Lennox and Addington County has launched a new open data portal where members of the public can view government-maintained GIS (Geographic Information System) data with no restrictions on use, distribution, or modification.
Select county data is now publicly available at no cost to citizens, businesses, organizations and visitors. According to the county, this data does not compromise any type of secure information.
Staff's report noted that the overall objective of this initiative is to enhance stakeholder access and engagement, while also recognizing the importance of open data in the GIS field. Open data takes into account the existing work being done across the county, and will help evaluate specific needs. By making data openly accessible, stakeholders, researchers, developers, and policymakers will now able to easily analyze more useful data for relevant projects. The portal features interactive maps and categories of data ready for consumption by common software applications and development languages.
According to staff's report, this initiative allows the public to access the county's data more easily, and encourages innovation in the community. Director of infrastructure services, Chris Wagar noted how the new portal would differ from the county's current website.
"It would be more of like an interactive mapping link, or a separate portal that would be directed from the website. So then, basically, it's looking at our boundaries and our mapping with all the layers of the data incorporated in the mapping." said Wagar.
The initial launch focuses primarily on GIS or geographical datasets. as well as related applications and products for download. The portal will include sections for local government, civic addressing, infrastructure, recreation and heritage, social services, land use and development, and demographics.
The portal site was created by ArcGIS Online, and will be maintained by county GIS staff. Staff will assess other appropriate data opportunities through feedback to help determine what datasets to include. Datasets that include personal or sensitive business information are not considered for open data due to privacy regulations, and the importance of safeguarding such information.
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