliant, such as vehicle counts, paths, heatmaps, speed and other trends are anonymous and secure, according to the City. The sensors are located at Ocean Boulevard and Pine Avenue, Third Street and Maine Avenue, Seventh Street and Chestnut Avenue. Data collected will be made publicly available and used by City officials to guide future street safety improvements and grant applications.
The Westside neighborhood – Project launched in May 2024
Participants launched a pilot program to make Silverado Park safer while increasing the number of residents that visit.
The City installed two people-counting, privacy-compliant infrared sensors at Silverado Park and created a custom data dashboard for the City and members of the public to visualize information about park visits and time spent at the park. City officials will use data to understand park operations and planning needs and inform capital improvements to Silverado Park.
The Hamilton neighborhood – Project launched in July 2024
Participants sought a street improvement solution to promote pedestrian safety, enhance visibility and encourage positive neighborhood experiences. To address this need, the City installed three energy-efficient smart lights with people-counting and air quality analytics features on the pathway between the parking lot and the exercise area at Houghton Park.
Data collected will be used by Houghton Park staff to evaluate usage trends and determine whether smart lights are a viable solution throughout the park.
Ramona Park neighborhood – Project is estimated to launch in the coming weeks
Project participants chose a technology solution to provide efficient and reliable internet connectivity at Ramona Park and the adjacent community center. Residents in the neighborhood have low rates of home internet access and shared that previously there were no accessible public Wi-Fi points in the neighborhood.
Nine high-coverage Wi-Fi routers are being permanently installed at Ramona Park to provide reliable service to all park areas, as well as educational signage and resources to learn about W-Fi.
“We are committed to ensuring people come first, and we will continue connecting with community members to design and deploy technology that serves the public good,” said Chief Information Officer and Technology and Innovation Department Director Lea Eriksen in a public statement.
After the completion of each pilot, a community brief will be shared with the public to review the results and evaluate the impact of the solution in the neighborhood.
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