All That Data Compiled by 311 Should be Analyzed, Used

In a wide ranging article about NYC’s 311 system, which logged its 100 millionth call recently, Wired magazine took a look at how all that data being collected is being used and could be used.  The article contends that the data should be made public and available to anyone who wants to study it and create apps to exploit it.  Open 311, a new project spearheaded by the NYC-based OpenPlans Organization,  wants to serve as a national, universal 311 that can be added to and accessed by anyone. Program Manager Philip Ashlock said “It’s designed to be a write once, run everywhere platform.”

The article points to an early experiment in open 311 data by the Street Conditions Observation Unit, which supplemented citizen reports with information collected by trained inspectors. Their findings, called into 311, and led to a sixfold increase in graffiti reports. The data from the service was also used to track the source of the “maple syrup” smell that wafts through some neighborhoods periodically.

Wired

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