The Rodent Action Tracking Resource application, or RATRapp, is a Washington, DC-wide resource showing where 311 requests for Rodent Inspection and Treatment have been submitted. This application uses data from the DC Open Data Portal to visualize the extent of the rodent problem in DC as well as how effectively and equitably the DC Department of Health (DOH) is responding to the problem. RATRapp was created by Matthias Maier on April 8, 2019

The Rodent Action Tracking Resource application, or RATRapp, is a Washington, DC-wide resource showing where 311 requests for Rodent Inspection and Treatment have been submitted. This application uses data from the DC Open Data Portal to visualize the extent of the rodent problem in DC as well as how effectively and equitably the DC Department of Health (DOH) is responding to the problem. In brief, RATRapp is an application in the public health domain and supports the mission of the DC DOH to address burgeoning rat populations within the District. Rodents can carry disease, feed on garbage, and negatively impact the cleanliness of neighborhoods across the city. The DC DOH is running programs to target rodent issues, collecting 311 service requests and tracking their status. However, there is not currently a public resource to track these requests in aggregate or over time, which may allow DC DOH to gain insights into what factors are more likely to lead to problems, predicting hotspots, and taking more preventative actions. Additionally, this application will allow the DC citizenry to gain insight into how successfully DC DOH is addressing the rodent problem as well as how equitably these services are administered to neighborhoods across the city. This application has three main user sets: DOH employees, DC citizens, and elected officials. First, the DC DOH employees working on these issues will be able to gain greater insight into the specific areas impacted by rodent problems as well as to self-assess the equity of service they provide. Second, the DC citizenry will gain transparency into the rodent problem, enabling them to better understand how their community is impacted and collectively advocate for better service. Third, DC elected officials from Wards or neighborhoods that are underserved currently or overrun by rodent request volume, will be in a position to make more informed decisions about policies across the city and advocate for their electorates. RATRapp was created by Matthias Maier on April 8, 2019