Mayor Walsh Opens Up More Of Boston's Data

In a move to increase transparency and spur innovation, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh on Monday ordered that vast amounts of city data be placed in an open, online database that can be accessed by the public, researchers and software developers.

The city will post online databases including crime statistics, emergency response times and restaurant health inspections.

"It moves the focus from having a reactive approach to sharing data to a proactive one, where we are opening up the books in all ways and asking department heads to think creatively about how they can share their information with the public," said City Councilor-at-Large Michelle Wu, who plans to file an “open data ordinance” for the city.

Similar moves in New York and San Francisco have, for example, led to partnerships with online reviewers like Yelp, where restaurant-goers can see an eatery's health score with its review.