Open Data for Regional Planning: Technical and non-technical issues

P. Leclerc, R. E. Sieber, M. Burchfield

Our co-presenter, Marcy Burchfield

Open Data

the idea that certain data should be freely available to everyone to use, reuse and republish as they wish, without restrictions. Data should be collected as close to source as possible, as current as possible, allow for automated processing, available to anyone, free of restrictions, proprietary formats and without licenses, patents, copyright.

Open data has multiple audiences: private and public sectors, citizens and social entrepreneurs (“hackers”)

Regina Open Data Portal

And the data looks like this...

And this. It’s also about people -->

Why OD? Apps for Transit

Why OD? Citizen Engagement

Why OD? Economic Development

Geothink: A grant exploring Open Data

Over the next five years, 26 researchers and 30 partners will explore how location-based technologies, citizen generated content, and government open data may transform the way Canadian cities and citizens communicate with each other. More Information? http://www.geothink.ca. This $5.7million grant is funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Grant Program and generous contributions from grant partners.

The City of Regina is our main municipal partner. Also Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto...

Opening data in the regional planning context enables sharing and collaboration among agencies and engaged stakeholders. Regional planning allows for a common vision in the coordination of activities (e.g., transportation, water management, urban expansion and greenbelts). Opening data can assist not only in the development of a regional plan but also buy-in of the common vision.

Why Open Data for regional gover-nance and planning?

We scanned and digitized the future urban settlement area to create a single regional data set.

In the Toronto region (made up of over 100 lower-, upper- and single-tier municipalities), municipal official plans must conform to not only the Provincial Policy Statement but also a Provincial Growth Plan.

Impetus for Neptis Geoweb

Challenges, Marcy

Pie-chart means non-technical challenges outweigh technical challenges, e.g.,

Integrating data requires a framework to be in place

It follows historical relations-- municipalities, region, province, development industry, NGO stakeholders...

Boundaries may be fuzzy, yet the technology makes them discrete

Open data can reveal the warts

Challenges, Renée

Opening data reveals the good, the bad and the prospective

Open data exists within legal regimes of Intellectual Property, liability and privacy

Open data exists in a political economy. Use data to plan but data itself has a value

Open data enables citizen engagement

Challenges, Philippe

Setting the data free

Obtaining the standards o collecting and delivering datao creating an apples to apples comparison

Conclusion

Open data is a paradigm shift. Data that once was the means to the ends of planning now has its own economic and social value.

There are multiple benefits and costs. Main take-away is that OD must be built into SOP but it can provide great value for a more open regional planning and governance process.

Final thoughts from the presenters.