In a new video released Monday by the Mayor's Office of Communications, the city aims to educate more Philadelphians on it's commitment to open data. Over the past few years, Philadelphia has released more than 200 datasets from 33 different departments. 

 The city built several applications to help residents do useful things like research valuation, tax and physical details of properties that they might want to buy. Other apps allow Philadelphians to look up a neighborhood’s crime history, or locate bike lanes, KEYSPOTS public computer centers, healthy corner stores, and more.

“The City’s open data initiatives have made our government more accessible and accountable than ever before,” Mayor Jim Kenney said in a press release. “I am excited to continue these efforts under my administration and to help raise awareness about the program’s benefits. More Philadelphians need to appreciate the impact this data has – not just the technologically inclined - so that they can utilize it to improve their daily lives and their interactions with the City. This is just another way that we’ll be working to raise the bar on what it means to deliver efficient, effective government services.”

Philadelphia hopes that more open data will increase government accessibility and accountability. By sharing data with residents, researchers, social service providers, technologists, and others, a diverse range of communities can build tools, make data-driven decisions, and promote organizations and services throughout the city.

If you want more open data, the city releases it at OpenDataPhilly.org. For more resources on how to use this open data portal, you can visit OpenDataPhilly’s resources page.