Prior studies have documented the expanded role of 311 non-emergency systems in public participation, public management and performance management in local governments. Three-one-one began as a simple telephone-based system for requesting non-emergency services and now plays an important role in local governments. Yet, there are very few insights into the impact of 311 systems on their public users, even as local governments increasingly turn to 311 as a public engagement tool, using it to facilitate citizen-initiated contacts. This dissertation explores two research questions. First, how has 311 technology affected citizen behavior? Second, has the introduction of a 311 system produced a more equitable pattern of participation in the administrative process by changing the profile of citizens who contact local government? This dissertation finds that the three cities in the case studies (Denver, Minneapolis and Kansas City) faced several challenges during implementation, including managing the internal culture change associated with introducing 311 into local government. It also finds some evidence of higher contacting rates and increased equity associated with 311 use. These findings have two main policy implications. First, they highlight the importance of designing a variety of participation options to ensure that participation is open to various cross-sections of the population and to equalize access to government across venues. Second, more consideration needs to be given to the design features of an implementation plan for an innovation such as 311, ensuring a clear link between the features and specific desired outcomes, given the unique conditions of the implementation context.

Citizen participation includes those activities by citizens who are not public officials that are more or less intended to influence the actions taken by government (Verba & Nie, 1972). Citizen initiated contacts are one such form of participation. In 1999, the volume of complaint and service related calls received by the Department of Public Works and Engineering equaled almost 20 percent of the city's population. Via Houston's Customer Response Center, these contacts are logged in, directed to the appropriate department and incorporated into the department's infrastructure management system (IMS). The goal of the IMS is to provide a systems approach to making cost-effective decisions about the design, rehabilitation, construction, retrofitting, maintenance or abandonment of the city's infrastructure (Grigg, 1988). To date, the effectiveness of this program is perceived as less than ideal and the public is critical of the results (Graves, 2002). Residents express concerns that infrastructure projects are targeted towards business and industrial areas while neighborhood needs are being ignored. Politicians are concerned that projects are not equally distributed among the districts. Meanwhile, public works' staff are concerned because there isn't enough money to address citizen calls, business and industrial needs and political concerns in addition to the problems they have identified. The purpose of this research is twofold: to determine if citizen initiated contacts have been a significant factor in the selection of water and sewer projects and, to identify other factors that may play a role in the decision making process. This study is longitudinal in nature, covering the time period between 1992 and 1999. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis were applied to the various data sets provided by the City of Houston. The results of the analysis supports the following: - Citizen contacts have been significant in determining the allocation of water and sewer CIP projects; however, that has not been consistent through the years. - Factors such as race, class, line type, material, size, age and location also factor into the decision making process.