Workers from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services are going to walk all 850 miles of Boston’s streets in an attempt to fully assess neighborhoods, Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced Friday.
The Neighborhood Engagement Walks Boston initiative — known as NEW Boston — is set to begin Sept. 15 and will hopefully be finished by the end of the year, the mayor’s office said in a prepared statement. Walsh called the initiative the first step in revitalizing the Office of Neighborhood Services.
“Our [Neighborhood Services] reps are outstanding, but I want them to know every inch of the area that they represent, and the best way to do that is to get on the ground and in the weeds,” he said.
The representatives of NEW Boston will be equipped with tablet computers and will gather data through existing applications such as Citizens Connect and City Worker.
Data gathered by the Neighborhood Services workers will be compiled into a real-time Web-based map by the Department of Innovation and Technology that will show routes that have been covered, highlight issues that have been identified, and display the progress in resolving each matter.
The map is intended to increase the city’s transparency and accountability, a major campaign promise of Walsh’s.
The workers will survey neighborhoods for infrastructure challenges and other issues, and talk to residents to learn about their concerns.
At the end of the audit, the workers will write a report outlining their findings in each neighborhood, which will be shared with the public.
Kiera Blessing can be reached at kiera.blessing@globe.com.