Long Beach Ranks First Nationwide as a 2021 Top Digital City

The week of Nov. 22, the Center for Digital Government announced that Long Beach has been recognized as a Top Digital City, ranking number one for cities of its size. This is the eleventh year in a row that Long Beach has been recognized as a Top 10 Digital City.

Mayor Robert Garcia said this award demonstrates how investing in technology is foundational to creating a resilient, responsive and smart city.

Specifically, Long Beach was recognized this year for its efforts to develop responsive and community-centric technology services. These innovative services help to streamline the delivery of essential government services, enhance cybersecurity, better prepare for disaster response and recovery efforts and address digital equity initiatives to improve access to technology.

Over the years the Mayor and his team have:

Advanced digital equity and advocacy through the adoption of the Smart City Initiative and the Digital Inclusion Roadmap;

Enhanced the Go Long Beach app for resident reporting, available in all four primary languages spoken in Long Beach;

Implemented the online vaccination and information portal, VaxLB, which contributes to the high vaccination rate in Long Beach;

Embraced data and key performance indicators to support critical city restoration efforts, such as identifying neighborhoods most impacted by the pandemic and hosting BizCare pop-up events in those neighborhoods to advance economic development in underserved areas;

Established Community Learning Hubs in select City parks, which provided students access to much-needed free WiFi to promote remote student learning during the COVID-19 pandemic;

Created the Tech-To-Go lending program in partnership with the Long Beach Library Department in 11 of the City’s libraries.