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Oakland, Calif., Launches Website for Answer Seekers

“Oakland Answers” helps citizens ask questions about Oakland.

Oakland, Calif., launched a new website dedicated to answering questions citizens may want to know about the city, according to the City Administrator’s Office.

Named Oakland Answers, the website’s format prominently displays a search bar for users to enter questions or keywords pertaining to city services. Under the search bar is a list of common topics citizens may ask about including “Animals,” “Arts and Culture,” “Budget and Finance” and “Building and Development.”

The site, which is still in beta, was developed by OpenOakland, a local brigade through civic fellowship program Code for America. Content for the website was developed on June 1 during the National Day of Civic Hacking.

The site is modeled after Honolulu Answers a website with the same question-driven functionality that was developed by 2013 Code for America fellows in Honolulu. OpenOakland took the concept of Honolulu Answers and modified it to serve Oakland.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Sarah Rich is a former staff writer for Government Technology.