The City of Pittsburgh, PA Proposes Open Data Ordinance

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Pittsburg, PA is the latest entrant to become an open data city. The measure is supported by the Mayor and Council members. The original measure was offered by Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak and already has the support of Mayor Bill Peduto who says the public should be able to see the same data that city officials see.

The full text of the proposal is available on Google Docs and posits that it will be easier for companies and individuals to do business with the city of Pittsburg if the city embraces open data.

Early requirements outline that data should be presented in machine-readable format, although specific datasets aren’t included. However, a line in the measure seeks to ensure that Pittsburgh’s approach is “nationally recognized.” We are hopeful that means more than transit and pothole data will be released. Comments made to the document itself suggest that the Council is working through other specifics like the frequency of update.

If the measure passes, the work will handled by Laura Meixell, the city’s first data and analytics manager, according to the Pittsburg Post Gazette. City offices will also have to spend a little bit of time and money to corral their data and present it.