🏛️ OpenPermit — Ultimately Efficient Permitting

Permitting distilled for simplicity, speed & interoperability

Public demo → https://builtbycorelot.github.io/OpenPermit

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Table of Contents

1. Why OpenPermit?
2. Quick-start
3. Architecture
4. Standards Alignment
5. Stakeholders & How to Engage
6. Security
7. Contributing
8. Links & References

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Why OpenPermit?

OpenPermit is an open-source data layer and toolkit that modernises construction-permit workflows.

Feature	Benefit
JSON-LD & IFC mappings	Machine-readable submissions across BIM, GIS & document sets
NIEM / BLDS / EPA schema generators	Auto-align local data with federal & environmental standards
CKAN bridge	Publish validated permit data to any CKAN portal for open-data compliance
Validators & CI runners	Catch errors pre-submission, enable “submit once, validate everywhere”
Reference APIs & UI widgets	Plug-and-play modules for municipal portals or private schedulers

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Quick-start

git clone https://github.com/builtbycorelot/OpenPermit.git
cd OpenPermit
pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
pytest                                 # run unit tests
python scripts/niem6_build_schemas.py  # generate NIEM-6.0 JSON Schemas
python workflow/validate_workflow.py   # sample workflow validation

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Architecture

High-level view → mermaid/architecture.mmd

flowchart LR
  subgraph Data Core
    A[NODE • JSON-LD<br>NIEM • BLDS]
  end
  subgraph Bridges
    B[IFC ↔ JSON-LD] -->|Geo/BIM| A
    C[CKAN API] -->|Publish| A
  end
  subgraph Services
    D[FastAPI / OData / GraphQL]
  end
  A --> D
  B --> D
  C --> D

Loading

The CKAN API bridge can push any validated permit dataset straight into a CKAN portal (e.g., data.gov-style), preserving metadata and access controls.

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Standards Alignment

Domain	Core Standards & Bodies	Notes
Open-data portals	CKAN (Comprehensive Knowledge Archive Network)	Integration scripts in integrations/ckan/ publish datasets + resources via CKAN API
Information-exchange	NIEM 6.0, BLDS, OData, JSON-LD (W3C)	Auto-generated schemas
Built environment	IFC 4x3, IFC-JSON, ISO 19650, CityJSON, OGC InfraGML	BIM/GIS round-tripping
Environmental & water	EPA Permit Info Std, NPDES ICIS DED, NEPA / CEQ regs
Process & workflow	BPMN 2.0, FAST-41 CPP, EO 13807 (One Federal Decision)
Security & accessibility	NIST SP 800-53 r5, FIPS 140-3, WCAG 2.2

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Stakeholders & How to Engage

Stakeholder	Why it matters	First steps
Public / Civic Tech	Browse & reuse open permit data	Visit demo CKAN portal (coming soon)
Builders / Designers	Submit once, track everywhere	Test workflow.jsonld, export to CKAN
Agencies & Authorities	Automatic cross-checks & open-data compliance	Run validator, enable CKAN bridge
Developers	Extend ontology & build plugins	See CONTRIBUTING.md

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Security

We operate a shift-left security model—SBOM, SAST & dependency scanning run in CI.
See SECURITY.md for threat model, disclosure policy & NIST control mapping.

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Contributing

PRs welcome!

1. Follow the guidelines in CONTRIBUTING.md
2. Open an issue or discussion for larger features
3. Run pre-commit install to auto-format code & docs

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Links & References

• Docs portal – docs/
• Full reference list – docs/references.md
• Public site – https://builtbycorelot.github.io/OpenPermit

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Permitting should be as easy as publishing open data—let’s build the rails together.