San Diego Turns to Smart City Tech to Bolster 'Promise Zone

Source: GovTech by Skip Descant / September 26, 2019

An initiative to address quality-of-life concerns in an underserved community in San Diego has identified priorities like job creation or affordable housing, and is turning tech to help shepherd those goals.

A neighborhood in San Diego will turn to smart city technologies to improve quality-of-life outcomes around job training, affordable housing and transit access.

The area known as the “Promise Zone” is located in the southeast portion of the city and is home to about 85,000 residents. Formed in 2016, the zone covers about 6.4 square miles and includes ethnically diverse regions as well as underserved populations. The aim is to grow local, state and federal partnerships to promote investment there.

It has been identified as a region where the use of community engagement could formulate a road map for smart city projects as part of San Diego’s goal to build inclusive and smart communities.