Next Cohort to focus on LA 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games

The City of Long Beach announced that four neighborhood technology pilot projects under the LB Co-Lab program, launched in partnership with US Ignite, have been successfully deployed. The program exemplifies the power of collaboration between residents, local government, and technology to tackle real neighborhood-specific challenges. 

The pilot projects, implemented in the Hamilton, Ramona Park, Westside, and Willmore neighborhoods, are tailored to address key community concerns. These solutions are innovative and deeply rooted in resident input, from enhancing pedestrian and cyclist safety with smart sensors in Willmore to providing public Wi-Fi access at Ramona Park.

Highlights of the projects include:

• Willmore Neighborhood: Deployed privacy-compliant sensors at key intersections to track multimodal activity to help street safety planning.
• Westside Neighborhood: Installed infrared people-counting sensors in Silverado Park and a custom dashboard to monitor park usage and inform planning and safety enhancements.
• Hamilton Neighborhood: Implemented smart energy-efficient lights with people-counting and air quality analytics on a pathway in Houghton Park, improving pedestrian safety and visibility.
• Ramona Park Neighborhood: Installed high-coverage Wi-Fi routers across Ramona Park to provide reliable internet connectivity for residents in a traditionally underserved area.

These pilots, backed by $35,000 in funding per neighborhood, showcase how communities can co-design and implement impactful solutions prioritizing equity, inclusion, and resilience. Building on the project’s success, the LB Co-Lab program plans to welcome a second cohort of residents interested in co-designing and implementing solutions that address community challenges. Interested Long Beach residents can learn more and apply here. The second cohort will focus on the Long Beach readiness and community building efforts for the Los Angeles, CA 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

The LB Co-Lab project was funded with generous support from the Knight Foundation. Learn more about the start of the initiative and US Ignite’s role in our previous blog post here and dive into the details of the pilot projects in the City of Long Beach’s press release.

Stay tuned for updates as each neighborhood team shares insights from their pilot!