On Wednesday, the City of Portland unanimously approved a resolution that will allow the City that Works, work a little better. The resolution, #1374, will do two things: open government data for use by third party software developers and encourage the use of open source software by city government.

The shift to open data has the potential to benefit Portlanders by making information more widely available and in new, innovative ways. Moving the city’s own software platforms to open source is a way of reducing costs and supporting a growing industry that Portland is quickly becoming the unofficial capital of.;

The Mayor’s office issued a press release today. From that release;

“Today’s announcement is about open government, cost savings and job creation for our region,” said Mayor Sam Adams. “Software is a key industry cluster, and bringing together a growing industry with increased public sector transparency means more public involvement, smarter policy, and a stronger economy.”

You can read the full press release here (PDF) and another great wrap-up of the potential impact on Portland from the Silicon Florist.

Related posts:

1. Oregon Open Source Showcase at OSCON
2. Conservation as an Energy Source
3. How the Nations first CTO Could Benefit Portland