If I’ve said it once, I’ve… well I’ve said it once. But it doesn’t make it any less true. Fact of the matter is, when you open up your data, good things happen. So when the City of Portland decided to join the ranks of cities with open data policies, good things started to happen.
Like what? Well, like EveryBlock having the resources they needed to finally add Portland to their list of cities.
Portland has consistently been one of the most voted-for cities in our homepage poll, so we’ve always figured it was only a matter of time before we added it. But what helped make it happen was the City of Portland’s new open data initiative, launched a few days ago, which resulted in the city releasing a number of local data sets to the public. We’ve been working with city agencies in Portland for several weeks to collect, analyze and organize the data they’ve published, and we’re happy with the result.
Whoa whoa whoa there tiger. What’s EveryBlock you ask?
We aim to collect all of the news and civic goings-on that have happened recently in your city, and make it simple for you to keep track of news in particular areas. We’re a geographic filter — a “news feed” for your neighborhood, or, yes, even your block.
So how does access to City data help? Well, EveryBlock augments its news sources with civic information. Things like crime rates, building permits, restaurant inspections, and all sorts of other interesting stuff that makes the news—and the view of the neighborhood—more valuable.
Pretty cool, right? Of course it is. Don’t believe me? Well you better believe Marshall Kirkpatrick of ReadWriteWeb.
So spend some time with EveryBlock Portland and get a look at a more comprehensive picture of what’s happening in your neighborhood.
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The burbs don’t count! 🙂
Just wish they included the burbs also.