The City of Chattanooga announced the launch of the City Insider web application Tuesday, which is an open data tool from the Office of Performance Management and Open Data. "City Insider will empower citizens with data about their neighborhood and help improve the lives of Chattanoogans," officials said.
“Open data has a tremendous ability to break down barriers and empower communities, which we can encourage by using a format that makes sense for neighborhoods -- in the case of City Insider, the data is presented in a searchable map,” said Mayor Andy Berke.
“City Insider is another valuable tool for citizens and neighborhoods as we work together to make Chattanooga a better place for everyone.”
The platform, located at
cityinsider.chattanooga.gov, provides citizens with current, map-based info on recent incidents involving city agencies such as police or 311 requests. The platform is a first of its kind resource for neighborhoods, using public datasets through the
Open Data Portal, along with geographic information systems (GIS) map layers, to provide insights into neighborhood-level activity. It features searchable map views, custom date ranges, and filters by neighborhood or council district.
“Every day Chattanooga is becoming more known as place for innovation, and in city government, we are looking for innovative ways to deliver services to our citizens,” said City Council Chairman Jerry Mitchell. “City Insider is an innovative tool that will help the mayor and council continue to provide citizens with the information they need, while making Chattanooga the best place it can be.”
"New datasets will be added to the City Insider application in the future, and it’s just one of more citizen focused tools the City plans to create to empower Chattanoogans with data. The City’s open data program is dedicated to increasing the transparency, accountability and efficiency of Chattanooga’s operations, while providing more responsive services to citizens," officials said.
“The City Insider will be an asset to individuals and neighborhood associations in Chattanooga who want info about crime, 311 reports, etc. Questions that are often asked at neighborhood association meetings can be answered quickly and accurately using this webpage. Being able to print this data is a plus,” said Gwenda Gregory of the Lake Hills Neighborhood Association.
"By taking steps to make its data easily available through City Insider, Chattanooga joins the ranks of some of the world’s most innovative and forward thinking public sector organizations. The application is supported by Socrata, a leading global provider of open data and government performance management solutions," officials said.
"The Office of Performance Management and Open Data encourages citizens to use City Insider and share this tool within their communities. Chattanoogans can create a free account, allowing them to save searches, and opt in to receive daily, weekly, or monthly email updates about new incidents or activity in their area.
For more information visit http://connect.chattanooga.gov/opendata.