Open Data in Detroit: Transforming Residents’ Relationships with their City

Abstract

The Detroit Open Data Portal was created in 2015, aiming to transform the relationship between city residents and their government through the publication of the city’s data. Datasets are collected by individual city departments but are curated, cleaned, and ingested into the portal by a team at the city’s Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT). Many datasets are missing data dictionaries and structured metadata, making it difficult for many users to make use of the city’s open data.

This project analyzes the types of metadata available in the Detroit Open Data Portal, compares metadata standards designed for government data, and creates a workflow for the DoIT team to fill-in missing fields in existing and future datasets. The project aims to make city data more accessible to users, increase the transparency of the city government, and foster further applications of open government data.