Are you pissed off about potholes, graffiti or broken street lights? Similar to the Federal government’s efforts with Data.gov and Google’s recent Public Sector release, CitySourced is offering users a chance to take government matters into their own hands. This year’s TC50 third place runner-up, CitySourced is a crowd pleaser on a number of levels. If you’re the type of person who writes letters to congressmen, editors and counsillors, you’re likely to help power this app.
CitySourced offers citizens a chance to photograph their local pet peeves directly from their iPhones. Users send their pictures and complaints to their local municipalities with a couple clicks. From here, governments are recognize the needs of their constituencies and are forced to take action.
While programs like Apps for America and Apps for Democracy work to crowd source programmer-driven applications, CitySourced can be utilized by a non-technical user. In addition to the decision-making data being generated from this service, cities also offer users an active outlet for their frustrations. Instead of sending out arbitrary rants and suggestions to their Twitter accounts, users still get a chance to complain while receiving a direct line to their municipal reps. If cities have the courage to make these complaints public, the site could become as entertaining as Craigslist’s Best Of page while still maintaining its usefulness.
