The first law of geography says that “everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things.” Zan Dodson, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public Health, knows this well. As both a geographer and public health researcher, Dodson focuses on why some populations may have a greater risk for certain infectious and chronic diseases due to their surroundings. Using the City’s public safety open data sets, Dodson has been advancing the region’s response to the opioid overdose epidemic...
Read further on Medium: Open Data Changes the Way We Look at Community Health
When the right data isn’t easily available, important questions become difficult to answer. Concerned about street safety for pedestrians, drivers, and bikers alike, Eric Boerer and Scott Bricker sought to identify the intersections in the city with the most collisions. As Advocacy Director and Executive Director of Bike Pittsburgh, respectively, they focus on transforming the city’s streets and communities into vibrant, healthy places by making them safe and accessible for everyone. This often means finding ways to reduce collisions...
Read further on Medium: Open Data Helps Make the Streets Safer for Everyone
“Most people don’t really think about vacant lots until you live near one and pass it every day,” admits Anna Archer, a Project Specialist at GTECH. “But if you do, you wonder - what is that piece of land doing there? Could it be a valuable asset for the community?” At GTECH, Archer and the team work alongside residents, policy makers, and partners to answer those questions, identifying vacant lots and transitioning them into community spaces...
Read further on Medium: Open Data Helps Create Community Spaces
In Homewood, Manchester-Chateau, and Hazelwood, teams of planners are using open data to inform comprehensive neighborhood plans. These ten to twenty year plans are helping to set short and long-term community priorities around housing, mobility, open space, public art, economic development, and a host of other areas...
Read further on Medium: Open Data is Helping Neighborhoods Plan for the Future
As residents, non-profits, and civic leaders work closer together to ensure Pittsburgh is a livable city for all, a team is beginning to use the City’s open data to help establish baseline measures for inequality. “In addition to identifying where the greatest inequities are, we’re hoping this will help to prioritize [the City’s] investment in and allocation of resources to different areas,” said Linnea Warren May, a policy analyst at RAND, which is leading the analysis...
