Let’s Get Digital: Cities Make Their Signage Interactive

Local governments from coast to coast are increasingly using technology to add an interactive element to their digital signage, creating new engagement experiences for residents.

Digital signage can be a powerful tool to keep the public informed about important information, in areas ranging from emergency management, to traffic updates, to advertising.

The recent launch of a digital birdwatching sign at Morgan Falls Overlook Park in Sandy Springs, Ga., aims to inspire people to pick up birdwatching as a hobby, according to the city’s Digital Communications Manager Jason Green.

“It’s nature’s Pokemon GO,” Green said of the activity, likening visiting parks to identify different types of birds to moving around a community to capture all the Pokemon in the mobile game.
Birdwatching data updates are automated, reducing demand on city staff. The city’s data platform is connected to the sign, so when events are created in that platform, they automatically populate various websites and digital signage, too. The React-based websites the city uses enable flexibility, Green said, compared to being locked into a templated website.

Sandy Springs, he said, is a big supporter of digital signage, arguing that it helps the city meet people where they are. Having multiple engagement channels, from digital signs to social media, expands the city’s communications reach: “It massively increases the success of a campaign.”

At the same time, digital signage can display other important information, like park events. Its multiple functions help to justify the necessary investment, Green said.

Another type of digital signage with an interactive element is the kiosk, offering a platform for wayfinding, advertising, information sharing and more. Digital kiosk initiatives have been gaining ground in local government in cities including Columbus, Ohio, San Francisco and New York City.

Earlier this month, the city of West Palm Beach, Fla., partnered with IKE Smart City to launch its first Interactive Kiosk Experience (IKE). The Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible kiosk aims to offer real-time, location-based information to users to access services or experience the city’s downtown offerings. It even provides free public Wi-Fi service.

Kiosks are “modern-day guides that enhance mobility, share critical city updates, and elevate the overall experience,” the city’s Mayor Keith A. James said in a statement.

In Houston, Texas, deployment of digitally interactive kiosks kicked off in 2022 as an initiative that “opens the doors to the city for everyone,” the city’s Director of Innovation Jesse Bounds said then.
Notably, Houston’s kiosks run paid advertisements, generating a “significant revenue stream” for the city without requiring any capital investment, IKE Smart City Senior Development Director Anna Baerman said previously in a written statement.

IKE Smart City is not the only vendor providing an interactive kiosk solution to local governments; Chicago partnered with CityBase to launch self-service payment kiosks in neighborhoods throughout the city.

Reshma Soni, Chicago's then-comptroller, touted the kiosks in 2021 as a way to deliver on something constituents were looking for: accessibility. Chicago residents can also get user support for the technology by visiting an in-person payment site like City Hall for a demonstration.

“Anytime you invest in technology, especially technology that brings accessibility and reduces the burden on your constituents, it’s always a win for the city,” Soni said then, of the return on investment.

Chicago's kiosks operate securely with a cloud-based application, ensuring no personal information is stored on the machine.

And the trend is not ending here.

The Dallas City Council authorized the implementation and maintenance of interactive kiosks on June 11.

Also in June, the Seattle City Council approved an ordinance that will enable the installation and operation of interactive kiosks around the city, aiming to improve the pedestrian experience and support revitalization of the city’s downtown area. The plan is to do so before the city hosts six of the 2026 FIFA World Cup games.

“These kiosks are a smart, zero-cost solution that benefits everyone who visits, works or lives downtown,” Jon Scholes, Downtown Seattle Association president and CEO, said in a statement.

The digital signage experience could further be shaped by AI, as smart city technology like sensors could power real-time analytics. The use of AI could create new insights or connections, leveraging city data.

Even in the case of the birdwatching sign, Green said AI could power improved analysis of images from the eBird platform. At this point, he said, the cost of computing that AI would require does not outweigh the benefits in this use case. But officials are exploring how the various projects under the umbrella of the city’s Digital Innovation Initiative — including one involving AI — can build off one another, Green noted.