Blockee is a Code for America-designed web application that allows you to go to take a Google Street View image (or one from your computer) and modify it with all kinds of plannerific "civic bling," from planters and trees to bike lanes and street signs. There are waving crossing guards and speed bumps and, yes, even sparkling trash cans like the ones in the photo above.
That photo is of the 3200 block of Ryan Avenue, which is the subject of a complaint on SeeClickFix:
There is a 2.5 mile stretch called the "loop" were their aren't any trash cans. I've contacted Boyle and Henon's office months ago and haven't been promised anything yet. We have the trash cans, just need someone in the "Streets Dept" to tell them to collect it. A Blockee user in Raleigh, N.C., used his pimped-out Blockee in a SeeClickFix post and the city responded by actually fixing something. Now, we're not saying that will happen here, but why not try? The tool is pretty fun to play with anyway, and would be a great way to teach a kid about why planning matters. Actually, there's a lot of potential for Blockee, but the developers are no longer working on it because it was part of a fellowship. For that reason, they suggest others "to fork, steal, copy, transmogrify, re-use or improve Blockee."
· S T E A L – T H I S – R E P O [Code for America]
· NO TRASH CANS 3201-3249 Ryan Ave Philadelphia, PA [SeeClickFix]