Back in September, I wrote about Fix My Street and was pretty bummed that such a great idea was only available in the UK. Sure enough, though, free enterprise comes to the rescue with an iPhone app for Americans that is basically the same thing.
SeeClickFix.com is a free app for your mobile (also usable online) that lets you report problems to the proper authorities or the community at large. Of course, it’s for non-emergencies, so don’t go surfing to this instead of calling 911.
Now people out and about can connect with their local area’s SeeClickFix portal and report potholes, broken street lamps, graffiti, and so forth. If there isn’t a portal for your neighborhood or town, you can make one easily. The town directory with email contacts for service departments, commissioners, etc. are all that you need.
You can also use SeeClickFix to see what others have reported and if you go by and happen to see that the pothole is question was filled in, you can update that.
This is a great tool that gives empowerment to the community at large. It works on university campuses, at the street or district level, for whole towns, counties, and more. Like any great app, it gives the people who use it the ability to affect more than their own individual sphere.
Some news agencies, including the New York Times and boston.com, are even using this as a local watch program for doing community-level reporting. Definitely an empowerment tool that communities can get behind.
