311 Citizen Services

New York City has a relatively new Citizen Services telephone number, 311, started by NYC Mayor MIchael Bloomberg. I think it should go nation-wide.

311 proved itself in a vital way for thousands of NYC residents during the east coast blackout of 2003.

The moment the lights flickered off to begin the great blackout of 2003, New York City's emergency management teams put elegant procedures into action, anticipating New Yorkers' needs in a city suddenly denied power. They prevented looting, located stuck elevators, and prepared to treat victims of heat exhaustion. But for thousands of people that long night, the most pressing concern was something that hadn't occurred to the government: blood sugar levels.

As the blackout stretched from afternoon into early evening, many diabetics grew increasingly apprehensive about the shelf life of their refrigerated insulin. Emergency planners may not have foreseen those worries, but within a matter of hours, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was addressing the vital but arguably obscure topic in one of that night's many press conferences. The insulin issue had trickled up the command chain thanks to a service Bloomberg started: the 311 line.

311 ... may well be the most radical enhancement of urban information management since the invention of the census, and it promises to make urban centers into more livable spaces.

[ Operators are Standing By, Wired Magazine, November 2004 ]

So, how does it work? It seems like a brilliant combination to me. First of all, the lines are handled by live operators :-) In addition, 311 provides three distinct services in one.

First, it's a kinder, gentler 911: You dial 311 when there's a strange guy hovering around the playground, not breaking into your apartment.

I like that. 911 tends to be slow to respond because people use it for too many not-yet-emergencies. (Here, we call the local non-emergency police number).

Second, 311 functions as an information concierge.

What are the hours for the zoo? Who do I call to report a leaking sprinkler at the park? Is the Art & Wine festival running this weekend? Which streets are closed for the parade?

The third service is the most interesting to me. This is the one that made the insulin refrigeration issue known to NYC officials so quickly.

Third, the government learns as much as the callers do. That's the radical idea at the heart of the service: Every question or problem carries its own kind of data. [The] system tracks all that information... 311 automatically records the location of each incoming service request in a huge database that feeds info throughout New York City's government. Think of 311 as a kind of massively distributed extension of the city's perceptual systems, harnessing millions of ordinary eyes on the street to detect emerging problems or report unmet needs - like those worries about unrefrigerated insulin.

In a way, we have a smaller version of this "massively distributed extension of the city's perceptual systems" in the San Francisco Bay Area. It started about five years ago and provides rapidly updated, realtime traffic status. The radio stations call it the Cell Phone Patrol.

Back before cell phones became so popular, Interstate 280 didn't have a lot of coverage for traffic reports; "Skycopter 1" flew over US 101 by the bay (a more heavily traveled road). Most of the time, this didn't matter; accidents and slowdowns were rare on 280. But when they did happen, no one knew.

These days, traffic coverage on 280 is excellent. I've called in accidents and road hazards myself. Whether they're reporting a brush fire or just a slowdown, the Cell Phone Patrol has improved traffic information immeasurably.

Already, 311 data is changing the [NYC] government's priorities. In the first year of operation, noise was the number one complaint; the Bloomberg administration subsequently launched a major quality-of-life initiative combating city noise. Today, geomapping software displays streets with chronic pothole troubles and blocks battling graffiti - all integrated into custom dashboards on city officials' laptops.

...Connect 311's database to a city full of Treos or Wi-Fi laptops, and it's easy to imagine the extended urban organism growing more adaptive: subway riders tapping in up-to-the-minute reports on passenger loads and parents giving high marks to a new hire at a school.

...When people talk about network technology revolutionizing politics, it's usually in the context of national campaigns: Internet fundraising, political blogs. But the most profound impact may be closer to home: keeping a neighborhood safe, clean, and quiet; connecting city dwellers to the immense array of programs offered by their government; creating a sense that individuals can contribute to their community's overall health just by dialing three numbers.

I want that where I live.

311 Citizen Services ( in category Noteworthy ) - posted at Sat, 20 Nov, 12:07 Pacific | «e»