Developers Using Government Data to Create Useful Apps

Because there is no way to gain access to all government data, some are beginning to wonder if local governments are only releasing data that makes them look good and keeping the kind of data that exposes problems under wraps. These suspicions were only made worse when some programmers in the NYC area had trouble obtaining data pertaining to pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities.

In order to avoid these types of fears, many governments are asking locals to vote for the kind of data they want to see released in the near future. For example, those in New York City recently requested access to data pertaining to school violence, bicycle accidents, and public restroom locations.

Despite minor setbacks that usually involve a developer being turned down for certain data, progress is still being made. For example, some government leaders are attempting to make data disclosure an official policy of their city. San Francisco's Mayor Newsom recently signed an executive order requiring city data to be released and reportedly, the White House will also soon require federal agencies to follow suit.

Developers who are taking data and creating easy-to-use applications for users are doing their city and state a great service. It's a service, sadly, that the governments in those areas may not be able to do themselves.

That being said, by making the government data available, cities are helping to facilitate changes that will assist in creating better, safer cities for their citizens. Even though some of the data being released seems mundane and even useless, chances are a crafty developer can find a way to use it so that it will improve people's lives -- and there's nothing wrong with that.