2013 · US · Enterprise · Government · Mobile · Civic

Track-A-Tree — a citizen engagement app for the City of Louisville

A civic-tech mobile app that let Louisville residents mark, track, report and advocate for the trees in their city — connecting citizens directly to the Parks Department.

Enterprise Government Mobile Civic

Track-A-Tree — a citizen engagement app for the City of Louisville

In one breath

Citizen-engagement mobile app for a US city government, anchored on urban trees
Four participation modes: mark, request, report, and sponsor
Direct pipeline from citizen submissions to the Parks Department

iOS + Android

Platforms

Participation modes

City

Government tier

01 · The challenge

What was broken, what was at stake

Cities like Louisville have rich parks and tree coverage, but the relationship between residents and the Parks Department was one-way — complaints in, no meaningful way to participate. The city wanted a tool that turned residents into stewards of the urban canopy.

02 · The approach

How we thought about it

We mapped the four things a resident actually might do: mark a tree they care about, suggest a spot for a new tree, report one that's damaged, or sponsor a tree. Each became a distinct primary action in the app, each with a direct route to the relevant Parks Department workflow.

03 · What we built

The actual solution

A cross-platform mobile app on iOS and Android with an interactive map at the centre. Users can mark trees, suggest planting locations, report hazards, find tree info, and see sponsored trees from local businesses. Back-end routing sent each submission type to the right Parks Department inbox with geolocation and photo attached.

04 · The results

What shipped, what changed

The first civic participation tool of its kind for Louisville — turning what had been a complaint channel into a stewardship platform that residents could use several ways a year.

Timeline

Phase by phase.

01
Discovery
2 weeks
Parks Department workflow mapping. Resident participation scenarios.
02
Design
2 weeks
Map-first UX. Four participation modes. Accessibility review.
03
Build
6 weeks
Weekly demos with Parks Department stakeholders.
04
Launch
2 weeks
City launch comms, staff training, backend handover.