Hate Potholes? 海角社区 Students are Engineering an App to Better Report and Resolve Infrastructure Issues
May 07, 2025
From potholes and cracked sidewalks to broken streetlights and graffiti, small but important infrastructure issues in local communities often take time to be noticed, reported, and resolved.
As part of their senior capstone project, a team of 海角社区 engineering students developed鈥疢uniciPal, a mobile and web-based application designed to simplify and digitize the entire public works reporting process.
鈥淩ight now, citizens often report issues by calling different departments, filling out forms, or even posting on social media鈥攏one of which feed directly into the project-funding and bidding process,鈥� said Sahithi Rampally, team member and a computer science major.
Through research and user analysis, the team identified an opportunity to bridge the communication gap between residents, city departments, and contractors. While local governments work diligently to maintain public infrastructure, the process of receiving reports, prioritizing needs, and coordinating repairs can be complex and time-consuming, often involving multiple systems, paper forms, or inconsistent channels
The app addresses this by allowing residents to submit photos of infrastructure concerns, include a brief description, and even upvote issues they care about.
鈥淢uniciPal gives every resident a direct line to improved streets, parks, and public spaces. No more wondering who to call or when that pothole will finally disappear. You report it, vote on it, and track it鈥攔ight on your phone,鈥� said team member Adam Azmi.
鈥淢uniciPal gives every resident a direct line to improved streets, parks, and public spaces. No more wondering who to call or when that pothole will finally disappear. You report it, vote on it, and track it鈥攔ight on your phone,鈥� said team member Adam Azmi.
On the backend, municipal staff can view a live, prioritized map of reports, issue digital requests for proposals (RFPs), and assign work to contractors within a centralized system.
Team Members
The team is made up of the following Division of Computer Science & Engineering students and graduates:
- Adam Azmi from Baton Rouge, La.
- Brett Bradley from Mandeville, La.
- Kyle Jefferson from New Orleans, La. Graduated in December 2024.
- Sahithi Rampally from India
- Raedan Stephens from Mandeville, La. Graduating May 2026
- Dina Taing from Cambodia. Graduating in December 2025
The project combines user experience design, software engineering, and public-sector insight鈥攄emonstrating how interdisciplinary research at 海角社区 can lead to practical, scalable solutions. By automating tasks that were once manual and fragmented, MuniciPal aims to increase efficiency, improve transparency, and strengthen civic engagement.
鈥淭his capstone demonstrates real-world impact. We鈥檝e built a full-stack, user-validated solution that tackles a genuine civic challenge. It shows how interdisciplinary teamwork鈥攃ombining user experience research, software engineering, and public-sector insight鈥攃an lead to a product ready for pilot testing with an actual city,鈥� Jefferson said.
The students worked in specialized roles across mobile and web development, collaborating and guided by faculty advisor Nash Mahmoud, associate professor of computer science and engineering.
With the potential to reduce administrative overhead, accelerate repair timelines, and give residents more visibility into local improvements, MuniciPal represents a promising example of how 海角社区 student research can directly benefit communities across Louisiana and beyond.
鈥淭ogether, MuniciPal and the capstone itself showcase how applied computer science and design can improve everyday life for thousands of people,鈥� Taing said.
鈥淪ince most of us are graduating this semester, we are definitely planning to work more on the app to refine it more and also have a well-laid-out business plan to start reaching out to the local government. We did submit our application to the Nexus Technology Cup and are hoping to participate and showcase our app in a statewide competition,鈥� Rampally said.
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