- Open data from the City of Helsinki is available to citizens and businesses to utilize for various purposes such as transportation, housing, and city planning. - The city has embarked on a large cultural change to make public data openly available in machine-readable formats for free on the internet. - Open data promotes democracy by increasing transparency around city decisions, services, and spending. It also enables new apps and services from developers and businesses. - The city publishes a wide range of geospatial, statistical, and operational data through portals for use. This includes real-time transit data, 3D city models, procurement information, and an open API for access to decision documents. - Initiatives aim to enhance use of

1. Open data and local scale
– citizens’ participation
May 12, 2017
Timo Cantell, Director
Urban Research
and Statistics
City of Helsinki

2. We are surrounded by data
2
SOCIAL AND
HEALTH CARE
PARKING
POPULATION
DECISIONS
DAY CARE AND
EDUCATION
HOUSING
PUBLIC
TRANSPORT
ENERGY LAND-USE
EVENTS
CONSTRUCTIONS
AIR QUALITY
City of Helsinki Media Bank/SkyFoto

3. 14.6.2017 Etunimi Sukunimi 3
Public agencies
Who has a right to utilize public city data?
Today also
Citizens
Traditionally only
Thanks to open data!
Big cultural change going on

4. Licensed openly
Machine-readable
Free
http://opendefinition.org/okd/suomi/
Public
“A piece of content or data is
open if anyone is free to use,
reuse, and redistribute it —
subject only, at most, to the
requirement to attribute and/or
share-alike.”
Open Data

5. Open data and democracy
• The first freedom of the press act in the world was
introduced in Sweden in 1766, key person being Anders
Chydenius, Finnish classical liberalism thinker.
• Helsinki lives this historical legacy as promoting
democracy has been also one of the key features in our
open data projects over the past years.
14.6.2017 5

6. Helsinki Region Infoshare – www.hri.fi
Tanja Lahti 6
City of Helsinki Media Bank/SkyFoto
Licensed openly
Machine-readable
Free
Public
Espoo
Vantaa
Kauniainen
Helsinki

7. Statistics
Population, housing, employment..
Data formats: xls, csv, px-web..
Geospatial data
Regional boundaries, buildings, land-use, maps..
Data formats: tab, kml, wfs, wms..
Operative data
Public transport, feedback, decisions, expenditures..
Data formats: xml, json..

8. Public Transport Data in real-time
Use
the public
transport
smoothly
http://dev.hsl.fi/

9. Open Data Use Case by Antti Ahola/Esri: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/avoin-data-rakennus-ja-kiinteist%C3%B6alan-
k%C3%A4yt%C3%B6ss%C3%A4-n%C3%A4in-se-antti-ahola?trk=hp-feed-article-title-publish
Lots of useful geospatial data

10. www.helsinkiennen.fi
karttalehtinen.fi/helsinki
See the
changes
over time
Orthophotographs
from 1930s 
Maps, images…

11. 3D model of Helsinki
http://kartta.hel.fi/3d/
Visualize or
analyze city
data by new
way!
Data: www.hri.fi/fi/dataset/helsingin-3d-kaupunkimalli

12. http://servicemap.hel.fi/
How to find
the public
services?
Service Map API:
http://www.hri.fi/en/dataset/paakaupunk
iseudun-palvelukartan-rest-rajapinta
Public service points with details

13. Procurements
Where
does our
money
go?
DATA: http://www.hri.fi/en/dataset/helsingin-
kaupungin-ostot

14. http://www.6aika.fi
Helsinki
VantaaEspoo
Turku
Tampere
Oulu
FINLAND
http://6aika.fi/in-english/
http://www.databusiness.fi/en
The Six City Strategy 2014–2020
(6Aika) boosting data-driven business
• Opening up the most business potential datasets
• Focus on open and standardized APIs
• Ease the discovery and usage (data portals, semantic data)
• Shared licenses
• Procurement know-how
• Cooperation with businesses
Close collaboration at the national
level

15. Decisions  Open API  New user
interfaces
What will
be/has been
decided,
when, by
whom?
Ahjo Explorer for
Windows phones
http://dev.hel.fi/paatokset

16. The text contents of the Infopankki.fi
are available as open data!
Infopankki contains approximately
3,500 web pages regarding work,
studying, housing, education, health,
family, problem situations and leisure
activities. All of the 12 identical
language versions of the service are
available through the API.
Case Open Ahjo API
Useful information for immigrants
16
http://www.hri.fi/en/dataset/tietoa-
suomesta-monella-eri-kielella
https://api.infopankki.fi/

17. Enhance the use of data!
Helsinki Loves Developers
https://www.facebook.com/groups/heldev/
http://www.hri.fi/fi/hri-projekti/hel-loves-dev-avoin-konttori/
Open Data Open Office – Open Space for Open Dialogue
at Laituri in Helsinki (address: Narinkka 2) once a month –
welcome!

18. #DataBusinessChallenge
www.facebook.com/databusinessfi/
Email: challenge@databusiness.fi

19. Challenges
Active citizen 4500€
Create idea or solution that enhance
the everyday life of the city dwellers
and activate their participation in city
development. How to create better
services to the citizen and challenge
them to also use them more
frequently?
Functional city 4500€
Create concepts or solutions that
enhance the usage of information in
decision making. How can we make
functions of the city more agile and
develop the information flow inside
and outside organisations?

20. #DataBusinessChallenge
www.facebook.com/databusinessfi/
42 interesting competition entries!
https://trello.co
m/b/bFbZCuqs
/databusiness-
challenge-
entries

21. Digital Helsinki Programme –
digi.hel.fi
21

22. Try out! – Smart Kalasatama
as a testbed
22
http://fiksukalasatama.fi/en/

23. • Ahjo is an electronic document management
system to prepare public agendas for decision
making in Helsinki
• Entirely paperless process
• Ahjo speeds up the preparation of decisions,
Over 5.000 users: City Council, City Board, City
Departments and their steering committees, civil
servants
• Open-by-default policy in the background
Decision-making in Helsinki is
managed by one electronic system
Ahjo
23

24. Less paper
• Helsinki administration has moved into a
paperless office in its decision making.
• All documents are in digital format.
• Without this we would print out annually
800 metres of documents for the archives.
• We estimate that Helsinki saves up to
500,000 € per year in paper, machinery,
labour, postage and handling and archive
space costs.
14 June 2017 Timo Cantell – City of Helsinki Urban Facts 24

25. HRI: Financial issues
• We have two permanent staff members (funded by the city of
Helsinki) + three project experts (EU project funded).
• 300,000 euros staff costs per year.
• 60,000 euros running costs per year.
14 June 2017 25

26. Key points
Clear vision and decision on open data
policy – democracy as a driving force
There are technical aspects but in
essence this is not a technical project
Commitment needed from political and
administrative stakeholders
14 June 2017 26

27. Step by step, gradual development
Employ key players
Co-operate with potential partners
Engage developer community
14 June 2017 27
Key points

28. Thank You!
Timo Cantell, Director
Urban Research and Statistics
City of Helsinki
timo.cantell@hel.fi
14.6.2017 28