Los Angeles launches open data initiative
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued Wednesday an executive directive establishing an open data initiative within the city.
The directive calls for all city departments to collect data they generate and prepare it for posting on a city website, which will go live in early 2014.
“This executive directive empowers Angelenos to participate in their government with greater understanding and impact and promotes a culture of data sharing and cooperation among city departments,” Garcetti said. “I look forward to launching LA’s open data portal in early 2014 to promote transparency in government and give Angelenos a new way to help us solve our toughest challenges.”
Scholars, journalists, developers of smartphone apps and others will be able to download data on street repairs, crime trends, dog parks, historic monuments and a wide array of other things tracked by the city.
The data will be provided in an open format that can be retrieved, downloaded, searched and filtered by commonly used Web search applications and software. Whenever possible, data will be made available in machine-readable formats, the order states.
IT professionals across departments will collaborate and try to take proactive efforts to publicize open data sets, establish useful applications employing these data sets, and collaborate with local entities to experiment with new technologies, visualizations, and applications with the goal of identifying cost-effective solutions to improve government and community.
