The application enables citizens to report local problems such as potholes, illegal trash dumping, faulty street lights, broken tiles on sidewalks, and illegal advertising boards. The submitted issues are displayed on the city's map. Users may add photos and comments. Moreover, they can suggest solutions for improving the environment of their neighbourhood.

1. Improve My City
App for Citizens Reporting Issues in Municipalities – Regions
Currently used by Thermi Municipality, Thessaloniki, Greece
http://mklab.iti.gr/imc/
Yiannis Kompatsiaris, Dimitris Ververidis, Spiros Nikolopoulos, CERTH-ITI
Living Lab Event: Mobile Apps for Use in the City
Sofia, 26-27 January 2013

2. Why do we need an app for that?
• Municipalities and Regions cover large areas
– Issues collection, prioritization and addressing is time
consuming and costly
– Regional authorities want to listen (or at least show they are
listening) what their citizens are saying
• Citizens want to participate
– Social Networks create new culture and technical possibilities
– They are interested in their everyday problems (especially if
they receive timely feedback)
• Citizens can become a cost and time efficient real-time
sensor of issues and the best source for solution ideas
and prioritization (Collective Intelligence)

3. Features at a Glance
• Login – authentication
– Synchronization with web
version
• Map and list-based view of
issues
– Close to current location
• Customized filters per
category and distance
• New issue
– Location + image
• Issue comment and voting
• Greek and English

4. Report an
Issue
Category
Title
Description
Image
GPS Position
Reverse
geocoding

5. Features

List View of
issues with
current progress

Local cache
(SQLite)

Filter by distance
from current
position (km)

Efficient
bandwidth usage

Filter by Category

6. Features
Full integration
with web-based
app, backend and
database
Easily customizable
for other
municipalities –
regions – cases
Authorities must
provide feedback
and adapt their
processes
Web based app and backend developed by URENIO Research Unit, Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki

7. Future Plans
• Open source distribution (under discussion)
• Augmented Reality Visualization for future and on-going
projects
– Library for Android, 3D objects support, OpenGL
• Automatic image (and issue – topic - category) annotation
using visual-based processing

8. Multimedia Group
http://mklab.iti.gr
Information Technologies Institute
http://www.iti.gr
Urban and Regional Innovation Research
http://www.urenio.org
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Smart City Services
Municipality of Thermi - Greece
https://smartcity.thermi.gov.gr/
“Google play„ search: Multimedia Group - CERTH-ITI,
http://mklab.iti.gr/imc