Q and A: What Feds Can Learn From Cities' Open Data Experiences

Cities hold the largest share of government data in the U.S., covering everything from liquor licenses to teacher performance reviews, but only a handful of cities have released that data to outside researchers and app developers.

The federal government is trying to facilitate open data releases at the city level with numerous initiatives, including a model open data site, the Open Government Platform, and city, state and county data communities on the government website Data.gov.

These open data sites can help city governments by putting the wisdom of crowds to work on tough questions about how to allocate city resources. They can also aid citizens by providing developers with the raw material for mobile apps that tell them when the next bus will arrive or which blocks might offer open parking spots.

Many cities are hesitant to release data, though, often because they fear being held legally liable if, say, they accidentally reveal which local families are receiving food stamps or if bad mapping data causes a car accident.