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Building a Smarter 311 App

Discover how Harper Hack winners Colin and Josh built MELL, an AI-powered community reporting app. Learn about their inspiration, tech stack, UX approach, and how AI streamlines issue reporting for local communities.
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Building a Smarter 311 App

By
Austin Akers
November 20, 2025
By
Austin Akers
November 20, 2025
By
Austin Akers
November 20, 2025
November 20, 2025
Discover how Harper Hack winners Colin and Josh built MELL, an AI-powered community reporting app. Learn about their inspiration, tech stack, UX approach, and how AI streamlines issue reporting for local communities.
Austin Akers
Head of Developer Relations

‍

In this podcast, Austin interviews Colin and Josh, the creators of MELL, a community reporting app that utilizes AI to streamline the process of reporting local issues like potholes and broken streetlights. They discuss the ideation process, their technical backgrounds, the challenges of building the app, and their vision for future improvements. The conversation highlights the importance of user experience and the potential for the app to make a real impact in communities.

Github:

https://github.com/VoxelPenguin/mell

‍

Demo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1qu3i8D9Is

‍

In this podcast, Austin interviews Colin and Josh, the creators of MELL, a community reporting app that utilizes AI to streamline the process of reporting local issues like potholes and broken streetlights. They discuss the ideation process, their technical backgrounds, the challenges of building the app, and their vision for future improvements. The conversation highlights the importance of user experience and the potential for the app to make a real impact in communities.

Github:

https://github.com/VoxelPenguin/mell

‍

Demo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1qu3i8D9Is

Discover how Harper Hack winners Colin and Josh built MELL, an AI-powered community reporting app. Learn about their inspiration, tech stack, UX approach, and how AI streamlines issue reporting for local communities.

Download

White arrow pointing right
Discover how Harper Hack winners Colin and Josh built MELL, an AI-powered community reporting app. Learn about their inspiration, tech stack, UX approach, and how AI streamlines issue reporting for local communities.

Download

White arrow pointing right
Discover how Harper Hack winners Colin and Josh built MELL, an AI-powered community reporting app. Learn about their inspiration, tech stack, UX approach, and how AI streamlines issue reporting for local communities.

Download

White arrow pointing right

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