Calling 311 gives citizens an easy way to call in to report broken streetlights or graffiti or after-hours construction. It is used by many municipal governments in both the U.S. and Canada (see list below).

With 311 New Yorkers are helping to solve problems they see in neighborhoods

This week there was an interesting story in Wired Magazine about New York using its 311 call center to solve the source of a series of related complaints – the maple syrup mystery - read more here.

In New York, 311 now fields on average more than 50,000 calls a day, offering information about more than 3,600 topics: school closings, recycling rules, homeless shelters, park events, pothole repairs. The service has translators on call to handle some 180 different languages. (source: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/11/ff_311_new_york/)

The image below shows how those calls are dispersed across a typical day in New York.

311 for smaller cities?

In Evanston, Illinois (population less than 100K), Aldermen are split over a proposed 311 city call center program that City Manager has proposed to handle citizens’ after-hours non-emergency calls. The Aldermen questioning the program wonder if the $783K is the best use of money in the wake of the budget’s call for cuts in service and programs in other areas. (source: http://www.pioneerlocal.com/evanston/news/2900974,evanston-311center-111810-s1.article)

Federal Grants help smaller cities launch 311 call centers

The Town of New Hempstead, NY (population also less than 100K) established its 311 call center in 2005 through a $500,000 federal grant. Today, the center averages 100,000 calls a year.

Municipalities using 311 call centers in US and Canada

According to Wikipedia, the following cities in the US and Canada have 311 call centers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3-1-1

United States

311 is available in several major American cities, including: Akron • Albuquerque • Austin • Baltimore • Birmingham • Charlotte • Chattanooga • Chicago • Columbus, Ohio • Dallas • Denver • Detroit • Hartford • Houston • Kansas City, Missouri • Knoxville • Las Vegas • Laredo • Little Rock • Louisville • Los Angeles • Miami • Milwaukee • Minneapolis • Mobile • Nashville • New York City[4] • Orlando • Pittsburgh • Philadelphia • Richmond, Virginia • Riverside, California • Rochester • Sacramento • San Antonio • San Francisco • San Jose • Somerville, Massachusetts • Springfield, Massachusetts • Tampa and Washington, D.C..

Canada

The service is available in the following communities: