DataDriven

Blog

Telling you about the latest in open data and data initiatives in the City of New Orleans.

A Brief History of Open Data in New Orleans

June 13, 2016

by Whitney Soenksen, Project Specialist
Filed under: open data

In the story of New Orleans’ recovery, data has played a vital and steadfast role from day one. Population counts, the number of blighted properties, and the number of returning school children, among many other data points all weighed heavily on decisions made by citizens and government alike post-Katrina.

In early 2011, the City of New Orleans made a first step to make the data that it manages more available to citizens and policy-makers. The Information Technology and Information department went live with a website called data.nola.gov. The platform began with just a handful of datasets, liberated by City departments and agencies that wanted to share information for the common good. 

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New Orleans and the White House Police Data Initiative

April 11, 2016

by Eric Ogburn, Director of Enterprise Information
Filed under: open data, police data initiative

In April, the City of New Orleans took further steps in fulfilling its commitment to the White House Police Data Initiative by publishing its stop and search data (also known as field interview cards), body camera metadata and in-car camera metadata.

The Police Data Initiative launched in May 2015, and New Orleans was an inaugural participant along with 20 other police jurisdictions. The initiative was launched as recommendation of the Task Force on 21st Century Policing to “emphasize the opportunity for departments to better use data and technology to build community trust.” 

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