About the Data

Who’s behind this

Boulder Lens is built and maintained by one person, not a company. It started as a simple idea: give Boulder residents and visitors an honest, ad-free view of what’s happening around town, built on public data instead of guesswork. There’s no ad model, and nothing here is sold. Support or sponsorship options may open up down the road — for now, the best way to help is flagging anything that’s wrong (see below).

What this is

• A neutral way to browse public records by location and time.
• Powered by official open-data feeds published by the City of Boulder.
• Built to be readable, accessible, and a little bit groovy.

What this is not

• Not an emergency or dispatch tool. Call 911 in an emergency.
• Not an official City of Boulder application.
• Not real-time. Open data is generalized and updated after publication.
• Not a measure of how "safe" or "unsafe" any area is.

How places get on the map

Every place on Boulder Lens is hand-reviewed against the same published standard before it appears. The short version: it has to be somewhere you do something — a visit, a hangout, an experience — not a service you book or a treatment you receive. It has to be describable without health claims, open to walk-ins, and independently verifiable: a real website, stable hours, a physical Boulder location. We favor distinctly Boulder spots that locals come back to — the best one or three of their kind, not a complete directory. Medical providers, appointment-only services, supplement and vape shops, and franchise chains aren’t listed. And inclusion can’t be bought: no fee ever creates, preserves, or promotes a listing. Think a place belongs here? Suggest it through the feedback link below — it goes into the same review queue as everything else.

Boulder Essentials

Civic Lens also includes Boulder Essentials — a small, hand-verified set of official links for common civic tasks (renewing vehicle registration, registering to vote, parking permits, hard-to-recycle drop-off), with map pins for the offices, kiosks, and facilities you’d actually visit. Every link points to the official government or nonprofit page and is re-checked quarterly; Boulder Lens is not affiliated with any agency. Open Civic Lens to browse it.

A note on events

• This app does not scrape event websites or guess event addresses.
• Event pins only appear when a source provides a venue/address we can safely identify.
• Other events still appear as cards with links to the official source.
• Always verify event details with the official organizer before you go.

See something wrong?

Places and events on Boulder Lens are individually reviewed, but things change — a spot closes, an address is off, a link is dead. Every listing has a 🚩 Report Issue button, or you can send general feedback any time. Corrections are usually the fastest way to keep this useful for everyone.