Citizens Unite!!

Stop Complaining and Start Reporting.   Have you seen cars blocking traffic, dangerous potholes, graffiti or other public nuisances in your community and wanted to report the problem but didn’t know how?   See Click Fix is a nationwide service that allows citizens to report and track non-emergency issues within their neighborhood. Users enter a brief description of the problem or upload photos from your smart phone and the complaint is then routed to the proper authority, and progress on the matter is routinely updated.  You can pat yourself on the back once the issue is resolved or continue to draw attention to it if it isn’t. 

According to See Click Fix:

Citizens who take the time to report even minor issues and see them fixed are likely to get more engaged in their local communities. It’s called a self-reinforcing loop. This also makes people happy and everyone benefits from that.

Here are a few examples:

In Dallas, a thoughtful citizen reported a traffic light timing problem on SeeClickFix, and saw an immediate improvement in traffic flow after government officials watching the area took quick action.

In Philadelphia, an engaged citywide advocacy group used SeeClickFix to mobilize citizens to document instances of vehicle idling, leading to new initiatives to help clean the air.

Astute police officers in New Haven, receiving direct alerts on their BlackBerries from citizens reporting quality-of-life crime issues within their SeeClickFix “watch areas,” have spearheaded a number of major arrests.

In Hartford, a local news outlet helped mobilize citizens to do something about speeding on their streets by tracking citizen-reported issues and writing a weekly “SeeClickFix” column about the citizen-generated content.

A couple of the reviews from the Apple App store are:

5 Stars – This is such a convenient way to notify the town of problems….. they get officially reported and the town responds as to when fixes have been undertaken…. all residents should avail themselves of this convenient and responsive service

3 Stars –  You can capture all the needs-fixing stuff you want, but you can’t make ’em fix it.  Concept will obviously depend most on the city administration.  I happen to live where they just don’t seem to bother. Oh well.

Download the iPhone, Android app or Blackberry App at http://seeclickfix.com/apps and let us know how it works!