Accessing and Understanding Open Data Visually: California’s New Geoportal
Within the last ten years, many city and state governments have embraced transparency in the form of open data. Last month, California has released a data “geoportal” — a division of the state’s existing open data website that specializes in geospatial data. This geoportal serves as a tool for Californians, from public servants to civic hackers to any citizen wanting to learn more about their government.
Like other open data portals, there is a tremendous benefit to having data centralized in one website. Not only is data more accessible, but it prevents the hassle of state agencies from requesting data from other agencies, streamlining a typically slow, bureaucratic process. Currently, the geoportal hosts geospatial data from 29 California state agencies, with plans to expand.
While many state and local governments make data available, the data must be machine-readable in order to be analyzed. Today, many civic hackers analyze raw data into visuals to make large datasets digestible, and in some cases, to prompt policy change. In addition to raw data available for download, California’s geoportal includes maps of the dataset, making the data more meaningful to the average citizen. Those more fluent in computers can download shapefiles for the creation of maps or other spatial analyses — a unique benefit of spatial data.
Looking ahead, it is likely that other city and state governments will follow in California’s footsteps, allowing for more data to be accessible to the public and refining the way they portray their data. As open data continues to emerge in new and accessible forms, governments will face new policy hurdles — such as ensuring data privacy and mounting pressure upon private companies to share relevant data in the interest of the public good.
Citation:
Plautz, J. (2020, January 31). California releases interactive, public Geoportal database. Smart Cities Dive. Retrieved from https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/california-releases-interactive-public-geoportal-database/571469/
California Open Data Geoportal. Retrieved from https://gis.data.ca.gov/
