Sixty city of Seattle datasets are now accessible online at http://data.seattle.gov, which is part of Seattle's municipal web site. The new site holds significant amounts of information about operations and infrastructure, such as locations of city facilities, schools, and food banks.

"The launch of data.seattle.gov is the first of four new major web services being launched this year to enhance transparency, improve access to public city information, and streamline customer service reporting and tracking," said Councilmember Bruce Harrell.

Data.seattle.gov is a first step in making data publicly available to meet the city of Seattle's goals for an open, transparent and accountable government. The site initially posts datasets from My Neighborhood Map, which is a feature on the city's website, www.seattle.gov. It will add data managed by city departments, beginning with data which is commonly requested through the public disclosure process. Some of this data is already available on department websites, but data.seattle.gov will centralize the information on a single site.

"The launch of this web site represents the first step in an ongoing effort that we hope will make the work of city government more open and accessible to residents," said Mayor Mike McGinn. "In the course of our work, we gather a great deal of data on the state of the city and on our performance. We believe that information belongs to the people of Seattle. The Department of Information Technology is doing excellent work toward realizing this goal and all city departments are committed to working together on this project. Councilmember Harrell's leadership has been invaluable and we look forward to his continued efforts on this project."

"Data.Seattle.Gov transforms the way the city provides public city data to the people of Seattle. This is a key step in our initiative to engage the public in the process of creating new applications for public use and involve them in analyzing city data to improve service to our residents," said Council President Richard Conlin.

"I'm looking forward to seeing people interpret and apply this data to improving our city services for their neighborhoods and businesses. I expect to see a more responsive and cost efficient city government as a result," said Councilmember Nick Licata.

The site will grow as city departments build an inventory of datasets that can be added. Information such as business licenses, redacted police reports, and police 911 calls are scheduled for implementation, and more datasets are being readied. The web site includes a contact email address so users can provide comments and suggestions.

Data.seattle.gov provides information in a standard format, easily downloadable and usable by the public. The site is powered by software from Socrata (www.socrata.com), a Seattle company that supports a number of federal government agencies.