We're always working to make geospatial more accessible and entity resolution easier for everyone. Our latest update simplifies access to open datasets with Placekeys, allowing anyone to programmatically retrieve publicly available data using the placekey-py library. All of this data is also available in the joined data tool, which is accessible in the Placekey Developer Dashboard.
Introducing placekey-py's New Free Dataset Functions
We’ve introduced two new functions that make it simple to discover and access Placekey’s free datasets hosted in public AWS S3 buckets. After you install the python_py library you can use the below functions to retrieve the datasets.
1. Install Placekey_PY
pip install placekey
2. List Available Free Datasets
import placekey as pk
print(pk.list_free_datasets())
This function returns a list of all publicly available datasets that you can access via Placekey.
3. Get the S3 Location of a Specific Dataset
print(pk.return_free_datasets_location_by_name('overture'))
This function takes the dataset name (retrieved from list_free_datasets()) and returns its publicly accessible S3 URI. You can then use this location to download files programmatically using something like boto3, load them directly into Spark, or simply download them locally.
4. (Optional) Get the S3 URL
print(pk.return_free_datasets_location_by_name('overture',url = True))
This function is the same as above but instead returns the URL. This is helpful if using CURL if you want to download the dataset locally.
5. Download the Files with a Curl Request or with AWS CLI
If you want the file locally simply run a CURL command like the one below:
curl -O https://safegraph-public.s3.amazonaws.com/placekey-free-datasets/boston-property-assessment-data/boston-property-assessment-data.csv
If you feel more comfortable working with the AWS CLI you can run the following
aws s3 cp s3://safegraph-public/placekey-free-datasets/boston-property-assessment-data/boston-property-assessment-data.csv
Using Pandas and Spark
Once you retrieve a dataset’s S3 location, you can seamlessly integrate it into your workflows. For large files like Overture and NPI, consider using Pandas or Spark instead of downloading them locally. Here’s how to do it with Pandas:
!pip install pandas s3fs
import pandas as pd
df = pd.read_csv(s3_uri)
print(df)
Why This Matters
With these new functions, accessing rich, structured datasets is now easier than ever. No more searching for download links or manually uploading public data as CSVs to get Placekeys—just call a function, get the dataset, and start analyzing!
Available Free Datasets
Here are just a few of the datasets available:
- Overture Maps – Open location data for global geospatial applications.
- Foursquare Places Data – POI data with rich contextual attributes.
- NPI Registry – National Provider Identifier data for healthcare professionals.
- Public City Data – Open government datasets on property assessment data.
- National Address Database – A collection of U.S. address data maintained by the Department of Transportation.
- And more!
Start Exploring Today
Check out the free datasets available through Placekey, and let us know what you build! You can even request datasets for us to Placekey. Whether you're working with mapping applications, real estate analytics, or healthcare data, this new feature makes data access easier and more efficient than ever.
