This document summarizes the city of Ghent's efforts to publish open data as linked open data from 2011 to 2016. It began by publishing apps using open data in 2011. In 2012 it launched its first data portal and by 2013 had made open data part of its regular operations. It launched a new city website in 2014 and began publishing linked open data in 2016. It provides examples of SPARQL queries that can be used against the linked open data and discusses next steps of increasing internal knowledge, using linked data internally, publishing additional leisure data, and collaborating with other governments on ontologies.

1. The City of Ghent as
Linked Open Data
Ann Bernaert

2. @AnnBernaert
Digipolis Gent
Domain responsible web & (linked) open data

3. 2010

4. Why did I get here?

5. And then I came back...

6. 2011

7. 2011 First edition Apps for Ghent

8. 2011 First edition Apps for Ghent
2011 Gentse Feesten

9. 2011 First edition Apps for Ghent
2011 Gentse Feesten
2012 First data portal

10. 2011 First edition Apps for Ghent
2011 Gentse Feesten
2013 Open data becomes part of the regular operations
2012 First data portal

11. 2011 First edition Apps for Ghent
2011 Gentse Feesten
2013 Open data becomes part of the regular operations
2014 A new website: http://stad.gent
2012 First data portal
2014 Launch DOT GENT

12. 2011 First edition Apps for Ghent
2011 Gentse Feesten
2013 Open data becomes part of the regular operations
2014 A new website: http://stad.gent
2015 Real-time data
2012 First data portal
2014 Launch DOT GENT

13. 2011 First edition Apps for Ghent
2011 Gentse Feesten
2013 Open data becomes part of the regular operations
2014 A new website: http://stad.gent
2015 Real-time data
2016 Linked Open Data
2012 First data portal
2014 Launch DOT GENT

14. Why Linked Open Data?

15. We had stars in our eyes

16. And we drank too much coffee

17. … so we decided to go for “5 stars” on http://stad.
gent

18. What is Linked Open Data?

19. The Semantic Web
A new form of Web content that is meaningful to computers will unleash a
revolution of new possibilities
by TIM BERNERS-LEE, JAMES HENDLER and ORA LASSILA
Scientifc American, May 2001
http://www-sop.inria.fr/acacia/cours/essi2006/Scientific%20American_%20Feature%20Article_%20The%20Semantic%20Web_%20May%202001.pdf

20. 1. Use URIs to name (identify) things.
2. Use HTTP URIs so that these things can be looked up
(interpreted, "dereferenced").
3. When a URI is looked up, provide useful information using the
standards such as RDF, SPARQL, etc.
4. Refer to other things using their HTTP URI-based names when
publishing data on the Web, so that they can discover more things
The four rules

21. Triples
Tom is a Cat

22. Triples
Tom is a Cat

23. Triples
Tom is a Cat

24. Triples
Tom is a Cat

25. Triples
Tom is a http://dbpedia.org/page/Cat

26. Triples
http://www.facebook.com/tom
is a
http://dbpedia.org/page/Cat

27. Triples
http://www.facebook.com/tom
https://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type
http://dbpedia.org/page/Cat

28. Triples
http://www.facebook.com/tom
https://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type
http://dbpedia.org/page/Cat
Subject
Predicate
Object

29. Triples
http://www.facebook.com/tom
https://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type
http://dbpedia.org/page/Cat
Resource
Property
Class

30. Triples
facebook:tom rdf:type dbpedia:cat
Subject Predicate Object

31. Triples
facebook:tom rdf:type dbpedia:cat

32. Graph

33. Triples
Tom is a Cat
Tom is a Dog

34. Named Graph

35. Named Graph
Subject Predicate Object Graphname

36. Which data?

37. To decide which data was first qualified

38. … we had a meeting

39. To decide which data was first qualified
Which data is meaningful to publish as LOD?

40. To decide which data was first qualified
Which data is meaningful to publish as LOD?
It should be data that would be published on the new website

41. To decide which data was first qualified
Which data is meaningful to publish as LOD?
It should be data that would be published on the new website
Data that we could extract easily from existing systems

42. Services

43. Services
Are the core business of government

44. Services
Are the core business of government
We were building a local implementation of “IPDC”

45. Services
Are the core business of government
We were building a local implementation of “IPDC”
OSLO

46. Passport
Human-readable

47. <rdf:Description rdf:about="https://stad.gent/id/products/139">
<rdf:type rdf:resource="http://purl.org/vocab/cpsv#PublicService"/>
<dc:created>2014-07-03T00:00:00+02:00</dc:created>
<dc:modified>2016-01-20T12:53:47+01:00</dc:modified>
<rdfs:isDefinedBy rdf:resource="https://stad.gent/data/products/139"/>
<schema:audience rdf:resource="http://stad.gent/data/ns/gpdc/doelgroepen/burger"/>
<schema:keywords>buitenland</schema:keywords>
<schema:keywords>reizen</schema:keywords>
<dc:identifier>139</dc:identifier>
<foaf:page rdf:resource="https://stad.gent/node/9274"/>
<ns0:follows rdf:resource="https://stad.gent/id/products/139/procedure"/>
<ns0:hasInput rdf:resource="https://stad.gent/id/products/139/bedrag"/>
<ns0:hasInput rdf:resource="https://stad.gent/id/products/139/benodigdheden"/>
<dc:references rdf:resource="https://travellersonline.diplomatie.be/"/>
<dc:references rdf:resource="http://www.diplomatie.belgium.be/nl/Diensten/Op_reis_in_het_buitenland/"/>
<dc:related rdf:resource="http://productencatalogus.vlaanderen.be/fiche/150"/>
<dc:spatial rdf:resource="https://stad.gent/id/products/gebieden/24"/>
<dc:subject rdf:resource="http://stad.gent/data/ns/themas/burgerzaken"/>
<dc:title>Reispas</dc:title>
<dc:coverage rdf:resource="http://publications.europa.eu/resource/authority/place/BEL_GNE"/>
<ns1:productType rdf:resource="http://productencatalogus.vlaanderen.be/fiche/150"/>
</rdf:Description>
Passport
Machine-readable

48. Services

49. Services News

50. Services News
Locations

51. Services News
LocationsLocations
Events

52. Examples
http://stad.gent/sparql

53. Examples
Products for ecological companies:
PREFIX schema: <http://schema.org/>
PREFIX dct:<http://purl.org/dc/terms/>
SELECT ?product ?titel
WHERE {
?product a <http://purl.org/vocab/cpsv#PublicService>.
?product schema:audience <http://stad.gent/data/ns/gpdc/doelgroepen/onderneming>.
?product dct:subject <http://stad.gent/data/ns/themas/natuur-milieu>.
?product dct:title ?titel
}

54. Examples
Products for ecological companies:
product title
https://stad.gent/id/products/120 "Projectsubsidie klimaatscholen"
https://stad.gent/id/products/222 "Meld de aanleg van uw geveltuin"
https://stad.gent/id/products/289 "Milieuvergunning"
https://stad.gent/id/products/290 "Vergunningen voor elektronisch versterkte muziek"
https://stad.gent/id/products/304 "Subsidie tijdelijke invulling van publieke ruimte en leegstaande gebouwen"
https://stad.gent/id/products/74 "(Semi)publieke laadpaal voor elektrische wagens voor bedrijven en organisaties"

55. Examples
Recent news items related to museums
PREFIX schema:<http://schema.org/>
SELECT ?article ?titel ?published
WHERE {
VALUES ?org {
<https://stad.gent/id/agents/a5294c55-f789-e111-a140-0050569826fc>
<https://stad.gent/id/agents/96677ab3-f689-e111-a140-0050569826fc>
}.
?article a schema:NewsArticle.
?article schema:datePublished ?published.
?article <http://schema.org/sourceOrganization> ?org.
?article schema:headline ?titel
} ORDER BY DESC(?published) LIMIT 5

56. Examples
Recent news items related to museums
article title published
https://stad.gent/id/news/29075 "Museumnacht: Bezoek de Gentse musea" "2015-11-27"
https://stad.gent/id/news/29017 "De schat van je leven” "2015-11-20"
https://stad.gent/id/news/28938 "Ayşe Erkmen & Ann Veronica Janssens" "2015-11-04"
https://stad.gent/id/news/28761 "Trappen tegen armoede in het Huis van Alijn" "2015-10-15"
https://stad.gent/id/news/27045 "Kermisfoto’s gezocht in het Huis van Alijn" "2015-03-27"

57. Examples
Recent news per location
PREFIX schema: <http://schema.org/>
PREFIX dct: <http://purl.org/dc/terms/>
PREFIX gent: <http://stad.gent/data/internal/>
SELECT ?news ?titel ?locationid
WHERE {
?news a schema:NewsArticle.
?news schema:headline ?titel.
?news schema:contentLocation ?location.
?news schema:description ?description.
?news schema:datePublished ?date.
?location gent:resourceType ?locationtype.
?location gent:resourceId ?locationid.
FILTER (?date > "2016-02-11T00:00:00+01:00"^^xsd:dateTime)
}

58. Examples
Recent news per location
news titel locationid
https://stad.gent/id/news/29909 "Japanse stille films met live vertelling door Benshi Kataoka Ichirō" "3738673"
https://stad.gent/id/news/29806 "Chroom-6: buurtbewoners hoeven zich geen zorgen te maken" "16"
https://stad.gent/id/news/29814 "Ottergemse Dries kan een nieuwe groenzone in gebruik nemen!" "20"
https://stad.gent/id/news/29685 "Halfvastenfoor 2016, van suikerspin tot Buffalo-badeendje" "70791"

61. Next up?

62. Next Steps
Increase know-how within the organisation

63. Next Steps
Increase know-how within the organisation
Use Linked Data internally

64. Next Steps
Publish “leisure data” (events, Visit Gent, Gentse Feesten, …)
Increase know-how within the organisation
Use Linked Data internally

65. Next Steps
Publish “leisure data” (events, Visit Gent, Gentse Feesten, …)
Start a structural dialogue with other govt’s on ontologies
Increase know-how within the organisation
Use Linked Data internally

66. Questions?