Kyle Fiducia admits that he spends plenty of time recording the petty annoyances of city living: the rats, the illegal dumping and uncollected trash, the sidewalks near his D.C. home littered with electric scooters. His tool of choice was often D.C.’s official 311 app, which allows residents to report a multitude of municipal irritations to the city agencies that are responsible for addressing them.
But earlier this year it was the 311 app that became Fiducia’s primary irritation. First it was buggy and slow, and then at some point in May, it just stopped working altogether. Fiducia could have complained about the app or just given up, but he chose a different path: He created his own.
“I’ve long wanted a better 311 app,” he said. “I just have never been so motivated to do it as to take my own time and do it.”