Government Technology

New Mobile App Gives San Francisco Residents an Open Door to City Info


You May Also Like


November 8, 2011 By

Residents of San Francisco now have a mobile way to keep tabs on what’s going on in the city. San Francisco launched a smartphone application on Nov. 5 that gives users access to city information and services.

Called the SFGov mobile app, it streamlines and simplifies the content published by city agencies so that citizens can stay more informed while on the go.

“The SFGov mobile application will make government more responsive and city services easier to access for all San Franciscans,” said Mayor Ed Lee in a statement. “San Francisco is leading the way in creating innovative tools like the SFGov app. This, combined with our city’s Open Data Policy, is making San Francisco the true leader in open government and gov 2.0.”

Some of the information available through the SFGov mobile app includes:

  • access to news and updates about city policies and initiatives;
  • information about city services;
  • contact with city government via a variety of social media channels;
  • streaming audio and/or video content of archived Board of Supervisors meetings, mayor’s events and key SFGovTV programs; and
  • access to a broad variety of information such as the city’s event calendar, SFGovTV schedules, and state and federal government information.

The app is available for both iPhone and Android platforms and can be viewed on a browser on any mobile device.

Free Wi-Fi for Market Street

In addition to the SFGov mobile app, San Francisco also has plans to roll out free public Wi-Fi on Market Street, one of the city’s busier commercial arteries.

While work on the Market Street rollout won’t begin until next month, the city’s Department of Technology, working with other agencies has installed a number of free hotspots around San Francisco, including locations in parks, hospitals, libraries and low-income communities, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Chronicle also reported that the San Francisco Department of Technology acquired $80,000 from the Board of Supervisors for Wi-Fi projects and has been installing access points in the areas where the city has power and data fiber lines installed.

Jon Walton, San Francisco’s acting CIO, said that free public Wi-Fi is more a question of when, not if and he expects the network to provide adequate coverage for those needing access for regular use.

“We want anybody walking up and down the street, sitting in the park or having a cup of coffee, to be able to op onto the network and use it,” Walton told the Chronicle.


You may use or reference this story with attribution and a link to
http://www.govtech.com/wireless/New-Mobile-App-San-Francisco-SFGov.html


| More

Comments

Add Your Comment

You are solely responsible for the content of your comments. We reserve the right to remove comments that are considered profane, vulgar, obscene, factually inaccurate, off-topic, or considered a personal attack.

GovTech Papers and Case Studies View Library


Government Best Practices



Government Technology
Public CIO
Emergency Management
Digital Communities