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Real streets. Real reports. Told straight, by the people who file them.

A guest with a rolling suitcase walks toward a hotel entrance on Union Square in San Francisco at dusk, with a gold measurement ring around a cracked sidewalk joint in the foreground
NewBIDs & public realm6 min read
HotelsSidewalksBIDs

How much does the street outside shape a hotel guest’s stay?

More than the lobby does. Guests judge a hotel from the curb, and the City owns the curb. What a hotel can own is the record: what was reported, when, and what the City did about it.
A raised sidewalk slab edge marked with a measurement ring, with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum peristyle behind it at golden hour
How 311 works7 min read
LA28SidewalksAccessibility

Are Los Angeles streets ready for LA28?

Not yet, and nobody can say by how much. The City has funded venue-area sidewalks and its first capital program, but no measured block-by-block baseline exists for the routes fans will walk. Readiness is a measurement question as well as a funding question.
A laptop on a desk showing a dashboard of tracked outcomes
How 311 works6 min read
Outcomes311 metricsAccountability

Why should cities track outcomes instead of counting submissions?

A count of 311 requests tells a city what residents noticed. Only a record of what happened after, who owned it, when it closed, and whether the condition is actually gone, tells the public what was delivered.
Five things that see a Los Angeles street: a garbage truck, a Metro bus, a scooter rider, a sidewalk delivery robot, and a resident with a phone
Street data & sensing15 min read
LiDARSensingCost

Do cities need LiDAR to know what is wrong with their streets?

No. Survey grade lasers cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a unit and $100 to $200 a mile to run, every few years. The vehicles already on the street carry cheaper eyes and pass every block far more often. What cities are missing is a cheap instrument on the right vehicle and a workflow into the City.
A sidewalk panel lifted by a tree root on a Los Angeles residential street, with a steel ruler standing against the raised edge
How 311 works9 min read
SidewalksADAPotholes

Why do sidewalk repairs in Los Angeles take so much longer than potholes?

A pothole is a maintenance task with a three business day service level. A sidewalk is a construction job inside a $1.37 billion ADA settlement, with a 4,400 request backlog and a property owner duty attached.
A resident on a Los Angeles corner holding a phone that reads Right Agency Found, beside a couch dumped on the sidewalk
How 311 works8 min read
Call volume311Deflection

How much 311 call volume can a city actually deflect?

Using the Los Angeles Controller's audit, New York's performance data, and our own filings, we estimate that a jurisdiction aware, structured front door could deflect 20 to 35 percent of phone contact volume tied to routine street conditions.
A hand holding a phone that reads Closed, See Comments beside an unrepaired pothole on a Los Angeles street
How 311 works6 min read
MyLA311ClosuresWhat to do next

What does "Closed - See Comments" mean on a MyLA311 request?

The City finished processing your 311 request and left a note. It does not necessarily mean the problem was fixed, and the note is often not visible to you. Here is what to do next.
Dump trucks on a desert highway toward a data center campus near Fernley, Nevada
Growth & infrastructure7 min read
Data centersSmall townsGrowth

Data centers are moving to small towns. What happens to their streets?

From Taylor, Texas to Storey County, Nevada, small towns are absorbing hyperscale campuses with rural-scale public works. The grid gets the headlines. The streets absorb the growth.
Los Angeles freeway sign with the downtown skyline and palm trees
Company & mission8 min read
Los AngelesCLARK AIWhy here

Why did Tea For Streets launch CLARK AI in Los Angeles first?

If it works here, it works anywhere: 3.8 million residents, 1.4 million 311 requests a year, 23,000 lane-miles, a record $286 million liability bill, and three global events on a fixed clock. We live here.
Unfinished downtown Los Angeles towers covered in graffiti
Graffiti & public realm7 min read
GraffitiRemoval311

What happens after graffiti is reported in Los Angeles?

Reporting graffiti in Los Angeles takes less than a minute. Getting it removed involves 311, the Office of Community Beautification, and nonprofit crews. That is the harder part.
A resident photographing a pothole on a residential Los Angeles street
Using CLARK AI5 min read
PotholesCLARK AIHow-to

How to report a pothole in the City of Los Angeles with CLARK AI

Open CLARK AI, point your iPhone at the pothole, press and hold, and say what you see. CLARK AI measures it, files it through 311, and tracks it until the city reports an outcome.
A Business Improvement District banner on a storefront with palm trees behind it
BIDs & public realm4 min read
BIDsRenewalLos Angeles

What is a Business Improvement District, and why do LA's 43 BIDs care about street conditions?

A BID is an area where owners assess themselves to fund clean-and-safe crews. LA has 43, collecting about $65M a year, and each must show owners what they got.

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A guest with a rolling suitcase walks toward a hotel entrance on Union Square in San Francisco at dusk, with a gold measurement ring around a cracked sidewalk joint in the foreground BIDs & public realmHow much does the street outside shape a hotel guest’s stay?6 min read A raised sidewalk slab edge marked with a measurement ring, with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum peristyle behind it at golden hour How 311 worksAre Los Angeles streets ready for LA28?7 min read How 311 worksWhy should cities track outcomes instead of counting submissions?6 min read Street data & sensingDo cities need LiDAR to know what is wrong with their streets?15 min read How 311 worksWhy do sidewalk repairs in Los Angeles take so much longer than potholes?9 min read How 311 worksHow much 311 call volume can a city actually deflect?8 min read How 311 worksWhat does "Closed - See Comments" mean on a MyLA311 request?6 min read Growth & infrastructureData centers are moving to small towns. What happens to their streets?7 min read Company & missionWhy did Tea For Streets launch CLARK AI in Los Angeles first?8 min read Graffiti & public realmWhat happens after graffiti is reported in Los Angeles?7 min read Using CLARK AIHow to report a pothole in the City of Los Angeles with CLARK AI5 min read BIDs & public realmWhat is a Business Improvement District, and why do LA's 43 BIDs care about street conditions?4 min read
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