Smart Complaint Assistant – AI-powered Civic Issue Reporting

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  issues to enter

Inspiration

This project was inspired by the everyday problems people face when filing complaints in their city. Often, complaints about roads, electricity, or water supply are not properly tracked, and citizens don’t know whether their issue is being addressed. We wanted to build something that makes the process faster, more transparent, and citizen-friendly. That’s how the idea of the Smart Complaint Assistant was born.

What it does

The Smart Complaint Assistant is a platform that allows citizens to easily report civic issues like potholes, streetlight failures, or water supply problems. Complaints are logged into the system with details such as description, location, and category. Administrators can then track, update, and resolve these issues, while citizens get real-time updates on their complaint status. The goal is to make city complaint management more transparent, faster, and efficient.

How we built it

We built the platform using React.js for the frontend and Node.js with Express for the backend. The data is stored in MongoDB, which keeps track of complaint details and statuses. For the user interface, we implemented Tailwind CSS to keep the design clean and responsive. The system was structured so that citizens and admins both have dedicated interfaces — one for filing and tracking complaints, and the other for managing and resolving them.

Challenges we ran into

Debugging CORS and API request errors between the frontend and backend. Structuring the database so that complaints could be filtered and tracked effectively. Making sure updates appeared without refreshing the page.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We built a fully functional complaint submission and tracking system from scratch. Designed a simple but effective UI that citizens can easily use. Integrated real-time complaint status updates. Overcame multiple technical roadblocks in a short timeframe.

What we learned

How to integrate frontend and backend smoothly with REST APIs. Practical skills in database design, React hooks, and API error handling. That even small details in the workflow (like complaint categorization) make a big impact.

What's next for Smart Complaint Assistant – AI-powered Civic Issue Reporting

We plan to extend the system by adding:

AI-powered complaint categorization so issues are auto-sorted into departments. A map-based dashboard where users and admins can see complaints geographically. A mobile app for quick reporting on the go. Analytics tools for authorities to identify patterns and recurring issues in the city.

Built With

• express.js
• git
• github
• javascript
• mongodb
• node.js
• react.js
• restapis