Press Release
10/14/09 – Today, Mayor Newsom announced that San Francisco is going to transform the City’s 311 Customer Service Center into a tool of even greater value by building an Open 311 platform. Open 311 will allow software developers to write web applications that do two things: 1) get service request data from the 311 system, and 2) submit new service requests to city departments.
“The success of DataSF and the DataSF App Showcase has proven that the public will create innovative applications when given access to the information they need,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom. “We anticipate the same response and innovation from Open 311.”
The 311 Customer Service Center, which launched in March 2007, has answered over 7 million calls and serves callers in more than 176 languages. Making an Open 311 API (Application Programming Interface) will open the current 311 service to those who wish to build applications on top of it.
“We imagine that many applications will be built from Open 311,” said Nancy Alfaro, Director of 311. “For example, a smart phone application that allows citizens to easily report new issues to city departments with their device’s camera and GPS system.”
The Open 311 API is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
“Creating an Open 311 system will allow web sites and civic-minded developers like EveryBlock to create useful web applications without any cost to the city. This allows them to focus on the actual delivery of services rather than the technology to manage and display requests,” said EveryBlock co-founder Daniel X. O’Neil. “We highly recommend that all municipalities follow San Francisco’s lead.”
A new section of EveryBlock (http://sf.everyblock.com/service-requests/) created from a 311 data feed available on DataSF.org gives a detailed break down of what people are asking for by block, neighborhood, zip code and day.
Earlier this year, Mayor Newsom announced a first of its kind application that allows San Franciscans to access 311 via Twitter. Instead of making a phone call, members of the public can send a tweet or a text to alert the city about a pothole, or find out about city initiatives. You can follow 311 on Twitter at @SF311.
If you are interested in using or helping design the Open 311API please visit: http://apps.sfgov.org/Open311API/?page_id=57.