The city of Chicago launched a new, redesigned open data portal to help residents better navigate City information and use it in everyday life. For example, sidewalk café permits will now be available on the portal, creating a one-stop resource for outdoor dining locations in the City. In addition to searching all businesses licensing data already available. The open data portal promotes transparency by making raw City data available to the public. It contains over 600 data sets and receives more than 80,000 visits per month, with nearly one million visits in 2016. The redesigned website makes it easier for all Chicagoans to find facts, maps, and data about Chicago, such as restaurant inspections, business licenses, and taxi trips. Chicago’s investment in open data through strategic partnerships with civic tech volunteers and startups, has also helped improve city services. By making more and more data accessible, the City has facilitated the development of numerous innovative civic applications by independent developers, such as:

• Chicago Works, which allows residents to make service requests to 311 and track issues as they are addressed.
• Wasmycartowed.com, which lets users look up their car by license plate, make, or model and find out if it has been towed or relocated.
• http://www.vizalytics.com/MindMyBusiness, is an iOS and Android app that provides alerts to small business on construction, traffic, 311, inspections, and other data so they can make more informed decisions to save money and create opportunities.
• SweepAround.us, which allows users to input their address and register for text or e-mail alerts for a reminder when their street will be swept so they can move their vehicle.

Explore the new City of Chicago open data portal at data.cityofchicago.org.