The portal, which will be updated and enhanced in phases, is a user-friendly web page that is available to anyone, regardless of technical knowledge or background. Members of the public can use the portal to access and visually interact with meaningful government data in a way that's never been made available before by the city.
"An open and transparent government is a hallmark of a modern and progressive city," said city councilor Paul Ainslie. "This new open data portal will benefit everyone, especially our thriving and evolving tech and business communities, both of which understand the value and potential of government data that is made available."
Key features available to the public in the first phase include simplified search capabilities, the ability to tell stories related to the available data, application program interfaces and a new community showcase section that demonstrates the work the public is doing using open data.
"The most exciting part about this portal is that it was co-created with the public. Thank you to everyone who made this a reality, especially Toronto's open data community, Toronto City Council, and the City of Toronto Open Data team," said Rob Meikle. "Together, we have developed a tool that will visually showcase data, build narratives and tell stories.
"Data is essential for Smart Cities initiatives, and this portal will activate government innovation and inspire the release of meaningful data that can solve civic issues", he concluded.