The city of Miami is putting its 311 phone system and the civic problems it's used to report online, enabling residents and city officials to easily track local problems.
"Launched in early March, Miami 311 pulls data from the telephone-based system and displays it on an online map. Residents can view an average of 4,500 issues in progress on the map instead of a list and filter searches based on type of request, date, district and status, according to Stuart McKee, Microsoft national technology officer. Using the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, Bing mapping and Silverlight, Miami 311 was created by two people over an eight-day-period, with no up-front costs, according to a city press release."
City officials are hopeful that the new online system will improve the way they handle service requests.
FULL STORY: Miami 311 Goes Online, Keeps Phone Calls
Making Public Spending Public
In an effort to improve accountability, more government agencies are freeing data about public expenditures.
Developing the Open City
New communication and interaction technologies are dramatically changing the way the public understands and participates in government. The emerging openness of data and information at the city level is broadening the urban policy conversation, but challenges and questions lie ahead as the open city develops.
Preserving Essential Information in an Uncertain World
The new U.S. federal administration may eliminate useful information sources. Planners should download and preserve key documents and datasets.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing
The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents
The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie