LargeLots.org: Translating Open Data to Tangible Change
Published: January 12, 2015
One city that has figured out how to translate open data into tangible, street-level change is Chicago. An example can be found in the city’s Large Lot Program and its corresponding, consumer-facing website LargeLots.org. Through the city’s program, local landowners living on the same block as city-owned vacant lots can buy a lot for $1, on the condition they don’t sell that lot for five years. The program is a win-win for Chicagoans: Lots are returned to the tax rolls and residents are ensured a direct stake in the health and safety of their neighborhoods. Here’s why it’s an open data success: Residents find the available lots on LargeLots.org, which was assembled with public records that were previously difficult to track down. The program would likely fail if not for the easy-to-use, searchable data. Likewise, without the city policy allowing vacant plots to be sold for $1, LargeLots.org would be nothing but a research tool — useful, but without the promise of clear, direct impact.
- Andrew Zaleski, Next City
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