NYC Public Service Finder

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NYC Public Service Finder is a full-stack Django web application designed to help NYC residents locate, filter, and engage with a variety of public services. The platform consolidates essential services like shelters, food pantries, mental health centers, and restrooms into one convenient interface. Beyond location-based search and filtering, it includes user accounts, service providers’ dashboards, announcements, user reviews, a forum for community discussions, and moderation functionalities.

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Key Features

For Service Seekers

• 🔍 Search and Filter Services:
  Find services by category, keyword, radius from your location, or rating.

• 📏 Distance and Rating Sorting:
  Sort results to prioritize proximity or quality (ratings).

• 🗺️ Interactive Map:
  Visualize services on a live map with direction links and bookmark them for future reference.

• ⭐ User Reviews & Ratings:
  Submit and view reviews for services, enhancing transparency and trust.

• 📌 Bookmarks & Profile:
  Save favorite services, view your reviews, manage your profile image, and more.

For Service Providers

• 📝 Service Listing Management:
  Create, edit, and deactivate services. Submitted services await admin approval.

• 📢 Announcements:
  Broadcast timely messages (e.g., special events, temporary closures) to users who have bookmarked your services.

• 💬 Respond to Reviews:
  Address user feedback directly, improve your service’s reputation, and provide additional information.

Community Interaction

• 💻 Forum Discussions:
  Engage in community discussions organized by categories, comment on posts, and get notified about replies.

• 🚩 Flag Inappropriate Content:
  Users can flag forum posts, comments, or reviews they find inappropriate. Admins review these flags and take action to maintain a safe environment.

Moderation & Admin

• 🔍 Content Moderation:
  Admins can review flagged content, dismiss or revoke it, and ensure a positive, respectful community environment.

• ✅ Approval Workflow:
  System administrators approve or reject new service listings.

• 📊 Analytics & Dashboards:
  Service providers can access dashboards featuring bookmarks over time, reviews, average ratings, distribution by category, and more.

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Technology Stack

• Backend: Django (Python)
• Databases:
  • Primary (Relational): Supabase (PostgreSQL) for user accounts, forums, and relational data
  • NoSQL (Key-Value Store): Amazon DynamoDB for services, reviews, and bookmarks
• Frontend: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript (with Tailwind CSS)
• Storage: Amazon S3 for user and service images
• Geocoding: Nominatim / Geopy for address-to-coordinate conversions
• CI/CD: Travis CI for continuous integration and deployment
• Version Control: Git & GitHub
• Authentication: Django’s built-in auth plus Django Allauth for social login (e.g., Google OAuth2)

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Project Structure

wed-fall24-team1/
├── accounts/                  # User auth, registration, social login, password reset 
├── forum/                     # Discussion forum (categories, posts, comments, notifications)
├── home/                      # Main landing page, service listing, bookmarks, reviews, DynamoDB integration 
├── moderation/                # Flagging and moderation of user-generated content 
├── public_service_finder/     # Core Django project settings, URLs 
├── services/                  # Service providers’ dashboards, CRUD for services, announcements, analytics 
├── static/                    # Static files (CSS, JS, images) 
├── templates/                 # HTML templates (global and per-app) 
├── manage.py                  # Django management script 
└── requirements.txt           # Python dependencies

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Prerequisites and Setup

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x
• pip
• virtualenv (recommended)
• Supabase (Postgres): A running Supabase PostgreSQL instance for relational data
• AWS Account with IAM permissions for DynamoDB & S3
• AWS CLI configured locally

Environment Variables

Create a .env file or export as environment variables:

• DJANGO_SECRET_KEY
• GEOCODING_API_KEY
• SUPABASE_DB_NAME, SUPABASE_DB_USER, SUPABASE_DB_PASSWORD, SUPABASE_DB_HOST, SUPABASE_DB_PORT
• AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, AWS_REGION
• AWS_STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME, AWS_S3_REGION_NAME

Installation Steps

1. Clone the Repository:

git clone [your-repo-url]
cd wed-fall24-team1

2. Create and Activate a Virtual Environment:

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install Dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Configure AWS CLI & Credentials:

aws configure

Provide your AWS keys, region, and output format.

5. Set Environment Variables:

export DJANGO_SECRET_KEY='your_secret_key'
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID='your_access_key'
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY='your_secret_key'
export AWS_DEFAULT_REGION='your_region'
# ... add others as needed

6. Run Migrations:

python manage.py migrate

7. Run the Development Server:

python manage.py runserver

Access the app at: http://localhost:8000

Database Configuration

Supabase (Postgres)

Your main relational data store for users, forum posts, flags, etc. Ensure the DATABASES setting in public_service_finder/settings.py is configured with your Supabase credentials.

Amazon DynamoDB

• Tables: services, reviews, bookmark
• Data:
  • services: Stores service info (category, coordinates, rating, status)
  • reviews: Holds user reviews tied to services
  • bookmark: Tracks user bookmarks to services
• Grant DynamoDB read/write permissions to the AWS credentials used.

Amazon S3

Stores images (profile pics, service images). Set AWS_STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME and related S3 settings.

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Testing

python manage.py test

CI via Travis and coverage reports via Coveralls are integrated. Check badges above for build and coverage status.

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Additional Features

• 🔐 User Authentication & Social Login:
  Standard username/password plus Google OAuth2 support, password resets, and custom user model.

• 💬 Forums & Notifications:
  Community discussions with categories, posts, comments, and profanity filtering. Users receive notifications for replies, approvals, announcements, etc.

• 🚩 Flagging & Moderation:
  Users can flag content. Admins have a dedicated workflow to handle flagged items, ensuring a respectful platform.

• 📊 Provider Dashboards & Analytics:
  Analyze metrics like bookmarks over time, reviews, rating distribution, and category distribution for continuous service improvement.

• 📢 Announcements:
  Service providers can post announcements to inform users about changes, events, or temporary closures. Users with the service bookmarked receive notifications.

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Contributing

git checkout -b feature/new-feature
git add .
git commit -m "Add new feature"

Open an issue first for large changes.

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Team Members

• Omer Basar (Product Owner)
• Aakash Shankar
• Shubham Garg
• Deepjyot Singh Kapoor
• Kartikey Sharma

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

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NYC Public Service Finder connects communities with essential public services, fostering transparency, engagement, and trust. Explore services, join discussions, and support your neighborhood today!

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Made with ❤️ , powered by ⚡ Django, and driven by 🚀 community spirit.