The city of Memphis introduced a “new and improved data hub” Wednesday.
The site, data.memphistn.gov, first launched early last year and since then Ursula Madden, the city’s chief communication officer, said the city has been working to improve it.
The new site, which offers new and more detailed data sets, is meant to “increase usability and resident engagement,” said Craig Hodge of the Office of Performance Management.
“It builds on the mayor’s commitment to hold city government accountable for its performance,” Hodge said. “Internally, the Data Hub is the foundation for how we continually use data to inform our decisions; having a platform to load and share data across divisions allows city leaders to break down silos and better work together to be ‘brilliant at the basics.’”
In addition to tracking performance surrounding neighborhoods, public safety, youth, jobs, and good government, the site now allows users to track 311 requests, find civic assets near them, and see a real-time crime map.
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Madden said the new information is an effort to be “open and honest about what we’re doing well, but also our challenges.
“Ultimately if you have knowledge, you have some sort of sense of security,” Madden said. “You can take that information and do something with it. You can do things that improve your neighborhood.”
New features on the site include:
• An interactive map that shows nearby civic assets, such as parks, community centers, police and fire stations, and libraries
• Ongoing and recent capital projects and the city division responsible for them
• A real-time map of crimes, excluding sexual assault, throughout the entire city broken down by type
• A map showing ongoing and recent 311 requests, as well as code enforcement violations
Crime map
Users can also suggest other data sets not featured on the site. Madden said the site will “evolve” with new data sets being added to it in the future.
Unlike the old data hub, which she said was “sort of a static document,” the new site will be “active and engaging and can be utilized as the type of tool the public can use.”
“This is new for us,” Madden said. “We’re finally getting into the 21st century. We know that other cities already do this. So, we’re finally getting our data out to the public as well.”
Since 2016, we’ve worked extensively to ensure we’re using data for the decisions we make. The new and improved site gives a look “under the hood” so to speak on data we use to make those decisions. If you have time, take it for a spin https://t.co/Rio8RjjzEz
— Mayor Jim Strickland (@MayorMemphis) October 30, 2019
City Unveils ‘New and Improved’ Data Hub
