Los Angeles Debuts Open Data Visualization Tool

Early this year, the city of Los Angeles made public a new data visualization tool called GeoHub. Josh Cohen writes, "GeoHub is a searchable directory of over 500 eclectic L.A. city datasets such as farmers markets, emergency services, construction projects, streams and rivers, volunteer opportunities, crime, performing arts centers, and many more."

Catherine Geanuracos, a civic hacker and member of L.A.'s innovation and performance commison, remarked, "'When Mayor Garcetti took office, he started moving forward with open data. This is the next step on that from the city.'" Geanuracos went on, "The city of L.A. has been extremely siloed. Anything that prompts collaboration will be really valuable for the city overall, whether it's planning or evaluation."

L.A.'s deputy chief data officer Lillian Coral hopes GeoHub can be useful to an "engaged citizenry" of journalists, advocates, and others who may lack the time or technical acumen to decipher open data in its raw form.