Examining the Value of Geospatial Open Data

Transparency, accountability, administrative efficiency, and economic development are the common motivations for making government datasets publicly available. Open data often include geographic references and may be offered in formats ready to be processed in geographic information systems (GIS). The present research contributes to assessing the value of these geospatial open data. We focus on the economic development goal of municipal open data programs, the available file formats, and their innovation potential. In a case study of four major Canadian cities, we analyze the thematic distribution and the prevalence of GIS-ready data files among available open datasets. For the City of Toronto, we also examine access statistics for the most popular open datasets and their use in developing digital products. The results of this research suggest that political, administrative, and public support for the future maintenance and expansion of open data may require strategic releases of datasets that demonstrably support the stated goals of the respective open data initiative.