This is a web based civic data portal to support Smart Cities initiatives in Atlanta. These initiatives aim to achieve more livable and sustainable outcomes for the citizens, who “aid the city in making better service delivery and policy decisions through open and participatory data collection”.
The data portal stores data from two sources:
- Community based participatory research conducted by a Georgia Tech research group with the purpose of developing and implementing a new data collection model.
- Legacy projects conducted by academic institutions, governmental bodies and non-governmental organizations within the geographic scope of Westside Atlanta/Proctor Creek Watershed.
Why are these two sources particularly important? The participatory research involves supporting community-led and community driven data collections. In the course of such data initiatives, residents will gain experience in handling and interpreting data, essential skills for living in and building Smart Cities from the bottom up. For example, in Westside Atlanta, English Avenue and Vine City plan to apply for the Anti-Displacement Tax Fund program. The approach they take to argue for their suitability is by collecting data and mapping the properties and their states.
A collection of legacy projects is necessary for the successful collaboration with Westside communities. In the past, these communities often worked together with neighboring academic institutions such as Atlanta University Center, Emory University, Georgia State University, and Georgia Tech, and they provided time, data and expertise toward projects whose results and works became difficult to refer to over time. Therefore to engage in new project ideas, it is paramount to explain the difference between future and past projects and not to repeat past studies. For these reasons a central knowledge base should be established.