Boston Urban Hazard Maps
Interactive analysis of 24,186 sharps collection requests and 1,719 encampment reports submitted to Boston's 311 system from 2024 to 2026. Sourced from the City of Boston's open data portal, updated regularly for public health research and community awareness.
Key Statistics
Between 2024–2026, Boston residents submitted 24,186 sharps collection requests through the city's 311 system, spanning 15 neighborhoods. Peak activity occurs on Tuesdays around 4 AM, with Roxbury consistently reporting the highest volume at an average of 864 requests per month citywide.
Heatmap
Trends & Patterns
Requests by Neighborhood
The table below shows the distribution of sharps collection requests across Boston neighborhoods. Roxbury leads with 6,960 requests (28.8% of total), with the most reported location being 544P Massachusetts Ave.
| Neighborhood | Volume | Requests | Share | Top Street | Avg Response (hrs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roxbury | 6,960 | 28.8% | 544P Massachusetts Ave | 2.2 | |
| South End | 5,859 | 24.2% | 1701 Washington St | 2.1 | |
| Back Bay | 2,026 | 8.4% | INTERSECTION Blagden St & Exeter St | 6.2 | |
| Dorchester | 1,827 | 7.6% | 735 Columbia Rd | 2.9 | |
| Boston | 1,794 | 7.4% | 700 Boylston St | 5.5 | |
| South Boston / South Boston Waterfront | 1,609 | 6.7% | 2-8 Mount Washington Ave | 2.8 | |
| Downtown / Financial District | 1,282 | 5.3% | INTERSECTION South St & Essex St | 3.1 | |
| Jamaica Plain | 905 | 3.7% | 170 Morton St | 3.2 | |
| Fenway / Kenmore / Audubon Circle / Longwood | 439 | 1.8% | 595-603 Newbury St | 3.5 | |
| South Boston | 263 | 1.1% | 1005 Columbia Rd | 3 | |
| Greater Mattapan | 210 | 0.9% | INTERSECTION Cemetery Rd & Jewish War Veterans Dr | 3.2 | |
| Beacon Hill | 184 | 0.8% | 20 David G Mugar Way | 3.8 | |
| East Boston | 156 | 0.6% | 99-111 Sumner St | 9.8 | |
| Mission Hill | 155 | 0.6% | 70 Jamaicaway | 3.4 | |
| Allston / Brighton | 138 | 0.6% | 328-334 Lincoln St | 5.1 |
Top Zip Codes
The most active zip codes for sharps collection requests, led by 02118 with 7,559 reports.
About This Data
This dashboard maps publicly available data from Boston's 311 open data portal. Boston's 311 system is the city's non-emergency service request platform — residents use it to report everything from potholes to graffiti to discarded needles.
We currently display two datasets: sharps collection requests (24,186 reports) and encampment reports (1,719 reports). These are separate, unrelated complaint types that happen to be available through the same API. We are not implying any correlation or causation between them — we're simply mapping the data as the city provides it. As more geolocated 311 categories become available, we may add them.
All data is sourced from the City of Boston Open Data Portal via the CKAN API. This project is open source under the MIT license and intended for public health research and community awareness.