San Antonio residents shape city’s technology adoptions
The city of San Antonio, Texas’, Smart Cities program is taking a unique approach to resident engagement with its Smart City Sandbox initiative. The idea prioritizes community input and collaboration in developing and testing new technologies for use in public services.
“(The Smart Cities initiative) centers our residents in the process of building use cases for technology,” said Emily Royall, emerging technology division head. “Rather than going out and buying exciting, shiny technology, as an alternative, we really try to engage our residents and our city employees to understand what the needs truly are. Then we build our technology ecosystem to support those needs.”
Royall, whose career spans academic, nonprofit and government agency work, emphasizes the importance of resident-driven decision-making. It all started in 2022, following a yearlong stakeholder engagement process to develop a Smart Cities roadmap and plan for the city of San Antonio.
“The goal of the process was to understand the top needs of our residents when it came to how they wanted to see local government using technology (while identifying) the main issues, their biggest pain points in their day-to-day life in San Antonio,” said Royall. “That led us to identify a handful of challenge areas that are resident driven, which is really how we source the subject matter for our technology projects and engagement. Those (areas of focus) are access to public information, transportation, environmental quality, public safety and safe infrastructure. And so those are kind of those key areas where we work to deliver technology solutions to benefit the public.”
Royall’s team employed several engagement strategies, including town hall meetings, partnerships with community events, virtual surveys and social media interaction. These efforts resulted in more than 1,900 resident interactions across five SA Sandbox events. According to Royall, the program prioritizes underserved communities by holding events in public parks within those areas. It’s a matter of breaking down barriers to access to technology and other opportunities.
The SA Sandbox serves as a platform for residents to test and provide feedback on prototype technologies before deployment. One example is a resident-tested AI-powered chatbot that provides information on construction projects and road closures. This feedback ensures the technology aligns with resident needs and preferences while also being mindful of their concerns about privacy. There’s also an educational element.
“We really work to engage residents on the topic of technology,” she said. “We help them build digital skills. We provide them with access to programming and STEM education that’s available in the community by partnering with about 25 local community-based (organizations) that are providing different tech-based services to the residents of San Antonio. So that can range from a coding boot camp all the way to sign-ups for the affordable broadband internet at home.”
The program has grown “organically” over the years since hosting the first event in February 2020. According to Royall, the annual events usually attract about 500 adults and children. In Royall’s estimation, the success of the SA Sandbox highlights the value of community engagement. Resident input helps save time and resources by identifying potential issues early in the development process.
Speaking of development, Royall said the Smart Cities program — and SA Sandbox by proxy — is undergoing a transformation. It has been “ingested” by the city’s IT department, aiming to “institutionalize” resident engagement within the broader technology development process. Per Royall, this shift signifies the growing importance of resident-centered approaches in San Antonio’s technological advancements.
These high-minded goals require bringing stakeholders within city government together and breaking down silos within city departments to deliver on these results. Royall acknowledges that government is often associated with layers of bureaucracy, but the Smart Cities program has produced tangible results in a relatively short time. Looking to what’s next, Royall said the Smart Cities roadmap serves as a guide for the next five years. At the same time, it’s important to her that her office continues delivering on its resident-driven goals and fostering trust between the city and its residents. “You don’t have to come to city hall to (express your concerns about technology use in local government),” she said. “We’re coming to you, and we’re inviting you to be part of something. It makes technology more collaborative and more accessible to our residents in a way that I don’t think that many residents in the country (experience).”
The Smart Cities Roadmap represents nearly a year’s worth of stakeholder engagement to inform a community-driven vision for San Antonio’s future as a leader in digital innovation. (Photo provided by San Antonio, Texas) The city of San Antonio’s Emerging Technology Division Head Emily Royall has several years of public sector experience in digital transformation governance and implementation. (Photo provided by San Antonio, Texas) San Antonio has engaged its residents in its exploration of different technologies, allowing them to shape what gets adopted. (Khairil Azhar Junos/Shutterstock.com)
