Boston Urban Hazard Maps 311 sharps & encampment data
Data: data.boston.gov · Updated September 30, 2026 at 07:01 AM
Sharps: latest report Sep 9, 2026 · reporting disrupted since Sep 10Encampments: latest report Jun 22, 2026 · reporting disrupted since May 28Human Waste: data through Sep 29, 2026

Boston moved its 311 system to a new platform in 2026. Sharps reporting has been disrupted since Sep 10; reports that still arrive are shown, but low counts after that date reflect missing data, not fewer sharps reports. Encampment reporting has been disrupted since May 28; reports that still arrive are shown, but low counts after that date reflect missing data, not fewer encampments.What changed

Boston Urban Hazard Maps

Interactive analysis of 84,320 sharps collection requests and 3,079 encampment reports submitted to Boston's 311 system from 2015 to 2026. Sourced from the City of Boston's open data portal, updated regularly for public health research and community awareness.

Key Statistics

Between 2015–2026, Boston residents submitted 84,320 sharps collection requests through the city's 311 system. Peak activity occurs on Tuesdays, averaging 616 requests per month citywide.

84,320
Total Requests (2015–2026)
Tuesday
Busiest Day of Week
616
Average Monthly Requests

Heatmap

Data Layer
District Outlines
Year
Month
Render Method
Intensity 50%
Council District
Police District
State Rep
State Senate
6,797 sharps + 804 encampments
SharpsLow
High
EncampmentsLow
High
Jan 2026

Trends & Patterns

Monthly Trend by Year
Click a year in the legend to toggle it. 9 older years hidden by default.

Top Zip Codes

The most active zip codes for sharps requests, led by 02118 with 23,904 reports.

02118
23,904
02119
5,178
02116
3,739
02125
3,735
02127
3,350
02115
2,836
2118
2,309
02130
1,651
02215
1,539
02111
1,082

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 (84,320 reports) and encampment reports (3,079 reports). We also use NLP classification to detect human waste reports hidden in street cleaning requests. 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.