Details available through the portal range from data-heavy, lengthy spreadsheets showing complaints made to 311 and the rental registry status of Cleveland homes, to simpler map-based information showing the boundaries of neighborhoods, or locations of recreation centers and schools.
Bibb, in a news release, said the portal is a reflection of his commitment to “transparency, accountability and innovation.”
In many ways, it’s a response to City Hall’s reputation as an opaque institution that’s notoriously slow at releasing information to the public and responding to records requests. While the city website already does include some public-facing reports and resources, they often can be difficult to find, or the information is long-outdated, or lacking context.
With the open data portal, which officials intend to update at regular intervals with new information, the city has an opportunity to turn this part of its reputation around.
Elizebeth Crowe, director of the Mayor’s Office of Urban Analytics and Innovation, said in a news release that the overarching goal of the data portal “is to empower Clevelanders to actively participate in shaping the future of our city.”
Contained in the portal currently are more than 50 datasets, covering information related to health, housing, public safety, transit and infrastructure, among other categories. There are interactive dashboards, graphs and charts, and “data stories” that incorporate data and text to better explain a particular topic.
Residents, businesses and developers are encouraged to use the portal’s data for research and innovation. The information will “empower residents to make informed decisions, drive civic engagement, and contribute to the betterment of their neighborhoods,” according to the release.
While the city said the portal boasts a “user-friendly interface” that makes “data exploration intuitive and accessible to users of all backgrounds,” some of the portal’s resources are likely to be used most effectively by people who have some familiarity parsing complex datasets.
In other cases, more context from City Hall might be needed to understand information contained in the portal. For example, a “15-minute city index” attempts to show walkable access to amenities and services across Cleveland’s neighborhoods. When this information is downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet, however, the only thing that pops up is a long list of numbers that appear impossible to decipher without a key, or some other context explaining what those numbers mean.
On the other hand, some information in the portal is quite simple to understand for everyday users. There are maps that show every city-owned parcel in Cleveland, for example, or the service areas of community development corporations that receive taxpayer support. There are datasets that document every call made to 311, or the status of Building and Housing Department complaints made since 2015.
Bibb, in his State of the City speech two weeks ago, said the portal that’s available to the public now is just the first iteration of it. Some datasets explicitly state they are a work in progress.
Writ large, the release said, the launch of the portal “aligns with broader initiatives aimed at leveraging technology to enhance government services, promote civic engagement, and foster innovation in Cleveland.”
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