--- layout: fullpage title: Data Portal bgcolor: 558ED5 pagetype: story extrapadding: 100px ---
Launched in May 2010, the portal has quickly grown in less than four years. The open data portal contains almost 600 datasets on activities and information that shape the city and our lives. Visitors to the portal can get information on salaries for city employees, business licenses, energy consumption in each neighborhood, to where Chicagoans can recycle their Christmas trees. The data portal has helped spur a vibrant software development and data science community in Chicago .
There have been almost 2.9 million page views from May 2011 through October 2013. Access to City data has minimized expenses by using automation to maintain data on the portal. Most datasets are refreshed each night automatically. In addition, open data has enabled developers to create a wealth of applications to inform Chicago's residents and improve the day-to-day life.
Earlier this year, Chicago published a list of authorized public chauffeurs--a list of licensed drivers for taxis, limosuines, and other vehicles. Cab companies and other public chauffeurs can freely access up-to-date information on their cab drivers to guarantee that only licensed chauffeurs are on the streets.
Open data has enabled developers to create a wealth of applications for Chicago's residents. These applications range from browsing 311 requests, to reminding residents of street cleanings, to informing residents on the location and nuances of zoning laws. The data portal has also enabled developers to meet weekly at civic hack nights and help Chicago host over a dozen hackathons this past summer.