The Department of Assessments LocalScape Data Portal

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

The King County Department of Assessment’s LocalScape data portal is a dynamic web-based mapping tool designed to enhance the value of community data and encourage greater civic understanding and engagement by connecting multiple government data sources in an easy-to-use GIS-based platform. LocalScape synchs a variety of important government data sets, including property-based, census, education, and economic, and displays the information in eye-catching maps, charts and tabular formats. LocalScape provides preset and customized selections which refresh dynamically with each new user selection. LocalScape users can quickly search to obtain property values, census numbers, or school information for a neighborhood, a region, a political boundary, or even a specific parcel using the customizable drawing tool. LocalScape makes government data useful and understandable for the average citizen. Government agencies are the largest collectors and holders of public data, and over last few years, the number of government open data portals has increased substantially. While this has made it easier for the public to access government data, there remains a usability challenge for the average citizen. Many open data portals provide data downloads which aren’t always easy to use or helpful once the data is accessed. Some open data portals provide mapping visualization of the data, but they don’t integrate multiple sources of data, such as property values, education, and census data. This results in missed correlations between related data points, creating open data silos that impact effective governing, citizen engagement, and journalism. LocalScape connects government data in a format that makes it easy for the user to visualize and draw their own conclusions about their communities and government policies, fostering better community engagement. LocalScape promotes more effective governing as money could be saved through integrated correlation of key data among various agencies.