Insights into Barcelona Datastore
- Open data
- Jul 24
- 3 mins
Oriol Pàmies, texts / Carles Javierre Kohan, infographics
A sea of information
The portal Barcelona Datastore features an enormous amount of records, approaching 20 million, partly inherited from the websites it replaces. The most prevalent content type is PDF documents, which are cross-platform containers that retain the appearance and structure of the original document across major operating systems. Each item is viewable, downloadable and available in .txt or plain text format. Content related to society dominates, covering education, culture, leisure, sports, health, socio-economic conditions, safety and prevention, among others. Content related to municipal administration closely follows, offering almost 800 surveys conducted in the last 20 years to gauge public opinion on various aspects of municipal management.
Versatility, utility and visual appeal
A standout visualisation is the pyramid-style graph illustrating Barcelona’s population broken down by gender, five-year age group and residential district, derived from annual census data. Users have nine additional options, including tables, diagrams and animated views spanning multiple years.
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Feature for viewing and using information
Two further examples showcase the wealth of information available through Barcelona Data: interactive maps of acoustic quality and air quality, provided in a reusable format and an economic outlook report for the city, offering a selection of regularly updated statistics.
Technology for transparency
From a technical standpoint, the Barcelona Data portal was developed using open-source software, making it replicable for other public or private institutions. Leveraging the capabilities of the municipal big data repository (CityOS) and its analytical tools, the portal offers quick responses and visualisations in various formats. Although in its beta phase (fully functional but not yet finalised), the portal is already achieving its goal of increasing usage compared to previous municipal websites.
Glossary
API
Application Programming Interface, used by developers.
CSV
Comma-Separated Values. A text file with a specific format that enables data storage in a tabular structure.
Public data
Information recorded, collected or generated by the government (or by third parties on its behalf), excluding data restricted by privacy, ownership, security or other limitations.
Dataset
A collection of data published in catalogues to facilitate searching. It typically includes resources (files) and metadata, accessible via a URL.
GeoPackage
An open data format designed for geographic information systems, independent of platforms and based on industry standards.
JSON
Acronym for JavaScript Object Notation. A lightweight text format used for exchanging data between systems.
Metadata
Descriptive information about a resource, such as its context, quality, status or characteristics, aimed at facilitating its discovery, authentication, evaluation, preservation and/or interoperability.
Open data
The practice of making government information available to the public in digital, standardised and accessible formats, with clear structures to promote understanding.
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