This data visualization by Andrew Hill displays vehicle collisions aggregated by time of day using recently released NYPD motor vehicle collision data.image via NYC Open Data

Open data, and the interactive mapping and data visualization that can come of it, has become a de facto engagement and storytelling tool among contemporary journalists, social justice activists, and civic-minded technologists.But despite its allure, open data’s potential for fostering civic engagement and creating transparency and dialogue is plagued by issues of usability, access, and quality control.New York City has been at the forefront of opening government data for analysis and use by the public thanks in large part to the support of pro-technology officials, such as Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and NYC’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications’ Director of GIS Colin Reilly, and civic tech advocacy groups like BetaNYC, Code For America, and Open Plans.Such groups aim to make this data actionable to the benefit of both the general public and local governments, some of which lack the capacity or foresight to develop their own tools that do so. New York’s open data needs this: while available from online sources like NYC Open Data or Bytes of the Big Apple, its datasets still have many drawbacks.......Continue Reading

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