BlockWatcher — Activity Feed
Watching: 100 block of Example St.
New permit filed
Renovation — 3 doors down
2 days ago
L&I violation resolved
Corner property
5 days ago
New business license
Storefront on the block
1 week ago
How it works
01

Set your block or address

Define the specific area you actually care about.

02

We watch every civic feed

Permits, licenses, violations, and 311 requests, continuously.

03

Get notified, not buried

A single alert when something new shows up nearby.

What it does

Hyperlocal, not citywide

Set a home address or block, and see only what's actually happening nearby — not a citywide firehose.

Every civic signal, one feed

Permits, business licenses, code violations, and 311 requests combined into a single timeline.

Alerts, not lookups

Get notified the moment something new is filed near you, instead of checking five separate city portals.

Radius control

Adjust how wide "nearby" means — a single block, or a few surrounding streets.

History, not just alerts

Look back at everything that's happened on your block, not just what's new since you signed up.

Built for neighbors, not analysts

Plain-language summaries instead of raw permit codes and department jargon.

The old way vs. BlockWatcher

Without it

Check five separate city portals — permits, licenses, L&I, 311 — one at a time, hoping you don't miss something on your own block.

With BlockWatcher

Set your block once. Get one alert, in plain language, the moment anything new shows up.

WHO IT'S FOR

Homeowners tracking their block, business owners watching their corridor, neighborhood associations, elected officials welcoming new constituents, and small investors.

DATA SOURCE

Philadelphia permits, L&I licensing and violations, and 311 service requests.

See all data sources →
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from 311 alerts?
311 only covers service requests. BlockWatcher combines permits, licensing, and violations alongside 311 into one connected feed, so activity like a new permit or a new business license — which 311 alerts never surface — shows up too. See BlockWatcher vs. 311 Alerts in the Knowledge Base.
Can I watch more than one block?
The initial version is built around a single home address or block; expanded coverage for multiple blocks is being considered based on demand.
How do I set up BlockWatcher for my block?
Enter your home address or block, and BlockWatcher uses it as the center point for everything it watches. See Setting Up Your Block in the Knowledge Base for the full walkthrough.
What shows up in my activity feed, and how current is it?
Every new permit, business license, code violation, and 311 request near your block, in plain language, as it's filed — plus a running history of everything that's happened, not just what's new since you signed up. See Understanding Your Activity Feed in the Knowledge Base.
Can I adjust how wide "nearby" means?
Yes — the radius control adjusts how far out from your set address or block counts as nearby, from a single block up to a few surrounding streets. See Adjusting Your Watch Radius in the Knowledge Base.
Will BlockWatcher expand beyond Philadelphia?
Not yet — BlockWatcher's feeds are built specifically around Philadelphia's permit, licensing, L&I, and 311 systems today. Expansion to other cities is on ALKARTIS's aspirational roadmap, though not committed to a timeline. See the Company Roadmap for where expansion is currently under exploration.
See it in action

Real use cases

See all use cases →
Guides

Know what's happening on your block — and what to do about it

Solutions built on BlockWatcher
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