The Californer - Long Beach: City to Host Community Demo Day to Showcase Neighborhood Technology Solutions

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Long Beach, CA ~ Long Beach, CA - The City of Long Beach is taking a unique approach to addressing community challenges by involving residents in the decision-making process. On Saturday, November 15, 2025, the City's Technology and Innovation Department (TID) will host LB Co-Lab Community Demo Day, where Long Beach residents will have the opportunity to directly participate in selecting proposed innovative solutions to neighborhood challenges.

This event marks the culmination of months of collaborative work between City staff and neighborhood Innovators-in-Residence. Together, they have identified and worked towards solving three pressing challenges facing Long Beach. Each of the three selected projects will receive $75,000 in pilot funding for a 12-month period.

Mayor Rex Richardson expressed his excitement for this community-driven event, stating that it exemplifies the City's commitment to putting residents at the center of municipal innovation. He believes that by empowering community members to shape technology procurement decisions directly, they are building a new model of democratic governance that will set an example for other local governments.

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The LB Co-Lab Community Demo Day will take place from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Pointe Conference Center at California State University, Long Beach. Attendees can expect interactive presentations, demonstrations, and Q&A sessions from finalist solution providers addressing three pressing civic challenges: improving access to City services, advancing safety in commercial corridors, and maintaining and activating vacant lots.

Residents of all ages are encouraged to attend this free event and provide direct feedback on each proposed solution. This feedback will be used to inform the selection of awarded projects for each civic challenge. Light refreshments will be provided.

Director of the Technology and Innovation Department Lea Eriksen believes that this event represents a fundamental shift in how cities procure technology. By trusting residents to help shape solutions that affect their daily lives, they can achieve better outcomes and build stronger communities.

The City is currently evaluating and identifying finalist solution providers for each civic challenge through a competitive Request for Proposals process. The selected projects will align with the City's 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games strategic areas, including sustainability, public safety, and community pride.

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The LB Co-Lab program was first launched in 2023 and brought together 27 community residents to design technology-based solutions in public spaces across four neighborhoods. Evaluation of the first cohort showed that 95% of participants felt their input was reflected in City technology decisions, demonstrating the program's effectiveness in building trust and delivering responsive solutions to neighborhood challenges.

LB Co-Lab is part of the Long Beach Smart City Initiative, which was established in 2021 with guiding principles of equity, inclusion, resilience, and community collaboration. The program is funded by the City's Innovation Fund and a grant from the Long Beach Community Foundation's Knight Foundation donor-advised fund.

To learn more about LB Co-Lab and the Smart City Initiative, residents can visit their respective webpages or sign up for the City's Smart City Initiative newsletter to stay informed about future community engagement opportunities.

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