Syracuse civic data lab

Syracuse, explained through data.

Maps, dashboards, field notes, and data stories built around the real systems Syracuse residents touch: streets, snow, libraries, poverty, housing, and public service.

Hero image: public-domain Clinton Square / Erie Canal postcard via Wikimedia Commons.

Snow routes Winter operations
Library access OCPL and branches
Neighborhoods Block-level field notes
City systems Services, OKRs, and open data

Project desk

Built like civic infrastructure.

Every project starts with a local question, points back to sources, and aims to be useful enough for residents, reporters, board members, and city staff.

Below the Line 2026 report preview Interactive Report

Poverty Data

Below the Line 2026

An updated look at Syracuse poverty, housing, education, work, transportation, broadband access, and peer-city change since the original report.

Peer cities Source notes PDF report
Launch project →
Syracuse Snow Map Streamlit App

Snow

Syracuse Snow Map

Real-time visualization of snow removal progress and plow locations across the city's residential streets.

Map Operations
Launch project →
Library Census Dashboard Streamlit App

Libraries

Census Data by Library Location

Explore demographic insights and library usage patterns across Onondaga County through an interactive dashboard.

OCPL Demographics
Launch project →
White Branch Library in Syracuse Data Story

Libraries

OCPL Library Use Story

A public-facing look at city library visits, circulation, digital use, programming, and Central versus branch patterns.

Story Branches
Read story →
Cityline Workaround Dashboard AI Web App

Civic Services

Cityline Workaround App

An alternative interface to help residents decide how to submit a service request through Syracuse's Cityline system.

AI app Service requests
Launch project →
Syracuse Performance Dashboard preview Performance Dashboard

City OKRs

Syracuse Performance Dashboard

A source-backed rebuild of the city performance dashboard using the original OKRs, current public data, and clearly labeled gaps.

OKRs Public data
Launch project →
Cumberland Avenue one-street atlas preview AI Field Notes

Street Scale

Cumberland Ave Atlas

A privacy-first one-street AI atlas for the 1300 block near Colvin: monthly photos, public records, and field observations.

Field notes Privacy-first
Open atlas →
Syracuse Property Atlas preview AI Field Notes

Property Data

Syracuse Property Atlas

An EveryLot-style parcel notebook for Syracuse combining city open data, ACS tract context, OpenStreetMap, web context, and optional vision analysis.

Parcels ACS OSM
Open atlas →

The DataCuse standard

Local, sourced, and built to be used.

DataCuse is not a folder of charts. It is a public workbench for Syracuse: direct links to evidence, clear caveats, strong visual storytelling, and tools that make city systems easier to understand.

01

Start with Syracuse

Projects focus on the places and services residents recognize: blocks, branches, snow routes, dashboards, and public requests.

02

Show the evidence

Reports and tools keep source links, dates, definitions, and gaps visible instead of hiding uncertainty.

03

Make it interactive

Maps, filters, app flows, and narrative pages help people test a question instead of reading a static claim.

Field notes

Deep dives and build notes.

Long-form analyses from the local data stack, kept close to the project pages they explain.

White Branch Library in Syracuse

Library Data May 2026

OCPL Library Use Story

A public reporting page that turns the latest city library dashboard into a readable civic data story.

Read story
Datacuse MCP launch article

Launch Essay March 21, 2026

Introducing Datacuse MCP

How Syracuse open data, OCPL library workflows, and county, state, and federal sources came together in one MCP server.

Read full story
CITYLINE

Data Analysis December 31, 2025

Cityline Snow Request Analysis

A look at how residents make snow plow service requests to Cityline, even when there is no official option to do so.

Read story