The Journey to Build Jersey City’s Data Portal

Jersey City Mayor, Steve Fulop wanted more transparency and trust in the public sector, so he set out on a mission to create the City's open data portal, even though that largely meant starting from scratch.

by Brian Platt, Data-Smart City Solutions / October 23, 2015

This story was originally published on Data-Smart City Solutions

Improving transparency, accountability, and data-driven decision-making has been a priority for Jersey City, N.J., from the day Mayor Steve Fulop first assumed office in July 2013. One of the first tasks for his administration was to build a mechanism to publicize information about the city and provide better access to information. The term “dashboard” had been thrown around, but not many people in Jersey City knew what this meant or had even seen one before.

If there was a way to start from a place farther behind than “starting from nothing,” that was exactly where we were. 

At the time I was an aide to Mayor Fulop, and this was one of my first projects. I assumed this would be an easy task – I would meet with departments and agencies, ask for data, upload it to a data portal, and simply move on to the next project. However, nothing ever proceeds as planned in government, and instead my requests for data were met with shrugs, frowns, and responses such as “what data?” The small amount of data actually available was mostly hidden in stacks of notecards or in marble notebooks reminiscent of middle school journals. If there was a way to start from a place farther behind than “starting from nothing,” that was exactly where we were. But it didn’t stop us from continuing to strive toward our goal.

Read more:  http://www.govtech.com/dc/articles/Th ... ey-Citys-Data-Portal.html

Jersey City launches new data platform to make city 'more transparent'

By Caitlin Mota | The Jersey Journal The Jersey Journal 
October 13, 2015 at  5:22 PM

Jersey City officials announced today the launch of a revamped online portal that will provide residents easier access to public data.

The new Jersey City Open Data Portal, which gives residents access to a wide range of information -- from city budgets to maps of bike lanes -- includes enhanced data mapping and visualization features, and what officials describe is a more advanced software platform.

"Data has transformed how we think about everything from presidential elections to baseball," Mayor Steve Fulop said in a statement. "We need to bring a data-driven approach to our cities, as well."

Fulop said the new portal will more effectively bring information to common citizens, business owners, developers, urban planners and journalists "so they can better understand our city and help chart its future."

Read more:  http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... ake_cit.html#incart_river