Active Challenges: Pilot Projects Selected!
LB Co-Lab empowers community members to work alongside City officials and solution providers in tackling longstanding civic challenges, ultimately enhancing the quality of life for Long Beach residents.
Following a successful Community Demo Day in November, the City of Long Beach has selected three organizations to address critical Citywide challenges.
After community presentations, feedback sessions, and a thorough evaluation process, the following vendors were selected to lead 12-month pilot projects addressing key city issues.
Active Pilots:
Secure Commercial Corridors — Orion Labs
Orion Labs partnering with Economic Development and Opportunity will pilot a project to enhance safety in small business corridors. Their system combines sensors and smart lighting to detect safety concerns and increase visibility along commercial areas. When issues arise, the system alerts City staff and participating businesses, enabling faster responses and creating a safer, more welcoming environment for customers and pedestrians.
Improving Access to City Services — Embers and Oak Storyworks
Embers and Oak Storyworks will partner with the City Managers Office to focus on making City services more accessible, particularly for residents facing language or technology barriers. The team will install solar-powered kiosks and offer intuitive, bilingual digital tools that explain available programs and how to access them. Storytelling will be used to help residents better understand and connect with City resources.
Activating New Public Spaces — BeeSpace
BeeSpace partnering with Community Development will transform vacant or underused lots into vibrant community spaces. Working with property owners and residents, they will add native plants and small beehive habitats to empty lots. These improvements clean up neglected areas, support local wildlife, and encourage community involvement—without relying on enforcement or penalties.
Challenge Directory:
Secure Commercial Corridors
Challenge Statement:
Focusing on Long Beach’s Anaheim business corridor, the City of Long Beach, Department of Economic Development (ED) is seeking qualified organizations to design and implement a safety-focused corridor solution that supports small businesses by increasing business and resident safety. This initiative aims to address community-identified safety concerns through a combination of activation and deterrence strategies that enhance visibility, promote vibrancy, and increase foot traffic.
The City is open to any solution - technology, program, community-based, or otherwise - that addresses the above challenge statement. Some potential solution ideas (not exhaustive) may include:
- QR codes for quick issue reporting or providing information about services for people experiencing homelessness
- Campaign and signage to promote the Go Long Beach App for bulky item pickups
- Panic buttons (with concerns about nighttime availability)
- Cameras with object detection alerts
- Stronger lighting and motion detectors
- Peer-to-peer safety tech support among businesses
- Renewed Neighborhood Watch Programs
- Use of aesthetic or fortified board-up materials
- Activation of public spaces through outdoor seating, night markets, and string lighting
- Incentives to encourage filling vacant storefronts
Pre-Proposal Meeting Recording:
Key dates:
- 09/11/25: Optional Pre-Proposal Meeting (Zoom Recording Available)
- 09/29/25: Proposals Due
- October 2025: Up to three finalist solutions will be invited to Demo Day.
- December 2025: Final selections will be made.
City Services Accessibility
Challenge Statement:
We are seeking innovative solutions to improve how residents and visitors, especially vulnerable populations, discover and access City services by overcoming barriers related to awareness, access, and digital equity.
The City is open to any solution - technology, program, community-based, or otherwise - that addresses the above challenge statement. Some potential solution ideas (not exhaustive) may include:
- Public charging stations/lockers in strategic locations to help residents and visitors keep their devices powered
- Automatic text lines to connect or inquire about City services
- Increased public Wi-Fi
- Navigation screen when connecting to public Wi-Fi/City internet to guide the user to resources/services, asking if they are searching for particular services, helping guide them directly to the resources they need.
- Offline access tools that don’t require constant internet access
- City service system integration and consultant support
- Digital intake tool/quiz
Pre-Proposal Meeting Recording:
Key dates:
- 09/11/25: Optional Pre-Proposal Meeting (Zoom Recording Available)
- 09/29/25: Proposals Due
- October 2025: Up to three finalist solutions will be invited to Demo Day.
- December 2025: Final selections will be made.
Activating New Public Spaces
Challenge Statement:
Some vacant lot property owners are neglecting their property and ignoring City maintenance standards, while others are constantly having to clean their lots. Together, these properties have become constant areas of blight and have negatively affected the surrounding community. We seek to encourage and/or assist the property owners to become better stewards of their private land or involve residents to affect positive change.
The City is open to any solution - technology, program, community-based, or otherwise - that addresses the above challenge statement. Some potential solution ideas (not exhaustive) may include:
- Programs that allow local nonprofits or neighborhood groups to temporarily "adopt" a lot for beautification or short-term use.
- Visual art installations (e.g., murals, sculptures) to enhance space and deter graffiti.
- Mobile infrastructure like solar lights, temporary fencing, or planters to activate lots without permanent construction.
- Resource kits for community-led cleanups or activations, supported by small grants.
- Partnerships with local organizations to provide job training, garden maintenance, or youth engagement on repurposed lots.
- QR code signage on vacant lots for reporting dumping, overgrowth, or encampments, and accessing maintenance info.
- Lot owner dashboards or alerts to notify them of reported issues or City outreach.
- Interactive maps or mobile tools for residents to view lot status, submit feedback, and track City response.
- Data dashboards for staff to prioritize inspections and measure pilot impact.
- Geotagged surveys or tools to collect community feedback in real time.
- Software / AI-based tools which can account for all zoning and building regulations and render artwork for potential uses of the space, as well calculate costs.
- Software / AI-based tools to proactively monitor blight and notify property owners.
Pre-Proposal Meeting Recording:
Key dates:
- 09/11/25: Optional Pre-Proposal Meeting (Zoom Recording Available)
- 09/29/25: Proposals Due
- October 2025: Up to three finalist solutions will be invited to Demo Day.
- December 2025: Final selections will be made.
