---
title: "r311: An R interface to the open311 standard"
output: rmarkdown::html_vignette
vignette: >
%\VignetteIndexEntry{r311: An R interface to the open311 standard}
%\VignetteEngine{knitr::rmarkdown}
%\VignetteEncoding{UTF-8}
---
# 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incomplete or outdated.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`.
``` r
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.
``` r
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.
``` r
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.
``` r
o311_api("MV Test")
```
After attaching an API, `o311_ok` confirms that the selected endpoint is able
to handle request queries.
``` r
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 \code{o311_*}
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.
``` r
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`.
``` r
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.
``` r
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.
``` r
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.
``` r
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](https://github.com/bfpi/klarschiff-citysdk)).
The following query returns the last 50 requests tagged with the "idea" keyword.
``` r
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.
``` r
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.
``` r
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
``` r
o311_reset_endpoints()
```
This will default back to the endpoints defined by `r311` and remove all
endpoints manually added by `o311_add_endpoints`.