There was some lamentation in the local tech community over D.C. Chief Technology Officer Vivek Kundra’s decision to leave city government for a post with the Obama administration. Under Kundra’s watch the Office of the CTO did some cool things, most notably the city data catalog and the Apps for Democracy contest (which was a great idea, even if the money-saving numbers quoted in relation to it are transparently ridiculous).
But — the occasional FBI raid notwithstanding — there are encouraging signs that OCTO* is going to continue to pursue a spirit of innovation even after Kundra’s departure. Yes, the diminished quality of the city’s crime incident data feed is disappointing, but that seems to be MPD’s fault, not OCTO’s. More encouragingly, a second Apps For Democracy contest is underway; the city’s geographic shapefile repository seems to have removed some of the hoops through which users previously had to jump to acquire its larger datasets; and — most excitingly — OCTO is rolling out a new 311 API.
If you haven’t checked out the city’s online service request center, you really ought to. From scheduling bulk trash pickup to reporting broken streetlights to arranging for graffiti removal, there are nearly forty different city services can be accessed through the system. And although I’m still waiting on a new recycling bin (any year now!), my admittedly anecdotal experience with the system has been mostly positive.
By providing a standardized and reliable interface for developers, the new 311 API aims to make these capabilities available through sites and programs other than the dc.gov website. The example most often cited is a theoretical iPhone app for reporting potholes: fire it up, snap a photo of the offending divot, and press submit. The phone could then whisk the information (along with your current latitude and longitude) to the city government without the need for additional information.
At least, that’s the dream. The API is still under development, and things are in flux. For instance, it’s not yet clear exactly how users will obtain the API keys that will let them use the system — or how griefers will be prevented from reporting every parking meter in the city to be broken every hour of every day. But that hasn’t stopped developers from beginning to work with the system. For instance, local developers Zvi Band and Aaron Brazell have released Ruby and PHP libraries, respectively, that aim to make it easier for programmers working in those languages to access the API. And we’re sure that the next Apps For Democracy will include many entries that make use of the API, whatever state it’s in. There are some functions that are already useful, like the capability to convert a geographic position to a nearby street address (which can be surprisingly difficult to do when using conventional mapping services like Google’s).
It’s an exciting time to be a D.C. resident with a computer and a desire to get a streetlight fixed. What kind of apps would you like to see?
* Also: is it just us, or is OCTO’s logo in desperate need of improvement? The current state of affairs is inexcusable — particularly when you consider the anthropomorphic octopus options that are open to whoever’s responsible for the agency’s graphics.
