Good Design is Good Civics

The Boston Mayor’s Office was having a problem: Not enough residents were reporting their own problems into the city. Sure, the 311 phone line had its old school devotees. But Boston decided they could reach a whole new population by creating a brand new 311 mobile app. The only issue? Turning a human-operated phone line into a mobile app isn’t easy. Designers at the mayor’s office looked around at another city’s 311 app—and made their own share of mistakes—to figure out how to get it done.