Big news from our partners at SeeClickFix, the online mapping tool that helps citizens take direct action to fix problems in their community: they’ve preloaded the boundaries of 25,000 cities and towns — and more than 8,000 neighborhoods — into their online database, so it’ll be that much easier to create watch areas and report issues. (Read our introductory post about what SeeClickFix is all about here.)
See a description of the new features below, and try them out on TheCityFix DC, where we’ve already created Watch Areas for five public officials committed to making their neighborhoods better places to live. Don’t forget, we’ve also embedded the maps onto TheCityFix DF and TheCityFix Mumbai – so if you live in those cities, start fixin’!
25,000+ Town Boundaries. We have loaded over 25,000 cities and towns into our database so that SeeClickFix automatically knows the boundaries of Plano, TX and Philadelphia, PA. We’ve used US Census and other data sources for the United States. We have the framework for adding other international jurisdictions so let us know which ones you want.
8,000+ Neighborhoods. We also loaded over 8,000 neighborhoods into our database so that SeeClickFix automatically knows the boundaries. For example, Philly’s Fairmont Spring Garden. We have always allowed users to create public or personal watch areas. Now we have an engine for importing these datasets.
Alerts Going to 100’s of Public Officials. With the help of volunteers and users, we now have email alerts going to public officials for 100’s of watch areas. More are being added every day – you can do it, too.
Easier to Create Watch Areas. Using the database of town and neighborhood boundaries, it’s a snap to create watch areas. If you know the email address of someone responsible for your neighborhood, it takes 30 seconds to make sure they’ll get alerts about issues on SeeClickFix. Go ahead.
Following a Watch Area. If you’re a citizen who is interested in following along with what public officials are hearing it is easier than ever. Just click follow under the name of your town and enter your email address.
User Friendly. Based on feedback, we’ve made the site even more user friendly. Particularly for the first time user. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Upgraded iPhone App. your town now has it’s own iPhone app [iTunes]. Not only can you report issues but you can see issues nearby and vote to have them fixed.
Upgraded Widgets. If you want SeeClickFix features embedded in your website, you can have a text-based or map-based widget.
How it Works. You can read more about how it works. It could help you explain SeeClickFix to your friends and neighbors.
Civic Points. And in case you missed it, we rolled out user logins with Facebook connect so you can earn civic points. We’ve already seen some people start racking up the points and it’s been surprisingly fun to be involved in your community.
Top Users. If you are using your Facebook log-in or SeeClickFix Pro Account you can set your hometown or neighborhood. If you are doing a lot of clicking a fixing and earning civic points you’ll be displayed as a top user on your neighborhood or city homepage.
Read more here.
