In Boston, an iPhone app for civic complaints

It may have taken a while, but city governments are now rushing to catch up with the technological preferences of their citizens. Just last month we covered San Francisco’s recent Twitter initiative, and now Boston is jumping on board with a new iPhone application for filing civic complaints. Dubbed Citizen Connect, the application will allow residents of the city to snap photos of neighbourhood problems such as potholes, graffiti or abandoned vehicles, and e-mail them directly to City Hall, according to a report on Boston.com. Tapping the iPhone’s GPS function, users will easily be able to specify the problem’s precise location. And whereas in the past citizens often felt that their complaints “disappeared into a bureaucratic black hole,” as Boston.com put it, the new application will give users a tracking number after they file their complaint, allowing them to follow city officials’ progress in addressing it. Designed by New Hampshire firm Connected Bits, the app is due to enter a testing phase next week, with some 70 people—primarily City Hall employees and volunteers—trying it out, according to Government Technology. It will be offered as a free download from Apple’s iPhone App Store, and is expected to become available in mid- to late August. Also on board the iPhone train with civic applications are Utah and—no surprise—San Francisco, according to Government Technology. Other governments: what about you…? Spotted by: Boston Globe via Raymond Kollau