Johns Creek's Data Hub Recognized At Livability Awards

JOHNS CREEK, GA -- The city of Johns Creek received Honorable Mention in the small city category at the U.S. Conference of Mayors 2017 City Livability Award ceremony.

Johns Creek earned the distinction for its online DataHub, which is an expansion of its OpenData portal that includes a variety of interactive tools that help users see, understand and work with large amounts of city-generated data such as code enforcement information, building permits and fire and police data.

The DataHub allows users to visualize data in a dashboard format using interactive graphs and maps. For example, when a user clicks on a section of a graph in one of the dashboards, the corresponding points on the map are highlighted. One dashboard was created for each major data type in the portal and then similar dashboards were grouped into story maps to help users understand relationships between different data types.

This holistic approach to data is quickly becoming a trend among major cities across the country. Recently, the city of Los Angeles launched a similar portal called the GeoHub, which was the first portal of its kind in the U.S. Johns Creek was the first city in Georgia to use this online information tool.

One of the major reasons for creating the DataHub is to help support economic development in the city, by providing access to the data and the tools to understand it.

The 2017 City Livability Awards recognizes and honors mayors for exemplary leadership in developing initiatives that promote and enhance the quality of life in municipalities. The U.S. Conference of Mayors specifically acknowledged Johns Creek GIS Manager Nick O’Day for his efforts to spearhead this initiative in Georgia.

Photo: Nick O'Day. Credit: city of Johns Creek