Opinion: City finally putting info online
August 22, 2012 Right to Know Law
OPINION
The Philadelphia Inquirer
FOR MANY YEARS in Philadelphia, there was an unfortunate difference between "public information" - that is, information to which the public is legally entitled - and "information available to the public."
Sure, you had a right to know whether (for example) your landlord held a rental license. But if you actually wanted to find out, you had to navigate a bureaucratic maze. And God help you if you tried to look it up online. The Department of Licenses and Inspections website was about as helpful as typing your request into a brick.
The city took a big step forward in June when it launched a website (phila.gov/pra) that combined all of the city's vacant properties, no matter which department had jurisdiction. This "front door" concept made it far easier for potential buyers of city property to see what was available and who owned it, eliminating the tortured and difficult process of getting the simplest information from the city.
The city took another step forward last week with the launch of a redesigned L&I website that makes even more public information available.
At phila.gov/li, you can check out a list of licensed contractors before you hire that plumber. You can view schedules of the upcoming meetings of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and L&I Review Board, with details about which properties will be discussed, so you can find out whether the boards will be making decisions that affect your life. And an interactive map tool at phila.gov/map (screen shot shown at right) lets you check out licenses, permits and violations across the city.
The site is also another way to get to the "front door" website of vacant properties.
This is a giant leap forward for transparency, and for the functionality of local government. Because information is power, it has the potential to take power out of the hands of insiders and put it in the hands of citizens.
As our friends at Plan Philly have pointed out, Philadelphia is really just catching up to some of our peer cities when it comes to putting data online. But we won't let that spoil the moment. This is good news
The Philadelphia Inquirer
FOR MANY YEARS in Philadelphia, there was an unfortunate difference between "public information" - that is, information to which the public is legally entitled - and "information available to the public."
Sure, you had a right to know whether (for example) your landlord held a rental license. But if you actually wanted to find out, you had to navigate a bureaucratic maze. And God help you if you tried to look it up online. The Department of Licenses and Inspections website was about as helpful as typing your request into a brick.
The city took a big step forward in June when it launched a website (phila.gov/pra) that combined all of the city's vacant properties, no matter which department had jurisdiction. This "front door" concept made it far easier for potential buyers of city property to see what was available and who owned it, eliminating the tortured and difficult process of getting the simplest information from the city.
The city took another step forward last week with the launch of a redesigned L&I website that makes even more public information available.
At phila.gov/li, you can check out a list of licensed contractors before you hire that plumber. You can view schedules of the upcoming meetings of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and L&I Review Board, with details about which properties will be discussed, so you can find out whether the boards will be making decisions that affect your life. And an interactive map tool at phila.gov/map (screen shot shown at right) lets you check out licenses, permits and violations across the city.
The site is also another way to get to the "front door" website of vacant properties.
This is a giant leap forward for transparency, and for the functionality of local government. Because information is power, it has the potential to take power out of the hands of insiders and put it in the hands of citizens.
As our friends at Plan Philly have pointed out, Philadelphia is really just catching up to some of our peer cities when it comes to putting data online. But we won't let that spoil the moment. This is good news
