Photo: Dawn Comer/Cities Today
Technology inclusion goes beyond internet access in LA
25 October 2023
by Sarah Wray
A growing number of cities are appointing digital inclusion leads to increase access to the internet.
In Los Angeles, this has evolved to address technology more broadly, incorporating areas such as financial inclusion, air quality and equity, and the impact of new technologies like ‘flying cars’.
Dawn Comer was appointed as Los Angeles’ Director of Technology Inclusion in 2022, having previously worked as the city’s Broadband and Digital Inclusion Coordinator.
In an interview on the sidelines of the recent Cities Today Institute City Leadership Forum in Long Beach, Comer said: “When we think about the use of technology for the city, internet access is the base layer. And when we want to deliver city services to residents, we have to make sure they have access to affordable connectivity, but also the literacy piece comes in as well.”
She discusses programmes including Angeleno Connect, the Vision Lab business accelerator, and a digital twin for urban air mobility, as well as some of the challenges of ensuring inclusion in a city as large and diverse as LA.
