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+# Google Summer of Code with the City of Boston
+
+Below, you will find a list of ideas we have for a Google Summer of Code contributors for the **summer of 2024**. Thank you for your consideration!
+
+## Guidance for Applications and Project Proposals
+
+You can find guidance for applications and your project proposals **[here](https://cityofboston.github.io/summerofcode/guidance)**.
+
+## Ideas List for 2023
+
+### 1. Requesting City Services via AI-Driven Apps
+
+Residents of Boston can request a variety of non-emergency services through the City’s 311 system. Annually, more than 300,000 requests flow into 311. These include requests for street sweeping, litter pickup, pothole repair, parking enforcement, and dozens of other services. Residents request services by calling our 311 contact center, going to our website, or using the 311 app.
+
+The City believes that we can greatly improve the 311 experience by including AI-based image-recognition in our 311 apps. We envision a future where all a resident has to do is snap a photo of a problem they want to remedy. The AI will analyze the photo, determine the problem, and allow the user to submit a request in seconds. City staff would also benefit from this AI, as miscategorized 311 submissions can lead to mistaken deployment of resources.
+
+To help bring this to life, a Google Summer of Code intern will build and train an AI model based on the hundreds of thousands photos submitted to Boston’s 311 system over the last several years. The AI will be capable of analyzing images users submit and determining the type of services they are most likely to be requesting.
+
+We give this project a medium to high level difficulty.
+
+This project requires knowledge of AI-based image processing and associated libraries and tools. The trained model must be turned into a performant API that can be accessed through a Web or App-based UI. Advanced app-building experience is not necessary, but we will a basic app to test the model on a variety of devices in varying conditions.
+
+The mentors of this project will include the Senior Director of Products and Services, Basic City Services; the Chief Digital Officer; with guidance and input from the Chief Information Officer.
+
+### 2. Web Interface for Urban Tree Canopy Detection Using Satellite and Aerial Imagery
+
+The City of Boston’s Parks Department maintains a comprehensive data set on trees in Boston. However, it’s a manual and laborious process to get the data (such as conducting site visits for tree counts) on a regular basis. Last summer, a student built a Boston-specific model to identify trees from aerial imagery; it was based on Deep Forest, a machine learning library for tree crown detection.
+
+This year, we would like to operationalize this project for the Parks Department. Right now, the machine learning model runs on Google Colab, which has proven difficult for staff at the Parks Department to learn. They need a simple web interface that allows for the upload of updated imagery and subsequent analysis.
+
+We would also like to explore ways to find more insights from the aerial imagery. For example, we would also like to look at the feasibility of determining tree health and the variety of tree species across the city.
+The ideal outcome would be 1) the creation of a simple web interface for the Parks Department to upload new aerial imagery for analysis, and 2) the ability to the Parks Department to generate a list of statistics on tree counts and tree healthto ensure that it continues to plants trees in an equitable manner across the city.
+
+We give this project a medium level of difficulty. The project can be completed in 175 hours.
+
+This project will require intermediate experience with Python, machine learning (in particular TensorFlow and training models with imagery), interacting with RESTful APIs, and limited experience with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.
+
+The mentors for the project will include two Program Directors at the Mayor’s Office of Urban Mechanics, including one who served as a Google Summer of Code mentor at Code for America in 2011 and the City of Boston in 2021 and 2022.
+