Madison, Wisconsin is considering a local measure that would open up more of the city’s data to developers. On Tuesday, a piece of legislation will be introduced that would make Madison the newest open data city. As CivSource has reported, a number of cities are working to make more data available to developers, but fewer cities have gone as far as making it part of local city code.
Last month, Philadelphia passed its own open data policy and another statewide measure has recently passed the senate in California. More such policies are expected as cities realize the benefits of their local hacker communities.
For Madison, the new policy would centralize city data currently available on a variety of city websites and make it available through the city’s main portal. Other data, that is now only accessible through open records requests would be added to that mix.
According to the Wisconsin State Journal, the city has already released a few apps tied to mass transit and waste management. City officials hope that by making more data available they will be able to craft more apps like these to improve the information and services available to the public. If passed the ordinance would make data available as early as this time next year.
