Update: I had scheduled this post for next week, but apparently, Data.gov.uk launched today. The site isn’t loading for me right now though. I guess they weren’t prepared for traffic.
Data.gov, a catalog of US data, launched last year. Now it’s the UK’s turn. Well, not yet. But soon. Data.gov.uk is still under lock and key, but it has granted access to some developers. Ito Labs, the group behind mapping a year of OpenStreetMap edits posted screenshots of their maps that show vehicle counts (above).
Here are some comparison maps between 2001 and 2008, by vehicle type.
Once Data.gov.uk is up, it’ll be interesting to see how it compares to its US counterpart. Even more interesting will be the projects that come out of it.
Despite all the broohaha over Data.gov, not many useful projects (or datasets) come to mind. Can you think of any? There’s still a long way to go from both sides of government and developer.
[Thanks, Oliver]
Thanks for the hat tip…! London has also launched it’s data site (http://data.london.gov.uk) and the guardian has a nice list of (mostly American) initiatives too.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/gallery/2010/jan/20/official-government-data-sites
Prospect Magazine has a cover story about Tim Berners-Lee’s involvement in this project. The main article is not free online, you can only read a taster, however, there is an interview at:
http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2010/01/tim-berners-lee/