Open State. data. Made in Ukraine

I think each of us would like to know more about the conditions in which he is or plans to be, and in particular, how the government and the government work. At the same time, it would be good to have the most objective, complete and accurate information on hand.

The question becomes especially relevant when you do such important things as choosing a place for home, office (work) or travel.

Like now...

Of course, you can, having shoveled a bunch of different resources, by interviewing friends, acquaintances and residents, to form a definite opinion. But in addition to the time spent, at most it will be subjective, and, most likely, incomplete due to natural limitations.
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Perhaps a better option, these are all kinds of specialists, agents, realtors, etc., but they have an obvious conflict of interests, and the problems arising from this.

You can safely forget about the media: they are mostly interested in pop and / or pop stuff.

And if we talk about official (state) sources of information, then in some cases it is impossible to call what and how they provide complete or convenient. And in other cases, what is provided is enmeshed in bureaucratic and / or corruption schemes that a simple resident cannot overcome. (Hereinafter, focus on Ukraine, but I think everyone will agree that the issue is international, and the problems are similar.)

about the project

In these conditions, the idea was born to create a project CityScale.com.ua , the prototype for which became the city simulation games. Why exactly they, well, because for a long time they have solved (solved better than in real cities) the problem of presenting a sufficiently large amount of data for the user (residents).

But in reality, data representation is only the tip of the iceberg, and the main and not the easiest job of collecting, analyzing and structuring data from various sources, mainly state, is hidden from the user's eyes.
And often this work is uninteresting and alien to ITshnik, but this is at the end.

If we talk about data collection, the main focus now is on the most pressing issues: the cost of housing, crime, the environment, housing and utilities rates, which are presented in the form of interactive maps.
Also, each user can leave their reviews about a particular area directly on the map.

Example number 1 (clickable):


Example number 2 (clickable):


Design, of course, there are not enough stars from the sky, but I think it’s not bad for one person on a project.

What more ...

In the process of working on the project, the desire to really change the situation did not leave, and at the same time it was clear that it’s not enough for this. Then it was decided to add the ability for users to create standard maps based on their own data .

This functionality will be useful when you need to quickly present the geo-data, and allows you to focus on solving the problem, rather than on providing it. For example, you can simplify the prototyping (implementation) of projects like “UkrYamy” (“RosYamy”) or “Help Kyiv”, which was created during extreme snowfall at the end of March.

Further development of thoughts and familiarity with open data led to the design of the project’s mission, and the creation of the appropriate section of the site . Where data collected, analyzed and structured are published in a machine-readable form so that they can be used for your own research or projects.

Data is not as much as we would like, but we are working on it.

Plans

In the plans, to attract more participants to the project, and to create even more high-quality data, more convenient and more functional maps.
And to continue the development of the open data section, in particular, as a public platform.

Open State. data in Ukraine

Separately, I would like to tell you about the openness of state data in Ukraine, since this issue takes a considerable share of the time spent on the project.

To begin with, now at the state level there is no unified program for the development of open state. data or similar to it, and in the whole country the movement is developing poorly (I can remember only one noisy thematic event, but without real consequences).

At the same time, there is the Law of Ukraine “On Access to Public Information” (Ukr.), Which requires further development, because it contains provisions to circumvent the Law, unnecessary data restrictions, and establishes an outdated (bureaucratic) procedure for obtaining them. For example, there is more than one law on state registries that monopolize access to data by all kinds of parastatal organizations.

Well, where can we go without such “pleasures” of life as the passivity of the controlling bodies, the general bureaucracy and corruption schemes. Here it is necessary to separately say about the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1102 of October 26, 2011 (ukr.), And especially about its Appendix 3, most of the points are simply absurd, except for the fact that they contradict the above-mentioned Law.

I personally had to face such a situation: it was necessary to obtain the most detailed data on the levels of environmental pollution. For which there are special state services (three weeks of phone calls and calls were spent, until I found out which ones), the monitoring system and data. But the service agreed to submit the data, only in printed form (~ 2000 p.) With the prohibition of copying, or in the required form, but for money (thousand UAH), on the basis of the Law of Ukraine "On Hydrometeorological Activity" (Ukr.) And resolutions above .

A three-month correspondence on this issue with a representative of the Ukrainian Commissioner for Human Rights on the observance of rights in the field of information law has ended, as expected, a referral to the court for an independent decision.

Speaking of other countries, for example, in Russia, things with open data are an order of magnitude better, but you can not remember about Western countries. Although the latest government crisis in the United States showed that they are not so smooth, and need alternative (negos.) Data sources.

In the end I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the struggle to change the existing system requires a lot of time and effort. And tangible results can be obtained only with the necessary public will and support.

PS
If you are ready to help the project (especially lawyers) or to take part in it (especially designers), write in a personal or through contacts on the site - we will discuss.

UPD:
Thank you all for your support!