County launches open data initiative

Oakland County is making a rich source of information available to the public through its new Access Oakland Open Data Portal, County Executive L. Brooks Patterson announced today. Individuals will be able to find data ranging from property information including addresses and boundaries to how to find parks and trails and locate floodplains. All data on the portal, accessoakland.oakgov.com is free of charge and free of use restrictions.

“The county has hundreds of data sets which can become meaningful information in the hands of people,” Patterson said. “When put to good use, these data sets can ultimately improve the quality of life for Oakland County residents. Making these data sets available to the public also improves government transparency.”

Oakland County maintains a mature Geographic Information System (GIS) comprised of more than 350 datasets that together with other non-spatial data provide a rich source of information that is used in the performance of its governmental duties, responsibilities, and provision of services.

Benefits of the Access Oakland Open Data Portal include:

• Fostering civic engagement through data sharing between government agencies, residents, businesses, and other community organizations.

• Increasing the trust and improving the relationship among residents, businesses, and government agencies.

• Enabling businesses and other enterprises to make use of government data to promote economic development and increase investment.

• Reducing cost and saving time in obtaining data.

“Our mission is to provide a progressive, location-based solution that promotes informed decision making, improves citizen services, and encourages collaboration across all levels of government,” said Oakland County Deputy Executive & CIO Phil Bertolini. “Making these data sets widely available benefits both the private and public sector by reducing costs, reducing the time involved in obtaining the data, and providing agencies with the most accurate, up to date information for use in their business processes and decision making.”

The Open Data Portal includes ready-to-use applications that will help residents find fun locations such as cider mills or campgrounds and functional locations such as where to dispose of expired or unneeded prescription medications. Data behind key Oakland County initiatives such as Tech248 and Medical Main Street are also highlighted with interactive maps. In addition, people can dive further into the data, and explore or download it to use in their own maps or applications.

The Oakland County Board of Commissioners approved the county’s open data policy on Oct. 6 at the request of county executive administration.

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