On January 31, 2015, Code for Orlando partnered with the City of Orlando to host Orlando Data Day. Developers, designers and project managers gathered to show city officials that there’s a group of people ready and willing to build useful applications using openly available civic Data.
“Open data” is data that is made freely available for use, reuse and redistribution. Making this data available through means such as the internet can increase trust in government, reduce friction in processes, and lead to economic development. This is accomplished through use of new technologies and companies with the ability to drive innovation—thereby making government services simple, effective, and easy to use.
“Many cities with a strong tech community have established a comprehensive open data policy. If Orlando wants to join the ranks of San Francisco, New York, and Austin as major players in the tech industry, it’s important that we show our local government is tech friendly,” says Echo Interaction Director of Technology, Andrew Kozlik.
Code for Orlando volunteers and city officials took steps toward accomplishing this by launching an open data portal. Publically available information was then uploaded and used to work on three Web applications: an app mapping Orlando’s historical sites, an app showing locations to park a bike throughout the city, and an energy usage map of buildings larger than 40,000 square feet.
“The use of open data allows the community to use their skills in an effort to improve the lives of those who live, work, and play in Orlando,” added Kozlik regarding the importance of the effort to making Orlando an open data city.
Are you a developer, designer, project manager, or do you just want to learn something new? Code for Orlando is always open to new ideas, faces and especially code!. Be sure to check out their website, RSVP for one of their monthly Meetups, and consider working on a project and contributing code.
