Open data

Open data is the idea that certain data should be freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish. Neither Fairfax County nor Fairfax City currently have an open data policy, but they each do provide some data. Note that providing documents such as PDF files do not constitute open data, as the information within the documents can not be easily analyzed such as with a database.

Geographic
Note that this category will overlap with others, but specifically includes data that has a geographic component, either in the form of geographic coordinates or GIS data (e.g. Shapefiles).


 * (OSM) is an open crowdsourced database of the entire world, but depending on the area of Fairfax County contains quite a bit of detail, including features not included in other databases like walking paths, benches, tennis courts, and other fine detail. There is a page for Fairfax County to organize mapping which provides additional information.
 * Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN) is a state agency which provides data and imagery for the state
 * Base Map Data Layers include orthoimagery (aerial imagery) from the Virginia Base Mapping Program (VBMP), elevation data, and road centerlines (though the county data is more detailed, though not always as up to date)
 * GISData.Virginia.gov includes resources from VGIN and other agencies
 * The Virginia OpenStreetMap page provides some additional information on VGIN and other resources
 * WMATA provides geographic data and an API for Metrorail and Metrobus
 * GeoCommons has several county, state, and federal layers uploaded by individuals

Data from Fairfax County

 * - several freely available geographic files (Shapefiles), such as street centerlines and political boundaries
 * Note that many valuable data files are currently not provided freely, but must be purchased at a very high cost

External link

 * OpenStreetMap Fairfax County and Virginia pages detail some of the GIS resources in the county