New York City passes landmark open data bill

Groundbreaking legislation will make vast amounts of New York City data open and accessible to the public. On Wednesday, the New York City Council approved the bill, which they say will be "the strongest open data policy" in the United States.

The bill will require the city's government agencies to post raw data in an online portal that's free for the public to use. Of course, data that is deemed to pose a security risk will be excluded. But council members say this bill will go far to improve government transparency and increase innovation in the city.

“The Open Data Bill embraces the beauty of a more transparent government, supplying tools to allow innovators to innovate, legislators to legislate, inventors to invent, advocates to advocate,” said Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “The bill will improve agency oversight and government functionality."

Cities collect large amounts of data. But with tight budgets, finding innovative ways to make use of the data isn't always high on a city's list of priorities. Making data accessible and easy to analyze allows anyone to use it in ways that can benefit not only the city but the lives of its citizens, with minimal costs.

Take data on traffic accidents, for example. Currently, New York City law requires the city's department of transportation to post certain data about traffic accidents, but not in a format that's easy to analyze in useful ways. Under the new policy that data will be made available so that anyone can research the numbers to pinpoint trends and target trouble areas, while saving lives and resources.

“Passage of Intro 29 will mark an historic transition in the way our city is governed by making raw data available to the public," saidTechnology Committee Chair Fernando Cabrera. "Having raw data accessible to anyone interested in analyzing it will capitalize on the resourcefulness of our city’s business and non-profit communities as they will surely use the data in innovative ways that will ultimately make our city better. There is no limit on the extent of versatile uses.”

City To Release Government Stats Online [Gotham Gazette]

Photo: Eric Fischer/Flickr

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com