Introduction

open311 is an international open-access standard for civic issue management and public service communication. The standard allows administrations to better manage citizen requests, citizens to more easily participate in administrative work, and researchers and data scientists to access data regarding public service communication. As an open standard, open311 is not a centralized API, but a framework implemented by various cities (e.g. San Francisco, CA, Chicago, IL, Cologne, DE, Turku, FI, Zurich, CH) and services (e.g. SeeClickFix, FixMyStreet).

It is way past the golden age of open311 APIs and much of development in civic issue tracking has shifted to less open-access and less standardized alternatives. Many former prime examples have abandoned or severely limited their open311 endpoints. Nonetheless, open311 still constitutes a valuable source for open government data. Many cities and services still maintain an open311 service.

r311 allows the seamless management and selection of endpoints and retrieval of service and request data. It supports (but does not depend on) many popular R frameworks such as the tidyverse, sf and xml2 for response formatting. r311 is designed to be slim, both in content and dependencies. It imports only two import-less packages used for HTTP response handling. The functionality is limited to two main features:

Endpoint management
Sending requests

This vignette will briefly cover these two features.

Endpoints

Since open311 is an open and decentralized standard, there is not one but many endpoints that one can access. An endpoint is commonly implemented by a city administration, but can also be managed by a service provider such as FixMyStreet. Each endpoint can define multiple jurisdiction IDs, although, in practice, most endpoints only define a single jurisdiction.

It can thus be difficult to manage the multitude of endpoints and jurisdictions. Efforts have been made to list open311 servers, but most of them are incomplete or outdated. r311 offers an updated and modifiable endpoint list that defines a number of open311 implementations that are defined for use in the package. The list can be read using o311_endpoints.

o311_endpoints()
#> # A tibble: 69 × 12
#>    name            root  docs  jurisdiction key   pagination limit json  dialect deprecated deprecated_reason deprecated_url
#>    <chr>           <chr> <chr> <chr>        <lgl> <lgl>      <int> <lgl> <chr>   <lgl>      <chr>             <chr>         
#>  1 "Annaberg-Buch… http… http… annberg-buc… FALSE TRUE          50 TRUE  Mark-a… TRUE       switched          https://buerg…
#>  2 "Bloomington, … http… <NA>  bloomington… FALSE TRUE        1000 TRUE  uReport FALSE      <NA>              <NA>          
#>  3 "Bonn, DE"      http… http… bonn.de      FALSE TRUE         100 TRUE  Mark-a… FALSE      <NA>              <NA>          
#>  4 "Boston, MA"    http… http… <NA>         FALSE TRUE          50 TRUE  Connec… FALSE      <NA>              <NA>          
#>  5 "Brookline, MA" http… http… brooklinema… FALSE TRUE          50 TRUE  Connec… FALSE      <NA>              <NA>          
#>  6 "Austin, TX"    http… http… <NA>         FALSE TRUE          50 TRUE  Connec… FALSE      <NA>              <NA>          
#>  7 "Chicago, IL"   311a… 311a… cityofchica… FALSE TRUE          50 TRUE  Connec… FALSE      <NA>              <NA>          
#>  8 "Newport News,… http… http… cityofnewpo… FALSE TRUE          50 TRUE  Connec… FALSE      <NA>              <NA>          
#>  9 "San Diego, CA" http… http… sandiego.gov FALSE TRUE          50 TRUE  Connec… FALSE      <NA>              <NA>          
#> 10 "K\u00f6ln / C… http… <NA>  stadt-koeln… FALSE TRUE          50 TRUE  Mark-a… FALSE      <NA>              <NA>          
#> # ℹ 59 more rows

The list does neither claim comprehensiveness nor up-to-dateness. It arguably provides some of the most important and easily accessible endpoints as of 2025. However, r311 also offers the ability to add new endpoints to o311_endpoints using o311_add_endpoint. You need to provide a name (for lookup) and a root URL (the URL used to send requests). The following code adds the open311 test server of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.

o311_add_endpoint(
  name = "MV Test",
  root = "https://klarschiff-mv.sis-schwerin.de/backoffice/citysdk/",
  jurisdiction = "rostock.de"
)

Retrieving the endpoints list again confirms that you successfully added a new row to the endpoints dataframe.

nrow(o311_endpoints())
#> [1] 70

You can now select the Rostock test API to the session using o311_api. This function matches an API using endpoint name and jurisdiction ID and attaches it to the active session. Query functions automatically detect the attached API.

o311_api("MV Test")

After attaching an API, o311_ok confirms that the selected endpoint is able to handle request queries.

o311_ok()
#> [1] TRUE

As the result is TRUE, you can safely start receiving real request data.

Making requests

After selecting an API and attaching it to the session, all functions can access it. You can now make requests.

Services

To get an overview of the available services in a jurisdiction, you can use o311_services, which returns a list of Rostock’s administrative services.

o311_services()
#> # A tibble: 183 × 8
#>    service_code service_name                              description metadata type     keywords group            group_id
#>    <chr>        <chr>                                     <lgl>       <lgl>    <chr>    <chr>    <chr>               <int>
#>  1 127          "Ampel behindertengerecht gestalten"      NA          FALSE    realtime idea     Barrierefreiheit       11
#>  2 128          "Ampelschaltung \u00e4ndern"              NA          FALSE    realtime idea     Barrierefreiheit       11
#>  3 129          "Bordstein absenken"                      NA          FALSE    realtime idea     Barrierefreiheit       11
#>  4 130          "Zugang rollstuhlgerecht gestalten"       NA          FALSE    realtime idea     Barrierefreiheit       11
#>  5 131          "Ampelschaltung \u00e4ndern"              NA          FALSE    realtime idea     Fahrradverkehr         12
#>  6 132          "Beleuchtung ver\u00e4ndern"              NA          FALSE    realtime idea     Fahrradverkehr         12
#>  7 133          "Beschilderung/Markierung \u00e4ndern"    NA          FALSE    realtime idea     Fahrradverkehr         12
#>  8 134          "Beschilderung/Markierung einf\u00fchren" NA          FALSE    realtime idea     Fahrradverkehr         12
#>  9 135          "Bordstein absenken"                      NA          FALSE    realtime idea     Fahrradverkehr         12
#> 10 136          "Fahrradst\u00e4nder aufstellen"          NA          FALSE    realtime idea     Fahrradverkehr         12
#> # ℹ 173 more rows

Requests

To get data about civic issues in the city area, run o311_requests.

o311_requests()
#> Simple feature collection with 52 features and 15 fields
#> Geometry type: POINT
#> Dimension:     XY
#> Bounding box:  xmin: 11.17392 ymin: 53.38346 xmax: 13.31174 ymax: 54.20873
#> Geodetic CRS:  WGS 84
#> # A tibble: 52 × 16
#>    service_request_id status_notes            status service_code service_name description agency_responsible service_notice
#>                 <int> <chr>                   <chr>         <int> <chr>        <chr>       <chr>              <lgl>         
#>  1                263  <NA>                   recei…           30 "Sperrm\u00… "redaktion… "Abfallwirtschaft… NA            
#>  2                217  <NA>                   recei…          103 "Baum schad… "redaktion… "Forstamt"         NA            
#>  3                272 "Reparatur beauftragt"  in_pr…            4 "bauliche G… "Hier ist … "LK-LUP-Verkehr"   NA            
#>  4                150 "Vielen Dank f\u00fcr … in_pr…            5 "Beleuchtun… "Stra\u00d… "Bauamt"           NA            
#>  5                173 "Vorgang wurde zur Bea… in_pr…            3 "Ampel scha… "Ampel sch… "Regional-Adminis… NA            
#>  6                154 "Das Anliegen wird im … in_pr…           13 "Hundekot"   "Die Halte… "Beschwerdemanage… NA            
#>  7                210  <NA>                   recei…          117 "Wegereinig… "redaktion… "Forstamt"         NA            
#>  8                201  <NA>                   recei…          162 "Schutzh\u0… "redaktion… "Forstamt"         NA            
#>  9                166 "Verstanden."           in_pr…            3 "Ampel scha… "redaktion… "Bauamt (Amt Rost… NA            
#> 10                245 "Vielen Dank f\u00fcr … in_pr…            8 "Beschilder… "Zusatzzei… "Parchim - FB 3 R… NA            
#> # ℹ 42 more rows
#> # ℹ 8 more variables: requested_datetime <chr>, updated_datetime <chr>, expected_datetime <lgl>, address <chr>,
#> #   adress_id <lgl>, media_url <chr>, zipcode <lgl>, geometry <POINT [°]>

Using the output of o311_services, you can further narrow down the output of requests. Open311 defines a set of standard parameters which are implemented by all endpoints. Using the service_code parameter with one of the previously returned service codes, only complaints about broken traffic lights are returned.

o311_requests(service_code = "3")
#> Simple feature collection with 6 features and 15 fields
#> Geometry type: POINT
#> Dimension:     XY
#> Bounding box:  xmin: 11.84164 ymin: 53.41644 xmax: 12.31198 ymax: 54.20656
#> Geodetic CRS:  WGS 84
#> # A tibble: 6 × 16
#>   service_request_id status_notes             status service_code service_name description agency_responsible service_notice
#>                <int> <chr>                    <chr>         <int> <chr>        <chr>       <chr>              <lgl>         
#> 1                166 "Verstanden."            in_pr…            3 Ampel schad… "redaktion… "Bauamt (Amt Rost… NA            
#> 2                158  <NA>                    revie…            3 Ampel schad… "Die Ampel… "Stra\u00dfenmeis… NA            
#> 3                251  <NA>                    recei…            3 Ampel schad… "redaktion… "LK-LUP-Verkehr"   NA            
#> 4                173 "Vorgang wurde zur Bear… in_pr…            3 Ampel schad… "Ampel sch… "Regional-Adminis… NA            
#> 5                250 "Vielen Dank f\u00fcr d… in_pr…            3 Ampel schad… "Ampel aus… "LK-LUP-Verkehr"   NA            
#> 6                273  <NA>                    recei…            3 Ampel schad… "Die Daten… "Standardzust\u00… NA            
#> # ℹ 8 more variables: requested_datetime <chr>, updated_datetime <chr>, expected_datetime <lgl>, address <chr>,
#> #   adress_id <lgl>, media_url <lgl>, zipcode <lgl>, geometry <POINT [°]>

Similarly, using a service_request_id from the output, you can retrieve a single service request from the API.

o311_request("250")
#> Simple feature collection with 1 feature and 15 fields
#> Geometry type: POINT
#> Dimension:     XY
#> Bounding box:  xmin: 11.86831 ymin: 53.43376 xmax: 11.86831 ymax: 53.43376
#> Geodetic CRS:  WGS 84
#> # A tibble: 1 × 16
#>   service_request_id status_notes             status service_code service_name description agency_responsible service_notice
#>                <int> <chr>                    <chr>         <int> <chr>        <chr>       <chr>              <lgl>         
#> 1                250 "Vielen Dank f\u00fcr d… in_pr…            3 Ampel schad… Ampel ausg… LK-LUP-Verkehr     NA            
#> # ℹ 8 more variables: requested_datetime <chr>, updated_datetime <chr>, expected_datetime <lgl>, address <chr>,
#> #   adress_id <lgl>, media_url <lgl>, zipcode <lgl>, geometry <POINT [°]>

Bulk queries

Many endpoints define a page limit meaning that responses are divided into pages. A query without parameters returns the first page. Pagination can be controlled with the page argument. To control pagination, the o311_request_all function can come in handy. It automatically iterates through pages and heuristically decides when to stop. The following example retrieves data from the first two pages, resulting in a tibble with 200 service requests.

o311_api("Cologne")
o311_request_all(max_pages = 2)
#> Simple feature collection with 200 features and 11 fields
#> Geometry type: POINT
#> Dimension:     XY
#> Bounding box:  xmin: 6.829202 ymin: 50.85319 xmax: 7.104497 ymax: 51.04662
#> Geodetic CRS:  WGS 84
#> # A tibble: 200 × 12
#>    service_request_id title     description address_string service_name requested_datetime updated_datetime status media_url
#>    <chr>              <chr>     <chr>       <chr>          <chr>        <chr>              <chr>            <chr>  <chr>    
#>  1 1386-2025          "#1386-2… "Mehrere L… "50769 K\u00f… "Leuchtmitt… 2025-01-16T00:35:… 2025-02-15T12:2… closed "https:/…
#>  2 1387-2025          "#1387-2… "Butzweile… "50829 K\u00f… "Schrott-Kf… 2025-01-16T06:13:… 2025-01-16T11:4… open   "https:/…
#>  3 1388-2025          "#1388-2… "Die Stra\… "50997 K\u00f… "Leuchtmitt… 2025-01-16T06:35:… 2025-02-15T12:2… closed ""       
#>  4 1389-2025          "#1389-2… "Dauerbaus… "50968 K\u00f… "Stra\u00df… 2025-01-16T07:04:… 2025-03-27T12:2… closed ""       
#>  5 1390-2025          "#1390-2… "Hier ist … "50931 K\u00f… "Defekte Ve… 2025-01-16T07:06:… 2025-02-16T09:2… closed ""       
#>  6 1391-2025          "#1391-2… "Schlagloc… "50672 K\u00f… "Defekte Ob… 2025-01-16T07:19:… 2025-01-17T07:5… closed ""       
#>  7 1394-2025          "#1394-2… "M\u00fcll… "51061 K\u00f… "Wilder M\u… 2025-01-16T08:08:… 2025-02-15T12:2… closed "https:/…
#>  8 1393-2025          "#1393-2… "Seit Mona… "50931 K\u00f… "Schrottfah… 2025-01-16T08:10:… 2025-01-16T11:4… open   "https:/…
#>  9 1392-2025          "#1392-2… "Schrank"   "50739 K\u00f… "Wilder M\u… 2025-01-16T08:10:… 2025-02-15T12:2… closed "https:/…
#> 10 1395-2025          "#1395-2…  <NA>       "50733 K\u00f… "Wilder M\u… 2025-01-16T08:21:… 2025-02-15T12:2… closed "https:/…
#> # ℹ 190 more rows
#> # ℹ 3 more variables: status_note <chr>, service_code <chr>, geometry <POINT [°]>

Non-standard parameters

r311 implicitly supports API extensions introducing custom paths and parameters. One such API is Klarschiff Rostock which is based on CitySDK. Klarschiff CitySDK defines a number of non-default paths and parameters which extend the filtering abilities of open311 requests. Available parameters can usually be found in the respective documentation (e.g. on GitHub for Klarschiff CitySDK). The following query returns the last 50 requests tagged with the “idea” keyword.

o311_api("Rostock, DE")
tickets <- o311_requests(keyword = "idea", max_requests = 50)
tickets
#> Simple feature collection with 50 features and 15 fields
#> Geometry type: POINT
#> Dimension:     XY
#> Bounding box:  xmin: 12.0452 ymin: 54.06011 xmax: 12.17308 ymax: 54.17656
#> Geodetic CRS:  WGS 84
#> # A tibble: 50 × 16
#>    service_request_id status_notes            status service_code service_name description agency_responsible service_notice
#>                 <int> <chr>                   <chr>         <int> <chr>        <chr>       <chr>              <lgl>         
#>  1              48005  <NA>                   recei…           93 "Beschilder… "redaktion… "Tiefbauamt (Unte… NA            
#>  2              42258  <NA>                   revie…           99 "Beschilder… "Oft kommt… "Tiefbauamt (Unte… NA            
#>  3              50762  <NA>                   recei…          113 "Beschilder… "redaktion… "Tiefbauamt (Unte… NA            
#>  4              40539  <NA>                   revie…          112 "Beschilder… "Sehr geeh… "Tiefbauamt (Unte… NA            
#>  5              45486  <NA>                   recei…          113 "Beschilder… "redaktion… "Tiefbauamt (Unte… NA            
#>  6              42022  <NA>                   recei…          112 "Beschilder… "Nach dem … "Tiefbauamt (Unte… NA            
#>  7              46210  <NA>                   recei…           93 "Beschilder… "redaktion… "Tiefbauamt (Unte… NA            
#>  8              50520  <NA>                   recei…          113 "Beschilder… "redaktion… "Tiefbauamt (Unte… NA            
#>  9              40653 "Vielen Dank f\u00fcr … in_pr…           93 "Beschilder… "Wenn ich … "Tiefbauamt (Unte… NA            
#> 10              42112  <NA>                   recei…           99 "Beschilder… "redaktion… "Tiefbauamt (Unte… NA            
#> # ℹ 40 more rows
#> # ℹ 8 more variables: requested_datetime <chr>, updated_datetime <chr>, expected_datetime <lgl>, address <chr>,
#> #   adress_id <lgl>, media_url <chr>, zipcode <lgl>, geometry <POINT [°]>

Some custom parameters can also alter the shape of the output. In the following example, we query just the count of total requests using the just_count parameter. The result is a 1×1 tibble containing a count value.

o311_requests(just_count = TRUE)
#> # A tibble: 1 × 1
#>   value
#>   <int>
#> 1  3310

The CitySDK extensions also offers additional URL paths which can be queried using the generic o311_query function.

poly <- o311_query("areas")
plot(poly$grenze)
plot(tickets$geometry, add = TRUE, pch = 16)

Cleanup

Endpoint data is stored persistently between sessions so that you can create your own database of open311 endpoints. This database is stored in the system’s user directory as returned by tools::R_user_dir("r311"). To reset the database, run

o311_reset_endpoints()

This will default back to the endpoints defined by r311 and remove all endpoints manually added by o311_add_endpoints.

r311: An R interface to the open311 standard