PHLASK is a Philadelphia-based civic project that uses a map and app to help people find free, publicly available resources. Its stated mission is to improve access to existing water infrastructure and reduce reliance on single-use plastic bottles by making it easier to locate places to refill a reusable bottle.10 The project also aims to encourage businesses to share access to their taps, alongside mapping public drinking fountains.710
The project’s scope has broadened beyond water. Its app is intended to help users find water, food, forageable food and public bathrooms, drawing on public and private databases as well as information submitted by users.2 PHLASK describes its work as both technical—building the map and app—and social, focused on encouraging people and businesses to share resources.6
PHLASK was presented publicly as an ecosystem for finding and sharing water in Philadelphia in June 2018.10 A Code for Philly project update later outlined a beta release roadmap, including a consolidated beta site as a step toward a working map and app.6 The available sources identify Seif Sekalala as a volunteer developer who coordinated app maintenance and feature improvements; they do not establish a single founder.4 PHLASK’s documented work is centered on Philadelphia, rather than a wider geographic service area.210