The City of San Francisco is making available raw government data by launching a website called DataSF.org, city Mayor Gavin Newsom announced in a guest blog post for TechCrunch on Wednesday. The first trickles of data will come from about 100 datasets, and initial data would include information on crime and restaurant inspection, for example, he wrote.
Newsom invited developers to come up with interesting uses for the information, such as combining crime and housing data to help new San Franciscans find safe housing. There appears to be no limit to what the city will allow interested developers to do with the data.
San Francisco’s efforts sound much like what the federal government has also begun to do. Through the “Open Government Initiative,” the Obama Administration has launched a site called data.gov. It’s aim is to open up federal data in a standardized format from which developers can create applications from.
Recent Comments