Smart Long Beach
What is a “smart" city?
In October 2019, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and the City Council directed City staff to develop a Smart City Initiative. But what is a "smart" city? Does it include a monorail down Ocean Blvd and flying cars? Probably not. Does it mean partnering with the Long Beach community to leverage data and technology as strategic tools to solve challenges and overcome problems? That sounds more like it.
A smart Long Beach is one that is inclusive, responsible, resilient, and community-centered. We think technology and data have the power to improve the lives of all Long Beach residents, and that real change can only happen if we collaborate as one City to solve problems and test out solutions. The Long Beach of the future must be defined by our residents, not technology companies.
What we're doing
The Smart City Initiative advances solutions to civic challenges by engaging the community, staff, and private sector to explore and implement emerging technology. This does not imply that there is something “not smart” about the way things have been done in the past. Rather, the Smart City Initiative is a collaborative effort to build on foundations that are already in place and to keep pace with rapid advances in technology.
A "smarter" Long Beach uses technology and data to manage change and expand capacities to better the daily lives of Long Beach residents, enhance city operations and make the best possible use of resources across all City Departments.
+Learn more about our pilot programs to advance smart city technology projects
+Read our 2023 Annual Report!
Latest News
In September 2024, our Smart Cities team conducted a series of data privacy community workshops aimed at educating the public of the tools the City has created to promote their digital rights and secure their data privacy.
"More than ever before, cities are serving as platforms that connect actors inside and outside of government to surface new solutions. And one of the most promising ways city leaders are getting it done is with a twist to an age-old process: procurement."
Partnering is a critical piece of the California city’s strategy for digital transformation, informing its approach to digital equity and civic technology projects. A new digital inclusion plan builds on this approach.
2023 Annual Report: Check It Out!
Wondering what our Smart City Initiative program is up to? Wait no further and read our Smart City 2023 Annual Report and our multi-lingual, accessible community briefs!
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