[sustran] [World Streets Daily] Toolbox: SeeClickFix

[Eric Britton (France)]

[http://seeclickfix.com/i]
Here is a new mobility tool that we would like not only to introduce
you to here, but also invite your comments and suggestions. Then, if
any of you wish to take this further, perhaps we can explore with our
friends at SeeClickFix, a public interest group in wild, exotic and
different New Haven Connecticut how this might be put to work in your
city. We were in the process of preparing our own piece based on
interviews with SeeClickFix founder Ben Berkowitz, when this fine
treatment came in from Streetsblog Daily reporter Brad Aaron. So what
better than to pass it on to you as it appeared yesterday in New York.
A possible World Streets goal: To find one or two cities in any part of
the world that might be interested in putting this tool to work in
their community. To test its applicability and usefulness in a range of
non-US situations. Candidates?And now from Streetsblog:SeeClickFix: Is
“Little Brother” the Next Big Thing? The next generation of
community-driven reporting of quality-of-life issues -- like potholes,
graffiti, garbage buildup, or broken street lights -- is SeeClickFix,
software that enables users to populate a map with cases that are then
forwarded to the responsible city agency. Much like a 311 system,
SeeClickFix is predicated on the assumption that an aware and engaged
public that uses technology can get its city government to efficiently
resolve problems.Unlike most 311 systems, the visual mapping function
enables users to see all existing complaints about a particular problem
or to add their voice to an existing case, thus promoting it to a more
urgent position in the queue. Users can create "watch areas" and
receive notices when other users identify a problem within it. Each
case generates an e-mail that is sent to the appropriate agency
responsible for fixing it.According to founder Ben Berkowitz, who is
based in New Haven, Connecticut, SeeClickFix got its first trial run
last year when New Haven's mayor, John DeStefano, Jr., was looking for
a way to better respond to public quality-of-life complaints and to
reduce duplication of efforts within agencies. DeStefano required the
city to respond to cases that had been generated by the public on
SeeClickFix and report the status of the cases online. The system was
so successful that the city now uses SeeClickFix as a proxy 311, with
agencies such as the DOT, DPW, and police department using it for
non-emergency issues. DeStefano was so happy with the service that he
sent a letter to more that 100 other mayors encouraging them to try
it.Berkowitz says the system has now expanded beyond the local
government to utility companies and non-profits. He said they have seen
numerous cases of good Samaritans responding to complaints without
prompting, such as one carpenter who fixed several park benches he
located on the site. "That's the beauty of open source," says
Berkowitz. "At first, we thought of calling it Little Brother,
like 'Little Brother is Watching,' but then we realized we needed to be
a bit more kind to government."Berkowitz explains that SeeClickFix
often coordinates with newspapers, such as those in Boston,
Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, to promote the software to the public,
then advocates for the city to try responding to cases and noting the
progress online. When the Philadelphia Inquirer added the SeeClickFix
widget to its site, Philadelphia 311 soon started responding online to
newly-generated cases.In San Francisco, Phil Bronstein, editor-at-large
of Hearst Newspapers Division, is a big fan of SeeClickFix and is
planning to use the mapping widget on SFGate.com. Kevin Skaggs,
executive producer of SFGate, said a collaboration with SeeClickFix has
been in the works since Bronstein blogged about them last year, and
that SFGate will use the widget in a few months on its new hyper-local
Chronicle sites. The new Chron sites will resemble the New York Times'
recently launched local blogs, where SeeClickFix is already a presence.
As of now, the Times has incorporated the map widget into the New
Jersey edition of "The Local," which covers Maplewood, Millburn and
South Orange. Berkowitz hopes the Times' Brooklyn blog, targeted at
readers in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, will follow suit. If that
happens, he sees city residents using SeeClickFix as a tool for broad
scale community improvement."We know that it can be much bigger than
311 in New York," says Berkowitz. "It's a really great method for
getting a dialogue started."Posted: 25 Mar 2009 12:01 PM PDTWith
reporting by Brad Aaron.

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Posted By Eric Britton (France) to World Streets Daily at 3/26/2009
10:51:00 AM
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