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There is a growing trend in the world of cities publishing data according to Open Data standards, linking data from different sources, allowing citizens to generate and update data using mobile apps and application programming interfaces (APIs) as well as using that data in policy making. Dog- related data in cities is of great use to new dog owners, out-of-towners and tourists. Therefore, it is important that this data is easy to find and presented in a useful way. As open data concepts are slowly being introduced in Croatia, we wanted to find out to what extent the City of Zagreb applies these concepts with regards to dog-related data. The availability and openness of dog-related data was analysed in several steps. First, dog- related data were searched on the official website of the City of Zagreb and on the official website of the municipal services. Data formats were ranked according to the five-star system for open data. In the second step, field research was conducted in 2020 to record the locations of dog parks and areas where dogs can be walked off- leash, as well as dog waste bins, using GPS. The data obtained in the second step was cross-checked with the data from the first step to verify the accuracy and timeliness of the dog-related data obtained from open sources for the city of Zagreb. Only data on dog parks, areas where dogs can be walked off-leash, and dog waste bins were available in Croatian on the official website of the city or city services. On the five-star deployment scheme, all data found achieved a one- star rating (the lowest), with data on waste bins available as a readable table in PDF format, while data on dog parks and areas where dogs can be walked off-leash were available in different formats (a list embedded in the city website and static maps of locations in separate PDF files divided by city area). The latter data were also included in the City of Zagreb geoportal, but only for viewing and without the possibility of downloading. Quantitative discrepancies between data sources were also found (70 areas where dogs are allowed to be walked off-leash and dog parks in the 2018 list on the city's website, 66 areas on the static maps and 73 areas in the statistical yearbook of the City of Zagreb). During our on- site research, we located at least one location that is indicated as an area where dogs may be walked off-leash, but where signs are posted stating "No dogs allowed". In addition, only 10 areas are referred to as dog parks in city data, while our field research located 20 facilities referred to as dog parks by users and other citizens. Similarly, data on waste bins shows 300 records with location descriptions on the City's services website, while our field research located 310 waste bins and 10% of the original records could not be located. However, we were unable to determine if the discrepancies were due to inaccurate or outdated data. These results suggest an urgent need for the City to change the way it manages data, which could be beneficial to citizens. The data analyzed here shows a lack of willingness to regularly update datasets that are already open and a lack of determination to open more data that would be of great benefit to dog owners, such as locations and information about pet stores, veterinarian practices, pet hotels, dog salons, and others. A data portal that would facilitate the search for reusable and up-to-date information on dog-related content in the city of Zagreb would be a great step towards a smart city approach in the city administration. |
