Architecture & Design: see also, Open Data

What is Open Data?

• Open Data is research data this is freely available on the internet permitting any user to download, copy, analyze, re-process, pass to software or use for any other purpose without financial, legal or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself. 
   
• Select data platforms include government data, data from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), topical data, and crowdsourced data. The guide focuses on spatial and temporal data related to demographics and designing the built environment.
   
• See Related Guides for more information on acquiring data in other research areas.

Open Data Projects Selected by Architecture Students

Locating Spatial Data & Information

TIPS FOR LOCATING GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION

• Look in general GIS data repositories

• Search the internet – Include “gis”, or “data” in the search terms AND Search by location and/or topic

• Search for governmental (see below) statistical agencies or open data sites from local to global perspective.

• Contact GIS departments, universities, or researchers in your area of interest.

• Search for articles on your topic and look for the sources of the data.

Global Dataset Search Engines

National

State

County and City Data Portals

• Locate County and Municipal Data on the Web, use search terms, "geospatial" "Open Data" "GIS" plus the municipality name (County, State, or Province) to locate these data repositories.
• Use translation to navigate pages from local governments often written in different languages.
• Know that topics including Environment, Business and Economy, Food and Housing, GIS, Infrastructure, Health, Boundaries, Culture and Education are often similar but not standardized. 

Example Collections:

Data Citation

• Citing Data ensures,
  • Data creators receive credit.
  • Datasets are replicable, accessible, and impactful
  • Whenever provided, use the recommended citation for the dataset.
• When your style format does not include specifics for datasets, the format for books is considered the general format to follow. 
• Dataset creators may prefer the citation points to the publication in which the data was published rather than the data without this context.
• Essential Information for properly crediting a dataset include:
  • Creator, Producer, and Distributor of the Data
  • Published Year
  • Title
  • Edition or Version
  • Data format
  • Identifier or permanent URL (pURL) for the Data Source
• Check out the library's for help with the various styles used on campus:

Further Reading on Open Data Governance and Policy