City of Berkeley Launches Data Portal

The City of Berkeley has launched an Open Data portal for the public to download, examine and create new uses for public data. Data sets on CityofBerkeley.info/OpenData range from 311 requests, crime incidents, business license information, and the city’s tree inventory to restaurant inspection information, natural gas and electricity consumption for all meters in the Berkeley, water use within City limits, and certified green businesses.

“What can be done with open data is limited only by the imagination,” says Dee Williams-Ridley, the City’s new Interim City Manager. “We’re excited to see how the Berkeley community will utilize this new tool.”

By providing raw data used in municipal operations, the City of Berkeley hopes to increase government transparency, civic engagement and accountability. Depending on the innovations created by community members, Open Data can increase efficiency and innovation. Data sets on the site reflect the most frequent Public Records Act requests. By providing those data sets proactively, the City also aims to reduce staff time extracting and formatting data.

In Berkeley, the Open Data effort has been led by the City’s Department of Information Technology and involved staff members from all City departments as well as student volunteers from the Presidio Graduate School of Management and University of California - Berkeley. They spent hundreds of hours building, testing, and tuning the data portalbased upon community feedback.

“This was driven by a commitment to transparency and open government,” says Donna LaSala, the City’s Director of Information Technology. “Staff and student volunteers worked hard to make this happen.”

Other local agencies that have created Open Data sites include San Francisco, Oakland, and Alameda County. Community members have used those open data sources to create apps to navigate parks, map bike routes, and discover restaurant inspection reports. Boston, New York, the White House, the State of California Comptroller’s Office, the California State Board of Equalization and the California Department of Public Health have also launched open data sites.

Provided by City of Berkeley