City Celebrates Open Data Day with Additional Open Data Sets and Announcement of Next Hackathon

Today, the City of Mississauga released 26 additional open data sets to celebrate International Open Data Day on March 4.

“Open Data Day is an opportunity to celebrate and reaffirm the City’s commitment to Open Data,” said Shawn Slack, Director of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer. “As one of the first municipalities to adopt Open Data in Canada, we are always looking for opportunities to add new data sets. The data sets are enablers to learning, innovation and collaboration on ideas and uses of the City of Mississauga’s Open Data. This drives creativity and opportunities for students, emerging start-ups and community groups.”

The additional data sets include landmarks within the city such as recreation facilities, museums, parks and more. Previously, these data sets were grouped into one data set. The breakdown makes using the City’s landmark data easier and more accessible for residents. The data sets include:

• Arenas
• Art galleries
• Baseball diamonds
• Basketball courts
• Bocce courts
• Cemeteries
• Community Centres
• Cricket pitch
• Fire stations
• Go Transit stations
• Heritage properties
• Leash free zones
• Libraries
• Municipal pools
• Natural ice rinks
• Parking lots
• Parks
• Picnic areas
• Play sites
• Public tennis courts
• Public washrooms
• Soccer fields
• Softball diamonds
• Spray pads
• Theatres
• Museums

The landmark data now brings the total number of data sets available on the City’s Open Data Catalogue to more than 55. More key data sets will be released later this year such as the 2017 budget data and Council recorded voting data. To view and access the City’s Open Data Catalogue, visit: data.mississauga.ca.

The City has also announced the next Hackathon in partnership with University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), Sheridan College and Mississauga-based technology company, Soti Inc. ‘Tech and the City’ is set for October 21, 2017 at UTM with the theme of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart City. The event will follow up on the success of last year’s ‘Code and the City‘.

“We are excited to host ‘Tech and the City’ and look forward to a great event on October 21. Along with our partners, and more importantly the students and participants, this will be a great event highlighting innovation and entrepreneurship in the region,” said Donna Heslin, Director, ICUBE and Graduate Programs and External Relations UTM.

“We are committed to creating a connected and engaged city through great events like ‘Tech and the City’,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “The event supports open and transparent government and continues to showcase Mississauga as a leading Smart City, globally.”

About Open Data in the City

Open Data is raw, digital, machine-readable information about City programs and services that is accessible to everyone free of charge. The City started publishing urban planning data sets in March 2010. The information provided looked at population, demographics, census information, development monitoring, growth forecasts, housing, employment, land use, vacant lands and the environment.