My L.A. 311 recently updated the City of Los Angeles information and services app with a new feature called “Find City Info” which is convenient for students looking to find nearest parks, libraries, fire and police stations, public pools, parking lots, and more with just a few taps away.

Since its launch in 2015, the app provides Los Angeles residents with the services and information to enjoy leisure activities in the city, engage with their community, and stay connected with their local government.

Angeli Castelltort, a psychology major, said the My L.A. 311 app is useful for Los Angeles residents because it is efficient and quick.

“It’s an improvement to the city because it allows us to reach out to certain people we need right away, allowing residents to stay connected and find places they need to get to within seconds is a great improvement for the Los Angeles community,” Castelltort said.

With a smartphone’s GPS and camera, the app is able to search for the nearest recreational places, and make it easier to report graffiti, abandoned furniture, potholes, broken street lights and fallen trees, for example.

Mary Dorotan, a theatre major, also finds the app convenient.

“The “Find City Info” sounds really cool because I always try to look for libraries that are close by, and since I don’t know much about my area, that feature would help me a lot,” Dorotan said.

According to Daniel Rodriguez, a My L.A. 311 customer information representative, the process of submitting a request or concern is much faster than it was when the app first launched. Now, requests go directly to the system’s database as a report that gets sent to local contractors.

“When you call and submit a request, your submission goes live, the only time it doesn’t is when it’s an “other” request when residents don’t know what to categorize their request,” Rodriguez said. “So it gets sent as email and then we have our email specialist look through it, they respond back accordingly so they may ask further questions or refer the recipient to another specialist department,”

Some of the most common requests include bulky item pickups, graffiti removal, illegal dumping pickup, dead animal removal, and homeless encampment.

According to Rodriguez, most callers are L.A. residents in general, but many students call, especially students who call on behalf of their parents who may not speak the English language.