Stopping Safely in Saratoga Springs

Citizens in Saratoga Springs are raising awareness about safe driving in their community with help from SeeClickFix media partner The Saratogian. This past Wednesday the city participated in Operation Safe Stop, a nationwide event held to crack down on drivers who illegally pass school buses. Police officers rode aboard buses and followed routes with a history of illegal passing complaints in marked and unmarked cars. Careless drivers faced penalties that range from fines to jail time. The Saratogian explains the importance of Operation Safe Stop:

“More children are getting hurt getting on and off the bus than riding the bus,” said Cindy Dort, occupant protection educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension and coordinator of this year’s local Operation Safe Stop Day.

While the event focused primarily on larger roads, SeeClickFix users in Saratoga Springs have been discussing solutions to the issue on their smaller neighborhood roads. Issue #91271 - School Child Almost Run Over by Car Ignoring Stopped Bus on Gick Road is one of several issues focused on illegal passing along this particular road. The SeeClickFix user who reported the issue wrote:

This isn't a stupid issue, someone could be hurt or killed. I don't want to watch my son getting on the school bus and getting mowed down by an ignorant and careless driver.

Thank you to The Saratogian and SeeClickFix users for increasing awareness and helping to resolve this alarming issue.

Read the full story here

Peer Pressure Isn't a Dirty Word

For most, the mere mention of peer pressure can conjure anything from negative feelings to middle school flashbacks. Tina Rosenberg, author of a new book called "Join the Club", is on a mission to give peer pressure a better reputation while promoting social change.

Rosenberg recently spoke with American Public Media's Kai Ryssdal to discuss the inspiration behind her book, and how peer pressure can effectively be used as a tool in promoting social campaigns. Her interview, featured as part of the Marketplace podcast, shed light on the positive power of peer pressure. A mother of three, Rosenberg is keenly aware of the stigma surrounding peer pressure, but she has seen first-hand the good it can do.

...we all know how powerful peer pressure can be, and how afraid grown-ups are of peer pressure applied to our children. But we can use this very powerful tool for good ends as well as for bad ends.

I came to the realization because I was working on a story about a group of students in Serbia, who organized a movement that eventually was key in the overthrow of Slobodan Miloševic, and the techniques they were using were identical to ones that I had seen in a South African government teen AIDS prevention program. I started to think about, what is it that these two effective programs, which are so different in so many ways, have in common? And the answer was: they try and get people to change their behavior, not by giving them new information about how you get AIDS or how bad Miloševic is, and not by appealing to fear, but by giving them a new peer group to identify with, by changing their behavior into a really cool and heroic thing to do.

This idea got our whole team thinking about how peer pressure has changed each of us for the better. After hearing the podcast, SeeClickFix Chief Strategy Officer Kam Lasater was quick to point out how peer pressure applied by our own Ben Berkowitz encouraged him to start picking up after litterbugs.

We make it easy for our users to peer pressure their friends. When you report a new issue to our site, we allow you to quickly share it on your Facebook and Twitter. So next time you report an issue in your community to SeeClickFix, tell everyone about your good deed and get them involved in the fix!

Read the rest of the Marketplace feature here

Paving the Road to Results

(Photo courtesy of WBTV)

Nineteen days ago, SeeClickFix user Sherrie described the condition of Little Rock Road in Charlotte, NC as 'terrible' and 'dilapidated' complete with cracks in the asphalt, holes, and bumps.

It is so uneven going toward the airport terminal. It is like trying to dodge bullets, trying not to hit the bad areas but you have to hit them because they are everywhere in the road.

Sherrie added that the poor road conditions have been around for quite some time and wreak havoc on vehicle alignment.

This has been like this since I have been living in this area, 12 years, why doesn't it ever get any attention? I would think that the city would want this road to be nice for visitors, considering it is an exit and entrance road to the airport.

Thanks to the WBTV team, this issue is now getting the attention it deserves. A few days ago, the media outlet examined the road, reached out to NC-DOT, and received some promising news.

They got right back with us saying this section of Little Rock Road is being considered for re-surfacing this year. In fact, they'll be looking over contracts in the near future. State DOT also says if for some reason resurfacing doesn't happen this year, they'll do some temporary patching to take care of it in the interim.

"Moore" People Talking About SeeClickFix!

Chris Moore, CIO of the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, recently gave the SeeClickFix blog some much appreciated love by featuring not one but two of our recent posts on his paper.li The Chris Moore Daily.

Tech-savvy Moore has been named one of Alberta's 50 most influential people by Venture Magazine. As CIO he lends his vision and leadership to the direction of Edmonton's technology. His goal is to transform Edmonton to an open community that allows all citizens to interact with their government, and with each other, by embracing innovation in technology. A great example of Moore's vision in action is The Edmonton Journal's SeeClickFix powered pothole map that allows readers to report and map potholes directly from the newspaper website.

We're looking forward to seeing "Moore" civic leaders like this!

Breaking It Down--Pothole Style

We know, we know. Potholes seem like the only thing we talk about here at SeeClickFix. However, we've never actually discussed the origins of these nuisances. Well, you're in luck! Yesterday, I came across this article from Popular Mechanics that breaks down how these road craters form. The process starts with one small crack, which then fills with water. After the water freezes, the crack expands and the water pushes the asphalt outward and upward.

A civil engineer, Amid Bhasin likens the process to a chain reaction:

It starts slowly at a weak spot, and once it starts falling apart, that creates larger cracks; then more water gets into it, and the cracks grow larger.

Bruce Hucker, an engineer with the Illinois DOT, explained that potholes could also emerge after the ground beneath the road gets wet and sinks down.

When you step on a dry yard, you don't leave any indentation because it's hard and it fully supports your weight. But when it gets wet, your shoe sinks down in it.

The pavement will eventually crack after traffic drives over these spots and weakens the pavement.

To read more about how these annoying potholes form, check out Popular Mechanics.

Using SeeClickFix on the Campaign Trail

With 166 days until the primary election, New Haven resident Doug Hausladen recently launched his campaign website for municipal office. And guess what's included as part of his platform? As a proud Ward 7 resident, Doug hopes to improve his community by encouraging his neighbors to report issues via SeeClickFix and even dedicates an entire section of his website to it.

Before setting his eyes on public office, Doug ran his own small business and served as chairman of a local community management team where he collaborated with local residents and small business owners alike. Through this work, he discovered a community 'overflowing with potential, however much of this potential has remained untapped due to numerous obstructions.' Doug wants to help his community prosper by removing these obstructions. The SeeClickFix team looks forward to following Doug (and his use of our site) on the campaign trail!

To learn more about Doug and his campaign, check out the campaign website, Facebook page, and Twitter account.

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Source: articlesbase.com

A Pothole Proof Car?

Lately I feel as though potholes have been occupying a significant amount of my time. I'm writing about them on the SeeClickFix blog, reading issues about them from our users around the world, and protecting my Subaru from them on the streets of New Haven. It is that last piece of my recent pothole obsession - my seemingly futile efforts at protecting my used and abused station wagon - that made me carefully read an article we found recently.

Autoblog.com featured a pothole-centric press release issued by Ford in Essex, England that made me envious of Ford owners. The release, a response to Chancellor George Osborne's recent announcement that an additional £100 million will be placed in to the UK's 'pothole fund', outlines the company's rigorous pothole testing techniques. The release explains:

Testing and development processes for chassis and suspension systems carried out by Ford engineers at Dunton Technical Centre - one of Europe's largest automotive R&D centres - and Lommel Proving Ground, Belgium mean that Ford vehicles are designed to cope with the most demanding road surfaces. Tests include running real-world road simulations, high-tech data acquisition and thousands of miles of surface testing.

I don't speak car fluently, but it all sounded impressive to me! Luckily, Autoblog.com put it in layman's terms for me.

The Lommel Proving Ground in Belgium goes as far as to include an inch-by-inch recreation of a notoriously porous English road. More abusive road surfaces are simulated at Ford's Dunton Proving Ground in Essex, England. Ford says that between the two test facilities, it tests every wheel and tire combination sold on its entire European vehicle portfolio.

It is great that automakers are committed to innovating new technologies that combat the damage potholes cause to cars. As for me, I'll continue to combat the potholes themselves by reporting them to be patched on SeeClickFix.com

Read the full article & press release here

Cell Phones for Social Change

Harvard Crimson columnist Niharika S. Jain featured SeeClickFix in her opinion piece published today titled The Mobile Revolution - We can use cell phones for social change. In explaining how non-profits, businesses and citizens are leveraging this technology to promote social change and development, Jain used our platform as an example of how mobile phones are used to promote better governance through improved communication and delivery of services. She wrote:

...mobile phones can empower citizens to voice their needs and concerns to the government. For instance, SeeClickFix is a platform that allows people to submit information on everyday, non-emergency problems like a traffic light timing problem, road potholes, or blocked bike lanes. Governements can then effectively respond to these issues, as New Haven, Conn. policemen did when they arrested the culprits of petty neighborhood crimes reported through this platform.

From entrepreneurs reaching new markets in Ghana, to citizens disrupting the trade of fake prescription drugs in Nigeria, SeeClickFix is just one of many amazing examples Jain uses to illustrate the powerful impact this technology has on people looking to usher in meaningful social change.

Read the full article here

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Source : Mobile Development Experts

Love Thy Neighbor, Not Their Garbage

By Emma

SeeClickFix user Patricia MacNary was fed up with a filthy situation behind her residence in Troy, New York. The live-in landlord reported that the alley behind her house was overflowing with garbage thanks to a negligent landlord and his or her careless tenants. Patricia created Issue #88079 and described the mess in great detail.

The garbage in the alley is disgusting; it's all out of the bags!! Rats are having a ball!

Within 2 days of posting the issue, a positive dialogue formed in the comments between Patricia and other SCF users in Troy on how to clean up the alley and hold landlords accountable for their properties. SeeClickFix "Civic Crusader" Billie-Jean Green organizes street-cleaning groups around Troy and was happy to lend a hand to her neighbor in need, saying:

I am also happy to hear you are a landlord that is on the premises of the property! We hope that all of the hard work we are doing in all the neighborhood groups throughout the city will bring more people like you here =)

After seeing this issue she not only offered to send a crew to clean Patricia’s area, but alerted Troy Councilman Mark McGrath about the problem. Patricia quickly received this message from the Councilman via Billie-Jean on SeeClickFix:

“Went with code up there today and 25 120th was clean, however two houses north the tenants have just recently been evicted for throwing garbage in their yard and the corner house on the alley at 121 st has been given their final code notice to clean it or they will appear in court. Please tell Mrs. MacNary. Thanks”

These users are a perfect example of how to quickly and peacefully resolve issues while strengthening communities through SeeClickFix!

Forget FarmVille. There's a New Request in Town!

While procrastinating on Facebook last night, I received a notification from an unlikely source: Alger Street in Brockton, Massachusetts.

As my newest friend, Alger Street may not seem like the nicest of the bunch:

I am one of the meanest, ugliest roads you've ever seen. I pop tires, dent rims, break shocks, you name it I do it. I have been this way for about 10 years now. Even though people complain about me constantly, NO ONE CAN CHANGE ME. I'M A MONSTER!!!

Since its creation, Alger Street has generated a lot of activity from local citizens whether it be in the form of wall posts, photo uploads, or friend requests. Right now, the street has 526 friends and that number keeps growing!

Back in early March, Christine Brennan of East Bridgewater created the Facebook profile to shed light on the horrible condition of the pothole-riddled road. Brennan told the Boston Globe that Alger Street has plagued drivers for years (possibly decades) and that she had been commuting to work via the street for 13 years. She cites the rise of social media for revolutionary means as inspiration behind her decision:

They took over Egypt with a Facebook page. We figured we could get Alger Street fixed.

According to the Patriot Ledger, Brennan filed a claim with the city to receive compensation for automobile damages caused by the street. While the claim was denied, she appealed the decision. The city continues to patch the road, but permanent fixes have yet to be implemented.

However, there is hope for Alger Street commuters! Though the road may suffer from poor construction, the city's Public Works Commissioner Michael Thoreson said they may redesign the roadway in the future.

For now, it looks like Alger Street will just have to continue bidding its time rocking out to Slipknot and watching Armageddon (listed as the road's favorite band and movie, respectively).

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Source: Mobile Development Experts

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Promoting Accountability in Saugus

(Report issues in Saugus here)

A few weeks ago, the town of Saugus, Massachusetts reached out to us about implementing SeeClickFix Plus in their community. This morning, MIS Director Michael Donovan announced Saugus' adoption of our platform which allows citizens to report issues in their neighborhoods via the town website, mobile apps, or our main website.

Andrew Bisignani, the town manager, said he expects positive reactions from citizens in a press release issued earlier today:

This reporting tool holds our government accountable to take care of quality-of-life issues that affect our citizens, and it holds the people accountable to take part in their communities. It's a win for everyone.

We couldn't be more excited about adding Saugus to our growing list of government partnerships. We look forward to seeing how the town improves its community using just one click!

Read the entire press release here.

Putting Potholes to Use

While most people's "things to do with a pothole" list ends somewhere between cursing it's existence and filling it with asphalt, today at SeeClickFix headquarters we've been looking at some more creative uses of these pesky problems.

Colorful yarn acts as pothole padding for motorists and cyclists in Paris thanks to Parisian artist Juliana Santacruz Herrera.

Give your neighbors a lesson in geology, or a slight panic attack, by creating your very own lava filled potholes.

Claudia Ficca and Davide Luciano, the photographers behind mypotholes.com, put a NYC pothole to good use by serving up a delicious (and al fresco) dinner.

Of course, we here at SeeClickFix believe that a pothole is best used as the topic of a report submitted to us.

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Source: Mobile Development Experts

A Mash Made in Heaven

Today, Buffalo Green Code announced it would integrate SeeClickFix into its site after noticing countless residents posting community issues via SCF. The mashup combines citizen remarks submitted through its Buffalo Citizen Engagement map and community issues reported on our website:

Although SCF is generally used for 311 type-issues, I saw that many comments were more planning related. In an effort to provide the planners of the Green Code with as much useful information as possible, I combined the Buffalo Citizen Engagement map on the Green Code site with the comments from See Click Fix onto one map. This helps us visualize all types of issues no matter how they were submitted to the web!

According to Green Code, they seek to "implement a new regulatory framework for the development of [their] neighborhoods" that will improve residents' quality of life by employing smart growth standards, encouraging both economic and environmental sustainability, promoting fiscal growth, and allowing for development transparency. Their "Green Code" would replace Buffalo's zoning ordinance passed in the early 1950s.

We're honored to help Buffalo Green Code on its mission. We're even more excited about SCF's Ben Berkowitz speaking alongside Green Code's Crystal Wilson at the APA's National Planning Conference in Boston two weeks from now!

The StarPhoenix Launches Interactive Map

(Photo courtesy of the StarPhoenix)

Based in Saskatoon, the StarPhoenix just started documenting potholes in the area using our interactive SeeClickFix widget. While they've already reported several, they need your help to track local potholes by posting them on SeeClickFix. And if you have any good photos, send them to citydesk@thestarphoenix.com and they may be featured in their photo gallery!

We're excited to partner with this Canadian media organization and wish them luck on their pothole-filled journey!

SeeClickFix: Innovator of the Year

(SeeClickFix Co-founders Ben Berkowitz, Kam Lasater, and Jeff Blasius)

Back in early March, Ben Berkowitz and the SeeClickFix team won BusinessNewHaven's 'Innovator of the Year' award. Its February issue even featured SeeClickFix in an article entitled "Power to the People: A Revolutionary Online Tool Promotes Positive Change, One Click at a Time." A huge congrats to everyone at SeeClickFix!

Read some excerpts below. You can check out the full article here.

When Ben Berkowitz noticed some ugly graffiti staring back at him from a neighbor’s building, he did what many people would do: He got worked up. So he called City Hall — and ended up with even more aggravation. “I am actually a big graffiti art fan, but this was not the kind that belonged on my neighbor’s building,” Berkowitz recalls. He called the city and quickly became disenchanted with his inability to get past telephone gatekeepers to talk to someone who could actually do something. Out of his frustration came a plan to change the way citizens could effect positive change.

[...]

“Forty-five percent of the issues on the site are fixed, and that number is quickly climbing as the number of issues goes up,” Berkowitz says. “The more awareness there is of the site, the more people pay attention to it.”

[...]

[Robert] Smuts’ staff was faced with prioritizing and triaging a blizzard of e-mails. “As SeeClickFix was growing and finding out what they were all about, I met with Ben and we talked a lot about how it could be more helpful to the city and other municipalities,” says Smuts. “He picked my brain, wanting to know how governments think.” Soon Smuts realized he had found the solution to creating a public interface that worked. From those discussions, SeeClickFix Pro was created and New Haven now integrates the program with its existing City Works work-order program. Using SeeClickFix Pro, when someone posts an alert, it feeds automatically into the city’s Public Works Department.

[...]

“The idea behind what Ben is doing is — rather than someone shaking their fists and being upset about something and complaining — he found other people who think the way he thinks and what he created is crowd-sourcing community improvement,” [Jonathan] Cooper says.

[...]

Berkowitz is also hoping for continued great things: “I would like to see SeeClickFix to be a single platform for the entire world that everyone can trust that they can get results from.”

Patrolling Potholes in Ohio

Humans are competitive by nature, and that doesn't change when potholes are involved. As a SeeClickFix media partner, the News-Herald launched a campaign yesterday to fix Ohio potholes in serious need of repair.

Known as the 'Pothole Patrol,' the newspaper will be collaborating with Adventure Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram to help alleviate the region's pothole mess. They'll be sharing the information reported on the website with those responsible for fixing them.

The best part? Include 'Pothole Patrol' in the issue summary and you could win one of two $20 Speedway gas cards or one of five certificates for a free oil change courtesy of Adventure Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram.

To join the Pothole Patrol, click here.

Hometown Pothole Fix

My hometown of Shelton is known for many things: the Wiffle Ball, canary-fighting rings, and NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky. Until recently, fixing potholes did not fall into this category.

Using SeeClickFix, I posted two issues involving poor road conditions in early March (see issues #86756 and #86024). While my potholes still remain, another Shelton resident just discovered the pothole she had posted no longer exists!

Reported just six days ago and viewed over 50 times, issue #89364 entitled "Very large pothole" involved a very large pothole on Beardsley Road in Shelton, CT. Who could have guessed? According to the SeeClickFix user, the pothole had appeared a few weeks ago and was very hard to avoid while driving.

Last night, however, Shelton resident Dana happily closed the issue:

I was driving home from work today and was expecting to hit this pothole for the millionth time when I noticed....it is fixed! I am so happy and really impressed that it was fixed so quickly.

As a lifelong Shelton resident, I'm excited to see my local government stepping up and improving the quality of our roads. Let's hope this continues in the future!

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Source: Mobile Development Experts

Using SeeClickFix to Benefit Elders

Recently, I stumbled across an interesting YouTube video about employing SeeClickFix to the benefit of elders.

A health care consultant (and singer!), AnthonysSong advocates for senior citizens everywhere. When he came across SeeClickFix, he deemed it 'an idea worth emulating' and believed there should be an equivalent in elder care.

He does cite Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) as providing services for aging populations, but he says it's "not the case across the board because obviously there are people who are living alone and not in a community of elders who need help as well but are isolated from other people."

SeeClickFix allows citizens anywhere to report and track issues in their communities via the Internet. By doing so, it encourages citizens to publicly broadcast issues, work collectively to improve their neighborhoods, and become engaged on a greater scale. According to AnthonysSong, SeeClickSix can serve as a model for attending to seniors' needs from grocery shopping to doctor visits:

The whole idea of the community rallying around the needs of the people and issues within that community is a good one and we just need to adapt it for rallying around the causes of our elders and everyone chipping in to make that happen.

If you want to learn more about AnthonysSong and what he does, check out his website and Twitter.

Rising from the Rubble

(Photos courtesy of the Daily Mail)

It may be a long road to recovery in Japan, but the nation is already making incredible progress after the March 11th earthquake and subsequent tsunami destroyed the nation's means of transportation and infrastructure.

In just six days, construction crews from NEXCO company repaired one stretch of highway in Naka. Following the destruction, the Great Kanto Highway was left with a 150-meter crack running down its main section. While the crews only started working on March 17th, they finished repairs and opened the road to traffic yesterday.

With winter wrapping up, citizens across the country (and globe) have been reporting potholes in massive numbers. Compared with destroyed roads in Japan, potholes seem like an easy fix. Yet, it can take many months (even years!) for towns and cities to repair them. Doesn't make sense, right?

Supercharging Communities

Back in February, SeeClickFix's Ben Berkowitz spoke about strengthening 'communities of practice' at the TechSoup Global Contributors' Summit in Santa Clara, CA. Out of approximately 500 attendees, Ben was one of a handful mentioned in this recent blog post from TechSoup Global:

Ben Berkowitz of SeeClickFix definitely has some new dance partners; He'll be talking to IREX about their media training groups, and also their library program in Romania, and with Chris Worman about the TechSoup program there. Meanwhile Bill Strathmann at Network for Good has designs on SCF too... After weakly begging off the a.m of Day 1 (Valentine's Day? Don't make me go all revolutionary guards on you, Billy), Strathmann sprang off of his red eye from DC in a relaxed, collaborative mood. Re SCF he wrote, "Network for Good is increasing its training to nonprofits on tech tools that help engage their communities and drive donations. We're reaching over 150,000 nonprofit professionals today. SeeClickFix is a great community tool that has a latent role for small nonprofits (imagine the Anacostia Watershed Society adopting the region it cares about on SeeClickFix and accessing/engaging citizens who care about the same issues in the same geographic area – trash in the Anacostia River), but SeeClickFix does not have access to small nonprofits (nonprofits don't know it exists or how they could use it)."

TechSoup also mentioned that Timothy Pylate of the Eurasia Foundation wanted to follow up with Ben about how Ukraine could utilize a platform like SeeClickFix for their e-governance programs.

Read the full post here

Apple Application Developer - Make Attractive and Appropriate Application for Your Smart Phone

Today, Apple mobile market is encouraging the smart phone capacity, features and capabilities. Apple is redefining the requirements of smart phone in the market and making them as you want. The followers and loyalists are joining to Apple products in all their efforts also strong their product and services.

With encourage of mobile market, the requirements of iPhone development and iPad development, also apple apps developers have also increased. This has created a vast target based and accordingly they have spread various and rich Apple application development.

The demand of iPhone application development demand is increased because its probability has increased. With increasing number of iPhone users also number of people trying to rich internet through the smart phone has increased. The iPhone covers all the important aspects like travel, business, entertainment, games, weather, news etc…

Great news for iPad application development users for getting smart phone devices professional, attractive, eye catching and advanced than others. It contains best features and functions and gives users. The tablet PC has changed the view of mobile technology and computer technology in the market.

Smart Phone Applications:

• Augmented reality Apps: With Apple applications create a virtual world giving information that you need with just your finger tips.

• Business Apps: Like search engine on your iPhone, accessibility to various business reports, surveys, trends, email textual content, money management tools, customer detailed database, calendar services, windows office services.

• Entertainment Apps: Like radio stations, movie feedbacks, music and information about local events, cartoon characters, fun and interactive application.

• Games Apps: Like brick games, puzzles, quizzes, strategy games, board games and war games.

Mobile Development Experts (MDE) is an Apple app development company in India. It provides Apple apps developer for started claming to offer the best application development. We are finding an appropriate application and made easy with the help of guidelines like experience and costing.

If you want to customize your Apple application then hire iPhone application developers. Do you like it?

Spurce: Perception System

An International Fix!

By Erin (our awesome intern)

SeeClickFix is helping to improve communities around the world as reports from citizens in Espoo, Southern Finland pour in. Currently, there are around 160 open issues reported there with watch areas set up for the mayor, an Espoo board member, and a local neighborhood group.

With walking and cycling as major modes of transportation, Espoo has a great demand for SeeClickFix; the maintenance of sidewalks and bike paths is critical. For example, one open issue involves an unpaved section of a bike path. Yikes! Espoo is another great place for citizens to use SeeClickFix and work together to improve their community!

If You Build It, They Will Come

With winter coming to an end, potholes of all shapes and sizes continue to negatively impact communities across the globe. Believing roads affect our daily lives, Pothole.Info recently highlighted SeeClickFix's success with pothole abatement, emphasizing how the site simultaneously engages citizens and helps local governments save money.

Citizens are coming, local governments are responding – and the potholes are getting fixed.

Pothole.info attributed part of SeeClickFix's success with the implementation of smartphone apps since citizens, particularly millennials, view them as tools for change and for organizing groups of people.

In other words, if hundreds of people in a medium-size city take camera phone pictures of potholes and then forward them on to the city’s streets maintenance department, more of the most important potholes will be filled and fixed faster. Net result: a whole city will become more drivable.

Like we say here at SeeClickFix, potholes really are the gateway drug to civic engagement!

Read the full article here!

Broken Sidewalk Blues

One month ago, SeeClickFix user Alan McHone reported a broken sidewalk in Charlotte, NC. Viewed over 100 times, the issue deals with a sidewalk damaged in multiple spots. While the user says it's normal for the city, he thinks this sidewalk seems extra dangerous.

It is about 5 feet from the CATS bus stop, and every time the bus runs over it, it actually moves and goes up and down about 2 feet in the air. Imagine that while standing on or near it. Or when it is filled with muddy water, which it often is.

While the issue remains unresolved, we recently found his YouTube video of the sidewalk. If you want to help Alan fix this issue, comment and vote here!

Fastest Fix Ever?

Resolving issues isn't a competition. If it were, however, the Town Green Special Services District of New Haven would totally dominate. Our very own Ben Berkowitz reported two separate issues involving graffiti in the last day. And they've already been cleaned up!

Reported yesterday, issue #89849 involved graffiti on State Street, which the Town Green District painted over within the day. Think that was fast? Well, the organization's Clean Team already dealt with another spot of graffiti (issue #90153) posted just three hours ago!

The Town Green District seeks to make New Haven an "internationally competitive urban environment in which to live, work, learn and play." We think they're doing an exceptional job at keeping our city clean, safe, and fun!

Android Game Development – Leverage to Build Rich and Interactive Games for Your SmartPhone

Android is a smart phone also based on Java programming Language and GUI which is developed by Google. It is an open source mobile operating system. With documenting the API, Google has also done great work. Java is broadly accepted as much easier language to get started in than C++ but without proper knowledge no one provide game application. Android application development is a popular platform for developing games.

Features of Android Game Development:

• 2D and 3D games
• Based on Java programming language
• From other application, android application framework for porting components and applications
• It is based on Java programming language that is easy to develop
for the developers.
• Enhanced graphics powered by 2D graphics
• Supportive media for all image, audio and video formats

Android app development comes up with great entertaining features and capacity for android mobile devices. It must be a user integrator and combination of four main components….

• Activities
• Find and receive
• Content
• Services

Today, android game development provides satisfactory game application services. Android Application Development (AAD) is a great android development company. It has experienced and professional android app developer. We provide android programming services to globe. We have amazing intelligence of all technical aspects and every process of game development. We also offer you to hire android game developer for particular android game application. We offer different types of games like action, simulation, strategy and puzzle.

If you want to customize your android application then hire android application developers. Do you like it?

Operation Dead Cactus

As wintry weather and potholes cause trouble across the country, one city strayed from the trend and dealt with a pricklier issue.

Reported only 15 days ago, issue #86215 "Dead Cactus" was resolved in Albuquerque, NM last Friday. Local resident Joe Barela reported the massive cactus located on the Watercress and Jefferson median and believed the overflowing plant could be dangerous to citizens.

The cactus has large needles and is a hazard to traffic and pedestrians.

Barela previously reported the problem twice to no avail. This time, the 311 Citizen Contact Center responded within one day on SeeClickFix, escalated the resident's initial report, and dealt with the cactus. On Friday, Barela gratefully commented:

It is all gone. It was gone as of Friday afternoon. The area looks so much better. Thanks to everyone.

Gotta love a happy ending!

Upgrade Your Smart Phone Applications with Android Mobile Development

Android is an open source platform which product of collaborate group. This is also called Open Handset Alliance in which Google is contributing player. For android apps developer and SDK, android platform gives facilities. The Android mobile development is non-coders and develops significant applications. At any programming language, they not required vast expertise.

Last some year, the cell phones are work out into smart phone which is quickly becoming a substitute for laptop and desktop because of the probability and utility features. Through the palm sized devices, now a day users are access the internet.

Versions of Android Operating Systems:

• Android 1.5
• Android 2.0/2.1
• Android 1.6

Android application development has rich function which is a layered environment. It is built on a foundation of the Linux kernel. User Interface (UI) includes views, windows and widgets.

Connectivity Options:

• Bluetooth
• Wi-Fi
• Wireless data over a cellular connection like GPRS, EDGE and 3G

Google Map is a most popular android application which is display a directly within android apps development. Support for hardware (like touch screen, camera and motion censor) and location based services (like GPS).

Benefits of Android Mobile development:

• Easier data transfer across different mobile networks
• Separate libraries for 2D and 3D graphics also libraries for video, audio, and images
• Number of features such as Touch screen, Video Camera, accelerometer and magnetometer, and GPS
• IPC or Interprocess communication message passing facility
• SQLite for storing data

Mobile Development Experts (MDE) is an android development company in India. It provides experienced and professional android app developer. They have a wide scope of understand, research and stretching the android application in the mobile sector. It is not limited to mobile market but also coming soon on other applications and platforms.

If you want to customize your android mobile application then hire android developer. Do you like it?

Source: Offshore Mobile Development India