FixMyStreet
Encyclopedia
FixMyStreet is a mySociety
website through which users can report potholes, broken street lights and similar problems with streets and roads in England
, Scotland
and Wales
to their local council or related organisation, and see what reports have already been made.
Innovations Fund and built by mySociety
, in conjunction with the Young Foundation
; the code for the site was written by Francis Irving
, Matthew Somerville, and Chris Lightfoot
. The site was originally launched as "Neighbourhood Fix-It", but it was decided to change to a shorter and easier name in June 2007 when one became available. A FixMyStreet app was developed in 2008 to enable iPhone users to report problems using their phones, and since then volunteers have written apps for Nokia and Android, as well as another app for the iPhone.
FixMyStreet won an award at SustainIT eWell-Being Awards in 2008, and has been listed in various newspaper best or top websites. The site was an inspiration for the government's "Show Us A Better Way" contest.
A version of the site for reporting abandoned empty homes, in conjunction with the Empty Homes Agency
, Shelter Cymru
and the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, was launched in late 2008, and was called "a model of easy use" by the Guardian.
In 2010, FixMyStreet was closely integrated with The Guardian
's Guardian Local project. Emily Bell wrote in her launch message: "A hugely important part of this project has been the involvement of MySociety, who we've collaborated with to provide customised versions of their civic tools, allowing and encouraging local residents to report issues, contact their representatives and generally become engaged in the governance and care of their locality.", and Alistair Tibbitt, Development Manager for Greener Leith wrote "the Guardian certainly deserve plaudits for integrating the local FixMyStreet service so tightly into their new Edinburgh Beat Blog."
.
Other inspirations include:
MySociety
mySociety is an e-democracy project of the UK-based registered charity named UK Citizens Online Democracy, that aims to build "socially focussed tools with offline impacts". It was founded by Tom Steinberg in September 2003, and started activity after receiving a £250,000 grant in September 2004...
website through which users can report potholes, broken street lights and similar problems with streets and roads in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
to their local council or related organisation, and see what reports have already been made.
History
The site was initially funded by the Department for Constitutional AffairsDepartment for Constitutional Affairs
The Department for Constitutional Affairs was a United Kingdom government department. Its creation was announced on 12 June 2003 with the intention of replacing the Lord Chancellor's Department...
Innovations Fund and built by mySociety
MySociety
mySociety is an e-democracy project of the UK-based registered charity named UK Citizens Online Democracy, that aims to build "socially focussed tools with offline impacts". It was founded by Tom Steinberg in September 2003, and started activity after receiving a £250,000 grant in September 2004...
, in conjunction with the Young Foundation
Young Foundation
The Young Foundation was launched in the spring of 2006 following the merger of the Institute of Community Studies and the Mutual Aid Centre. It is named after Michael Young, the British sociologist and social activist who created over 60 organisations including the Open University, Which? and...
; the code for the site was written by Francis Irving
Francis Irving
Francis Irving is a 36 year old British computer programmer and activist for freedom of information.Francis Irving developed TortoiseCVS.He co-founded Public Whip with Julian Todd and became a developer of the affiliated TheyWorkForYou website, a project which parses raw Hansard data to track how...
, Matthew Somerville, and Chris Lightfoot
Chris Lightfoot
Chris Lightfoot was a leading and prolific online civic campaigner, a polymath and a scientist, and the first developer with Tom Steinberg at e-democracy charity mySociety.-Family and early life:...
. The site was originally launched as "Neighbourhood Fix-It", but it was decided to change to a shorter and easier name in June 2007 when one became available. A FixMyStreet app was developed in 2008 to enable iPhone users to report problems using their phones, and since then volunteers have written apps for Nokia and Android, as well as another app for the iPhone.
FixMyStreet won an award at SustainIT eWell-Being Awards in 2008, and has been listed in various newspaper best or top websites. The site was an inspiration for the government's "Show Us A Better Way" contest.
A version of the site for reporting abandoned empty homes, in conjunction with the Empty Homes Agency
Empty Homes Agency
The Empty Homes Agency was established in 1992 as a registered charity in England that works to help people create homes from empty properties and campaigns for more empty homes to be brought into use for the benefit of those in housing need...
, Shelter Cymru
Shelter Cymru
Shelter Cymru is the largest independent housing and homelessness charity in Wales. It works in collaboration with the UK charity Shelter. Shelter Cymru has worked in Wales since 1981, and has been an independent organisation since 1986....
and the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, was launched in late 2008, and was called "a model of easy use" by the Guardian.
In 2010, FixMyStreet was closely integrated with The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
's Guardian Local project. Emily Bell wrote in her launch message: "A hugely important part of this project has been the involvement of MySociety, who we've collaborated with to provide customised versions of their civic tools, allowing and encouraging local residents to report issues, contact their representatives and generally become engaged in the governance and care of their locality.", and Alistair Tibbitt, Development Manager for Greener Leith wrote "the Guardian certainly deserve plaudits for integrating the local FixMyStreet service so tightly into their new Edinburgh Beat Blog."
International reach
FixMyStreet has inspired similar sites in other countries. The :no:NUUG funded the development of a Norwegian version of FixMyStreet, FiksGataMi (http://www.fiksgatami.no/), which also led to the FixMyStreet open source code becoming more generic, easier to install, and able to handle different maps, including OpenStreetMapOpenStreetMap
OpenStreetMap is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. Two major driving forces behind the establishment and growth of OSM have been restrictions on use or availability of map information across much of the world and the advent of inexpensive portable GPS devices.The...
.
Other inspirations include:
- Canada: FixMyStreet (http://www.fixmystreet.ca/)
- Germany: Mark-a-Spot (http://www.markaspot.de/)
- Georgia: Chemikucha (http://www.chemikucha.ge/)
- Korea: FixMyStreet (http://www.fixmystreet.kr)
- Netherlands: Verbeterdebuurt (http://www.verbeterdebuurt.nl/)
- New Zealand: FixMyStreet (http://fixmystreet.org.nz/)