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laOpenData

laOpenData provides simple, reproducible access to Los Angeles-related datasets from the
Los Angeles Open Data Portal platform — directly from R, with no API keys or manual downloads required. Working directly with Socrata APIs can be cumbersome — laOpenData simplifies this process into a clean, reproducible workflow.

Version 0.1.0 introduces a streamlined, catalog-driven interface for Los Angeles Open Data, extending the open data ecosystem beyond New York to support cross-city analysis and comparative civic research.

The package provides three core functions:

  • la_list_datasets() — Browse available datasets from the live Los Angeles Open Data catalog
  • la_pull_dataset() — Pull any cataloged dataset by key, with filtering, ordering, and optional date controls
  • la_any_dataset() — Pull any Los Angeles Open Data dataset directly via its Socrata JSON endpoint

Datasets pulled via la_pull_dataset() automatically apply sensible defaults from the catalog (such as default ordering and date fields), while still allowing user control over:

  • limit
  • filters
  • date / from / to
  • where
  • order
  • clean_names
  • coerce_types

This redesign reduces maintenance burden, improves extensibility, and provides a more scalable interface for working with Los Angeles Open Data.

All functions return clean tibble outputs and support filtering via
filters = list(field = "value").

Installation

Development version (GitHub) 

devtools::install_github("martinezc1/laOpenData")

Example 

library(laOpenData)

la_vacent_buildings <- la_pull_dataset(
  dataset = "building_and_safety_vacant_building_abatement",
  limit = 1000
)

head(la_vacent_buildings)
#> # A tibble: 6 × 10
#>   address         case_num    cd inspector_name area  building_type approved_use
#>   <chr>              <dbl> <dbl> <chr>          <chr> <chr>         <chr>       
#> 1 749 S KOHLER ST  1045424    14 LUCIANO GAUNA  II    III           COMMERCIAL  
#> 2 11354 W RUNNYM…  1044681     2 GLEN RAND      I     *****         <NA>        
#> 3 1346 W 5TH ST     924823     1 LUCIANO GAUNA  II    *****         COMMERCIAL  
#> 4 11354 W RUNNYM…  1044681     2 GLEN RAND      I     *****         <NA>        
#> 5 11354 W RUNNYM…  1044681     2 GLEN RAND      I     *****         <NA>        
#> 6 2219 S CENTRAL…  1026127     9 LUCIANO GAUNA  II    *****         <NA>        
#> # ℹ 3 more variables: assigned_to <chr>, building_size <chr>,
#> #   abate_effective <dttm>

About

laOpenData makes Los Angeles’s civic datasets accessible to students,
educators, analysts, and researchers through a unified and user-friendly R interface.

Developed to support reproducible research, open-data literacy, and real-world analysis.

Comparison to Other Software

While the RSocrata package provides a general interface for any Socrata-backed portal, laOpenData is specifically tailored for Los Angeles Open Data Portal.

This package is part of a broader ecosystem of tools for working with open data:

  • nycOpenData — streamlined access to NYC Open Data
  • nysOpenData — streamlined access to NY State Open Data
  • mtaOpenData — streamlined access to MTA-related NY State Open Data
  • chiOpenData — streamlined access to Chicago-related City Open Data

Together, these packages provide a consistent, user-friendly interface for working with civic data across jurisdictions.

  • Ease of Use: No need to hunt for 4x4 dataset IDs (e.g., 2ucp-7wg5); use catalog-based keys instead.
  • Open Literacy: Designed specifically for students and researchers to lower the barrier to entry for civic data analysis.

Contributing

We welcome contributions! If you find a bug or would like to request a wrapper for a specific Los Angeles dataset, please open an issue or submit a pull request on GitHub.

Authors & Contributors

Maintainer

Christian A. Martinez 📧
GitHub: @martinezc1