The application, developed by the Central Region Information Technology Association (AIRC) and available for Android and iOS systems, allows any citizen to report occurrences, with georeferencing, related to public spaces.

Within the application, citizens can choose to report incidents related to green spaces, roads and cycle paths, sidewalks, public lighting and infrastructure, noting cases such as faults in road signs, vegetation invading roads or cycle paths, subsidence or holes, the need for ramps or problems with street furniture.

For the President of the Chamber, José Manuel Silva, this “technological step represents an insistence from months and years ago”, highlighting that after inheriting “a Chamber that was on paper, it is now on the cell phone”.

The mayor considered that the possibility of reporting incidents would put “healthy pressure” on services.

“The application of occurrences was something we wanted to happen for a long time so that people could help us report day-to-day problems,” he highlighted.

Within the application, the user will be able to choose the type and subtype of occurrence, with georeferencing, accompanied by a photograph and a description of the problem.

Throughout the process, the citizen will be able to monitor the resolution of the problem, being informed of its execution or its referral to another entity that is responsible for responding.

In the application, it is possible to see all reported occurrences and their resolution status.

In addition to the occurrences, residents will also be able to access other municipal services and stay up to date with the cultural agenda, among other issues.

Quick results

The Director of the Department of Public Space, Santos Costa, said that the application seeks to respond to problems that can be resolved quickly while keeping other channels active for “more problematic things”.

Questioned by the Lusa news agency about the lack of a field for urban cleaning, Santos Costa clarified that to launch the application, the municipality chose to focus on road and pedestrian safety in public spaces but admitted that, in the future, other areas such as urban cleaning or civil protection could be added.

During the presentation of “@Coimbra”, the Vice-President of the Chamber, Francisco Veiga, highlighted the importance of municipal services close to citizens, believing that the application “is a true space for participatory citizenship”.