What is a Smart City, Safe City program?

There is a broad scope of what could be considered a “smart city.” Some common themes across smart cities are 1) using information and communication technology to ensure easier access to city services and collect data that helps the government make more informed decisions and 2) using technology to improve the quality of life for residents, businesses, and visitors.

We are not only driven to be a more efficient city, but a safe one, too. After all, this is where we and our families live. A “safe city” is often defined as harnessing the power of technology to better connect residents, businesses, City employees, and emergency services and reduce crime.

When it comes to Santa Maria and our Smart City, Safe City initiative, we asked questions like “what challenges do we face?”, “what will make us more efficient in our day-to-day?”, and “how can technology help us?” These programs are our answers.

Types of Programs You’ll See

Smart Programs

Smart Programs harness the power of technology to put time back into Santa Marians’ days and to increase our sustainability. From public access to Wi-Fi and a fiber-optic network to electric buses, and more, we are able to stay connected and get to where we need to go while lessening our impact on the planet.

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Safe Programs

We all deserve to feel safe in the place we call home. To reinforce this right, our Safe Programs help prevent crime, enable faster response times, improve services, and increase the comfort of our public. Some of these look like installing LED street lights and advancing emergency service technology, such as the Fire Alerting System (Locution).

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Community Programs

Our Community Programs are grounded in ways we can come together to support everyone (including low-income or homeless populations) by removing barriers, streamlining manual tasks, and celebrating our heritage. These are anything from easier access to our public libraries, more parks, streamlined transportation, and paying bills and signing up for programs online.

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