Garcetti Issues Open Data Directive for City Departments

Mayor Eric Garcetti called Wednesday for raw data collected and produced by the city to be posted on a website slated to launch early next year.

Garcetti's third executive directive instructs all city departments, such as Water and Power, Recreation and Parks and Public Works, to submit the data to a "portal" that will be set up by the mayor's office and the city's Information Technology Agency.

The open data directive "empowers Angelenos to participate in governance with greater understanding and impact," Garcetti wrote.

Garcetti said he hopes the data will help businesses and entrepreneurs innovate "by putting that information to work in ways outside the expertise of government institutions," as well as give "companies, individuals and nonprofit organizations the opportunity to leverage one of government's greatest assets: public information."

Garcetti's directive also instructs city departments to update the data regularly, if not automatically, and to "publicize open datasets, establish useful applications employing these datasets and collaborate with local entities" such as software developers, nonprofits, educational institutions, corporations and start-ups.

All data, except for items falling under "valid privacy, confidentiality, security and other legal restrictions," should be included, Garcetti said.

Garcetti's previous executive directives called for revitalizing city streets and reinforcing the city's cyber-security measures.