Baton Rouge to celebrate Open Data Day 2020

"BATON ROUGE, LA – February 26, 2020 – Today, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome announced Baton Rouge’s plans to celebrate Open Data Day 2020 from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at the East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, 7711 Goodwood Blvd. The event is part of an annual worldwide celebration of open data, when communities around the globe come together to engage residents and build new solutions to civic challenges using data. ...

In addition to this community event, at the Feb. 26 Metro Council meeting, Mayor Broome proclaimed March 7 as Open Data Day 2020 and announced an expansion of the City-Parish’s award-winning Open Data BR portal, with three new datasets soon to be available on the portal. These data include requests for inspection or treatment of mosquito and rodent issues; public health inspection data for East Baton Rouge Parish restaurants, now available in tabular form; and grease trap permitting and service data for restaurants and other commercial businesses.

In January, Mayor Broome released the City-Parish’s 2019 Open Data Policy Report that outlined successes in open data for the prior year, along with priorities for 2020 in alignment with the “open by default” mandate included in the City-Parish’s open data policy. These and other open data measures led to the Center for Digital Government naming Baton Rouge the fifth most digital city in the U.S., with Baton Rouge ranking sixth overall in the 2019 U.S. City Open Data Census.

To access these newly released datasets and other open data resources, visit the Open Data BR portal at data.brla.gov. For more information on the City-Parish’s technology and transparency initiatives, visit brla.gov/transparency."