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LB Co-Lab Announces Pilot Project Winners
By Staff Writer
Published on Thu, Jan 15, 2026
Following a successful Community Demo Day in November, the City of Long Beach has selected three local organizations to work on important Citywide challenges through the Long Beach Collaboratory (LB Co-Lab) program.
After community presentations, feedback sessions and an evaluation process, the following vendors were chosen to lead 12-month pilot projects addressing key city issues:
Secure Commercial Corridors – Orion Labs
This project focuses on helping small business areas feel safer. Orion Labs will test a system that uses sensors and smart lighting to help detect safety concerns and improve visibility along commercial corridors. The system can alert City staff and participating businesses when issues arise, helping them respond more quickly and create a safer, more welcoming environment for customers and pedestrians.
Improving Access to City Services – Embers and Oak Storyworks
This project aims to make it easier for residents, especially those who may face language or technology barriers, to access City services. The Long Beach-based team will install solar-powered kiosks and provide simple, bilingual digital tools that explain available programs and how to access them. The project also uses storytelling to help residents better understand and connect with City resources.
Activating New Public Spaces – BeeSpace
This project focuses on turning vacant or underused lots into more appealing community spaces. BeeSpace will work with property owners and residents to add native plants and small beehive habitats to empty lots. These improvements help clean up neglected spaces, support local wildlife and encourage neighbors to take part in caring for their community—without relying on enforcement or penalties.
Each pilot will receive $75,000 in seed funding to support implementation, community engagement, performance monitoring and project management. The projects were selected based on feasibility, community impact, vendor qualifications and alignment with LB Co-Lab’s goals of equity, innovation and collaboration.
Each selected vendor will work closely with City departments, executive sponsors and Innovators-in-Residence to bring these ideas from concept to real-world impact. Together, these pilots represent the next step in building safer commercial corridors, more accessible City services and vibrant public spaces for Long Beach residents.
The vendors will launch their pilots in target neighborhoods starting in March.
LB Co-Lab is part of the Long Beach Smart City Initiative, established in 2021 to promote 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.
