Open Data Buffalo is the open data program developed under the administration of Mayor Byron W. Brown in Buffalo, New York. The initiative is a commitment to proactively release high-quality, updated "publishable City data" through a centralized portal in machine-readable formats, fully accessible and freely available in the public domain. Open Data Buffalo is an official City program designed to foster transparency, innovation, accountability, and efficiency.
History
In May 2013, Buffalo earned a grant through IBM's Smarter Cities Challenge to bring a team of senior IBM executives to the city to offer advice on improving municipal policy with data-driven insights. One of their primary recommendations was for Buffalo to build capacity in "data-sharing and governance." Three years later, Buffalo joined the national network of Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities to expand their use of data. With the support of What Works Cities, Buffalo partnered with The Sunlight Foundation to craft an Open Data Policy with input from the public using the Madison tool, an open-source platform provided by OpenGov Foundation.
In September 2017, the City of Buffalo selected Socrata as the provider for the municipality's open data platform. The city launched the Open Data Buffalo portal on February 22, 2018 and kicked off the launch with the open of Mayor Byron W. Brown's Civic Innovation Challenge Powered By AT&T, a tech competition designed to promote local engagement with the portal. The competition's challenge statement asks innovators to use City data to create solutions to address social and civic issues impacting Buffalo residents.
Datasets
As of October 2019, the Open Data Buffalo data catalog is federated with the New York State portal and includes over 654 data sets and 222 geospatial assets, over 60 of which are City publications. Buffalo's datasets and geospatial assets include: Asset TypeCombined Sewer Overflows GeospatialRental Registry DatasetTrue Tax 2018-19 DatasetRental Registry DatasetCity Website Analytics DatasetRecyclable Materials DatasetIn Rem 52 Final Auction Results (10/15/18 - 10/17/18) DatasetHousing Court Cases DatasetCurrent In Rem List (2019) Dataset2019-2020 Assessment Roll DatasetLicensed Contractors DatasetBusiness Licenses DatasetCode Violations DatasetNeighborhood Metrics DatasetCity of Buffalo Public Art Inventory DatasetCity of Buffalo 2017 Recycling Report External FileNeighborhoods GeospatialLocal Historic Districts GeospatialZip Codes GeospatialAssessment Residential Neighborhoods GeospatialPermits DatasetCrime Incidents Dataset311 Service Requests DatasetParking Summonses DatasetTows Dataset2017-2018 Assessment Roll DatasetNeighborhood Curbside Recycling Rates Dataset Tree Inventory Dataset Monthly Recycling and Waste Collection Statistics Dataset Monthly Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program Statistics Dataset Annual Average Daily Traffic Volume Counts Dataset 2018 - 2019 Assessment Roll Dataset Buffalo Public Schools Dataset Zoning Map Geospatial Streets Geospatial Buffalo Police Department Camera Locations Geospatial Parking Meters Geospatial 2015-2016 City of Buffalo Clean Sweep Locations Geospatial U.S. Census Block Groups in Buffalo Geospatial BPD Districts Geospatial Fire Hydrants Geospatial U.S. Census Blocks in Buffalo Geospatial Buffalo Police Department Stations Geospatial U.S. Census Tracts in Buffalo Geospatial BPD Calls to 311 (1/1/17 – Present) Geospatial 2016 City of Buffalo Clean Sweep Locations Geospatial Assessment Commercial Valuation Districts Geospatial Railroads Geospatial Parks Geospatial Municipal Boundary Geospatial Council Districts Geospatial Police Districts Geospatial 2015 City of Buffalo Clean Sweep Locations Geospatial
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