Rice University Datasets API

openapi: 3.2.0
info:
  title: Rice Kinder Institute Urban Data Platform Datasets API
  version: '2026-09-01'
  summary: Public read API behind the Kinder Institute Urban Data Platform dataset catalog.
  description: 'The Urban Data Platform (UDP) is operated by the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at

    Rice University.'
  contact:
    name: Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Rice University
    url: https://kinder.rice.edu/initiative/urban-data-platform
  x-operator: institution
  x-provenance:
    generated: '2026-09-01'
    method: probed
    source: Live unauthenticated HTTP probes of https://lg4tooqkr1.execute-api.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/prod/ on 2026-09-01, plus the production base URL literal read from the platform's own JavaScript bundle at https://www.kinderudp.org/js/app.9647dfb4.js. No credentials were used and no access control was defeated; every endpoint described here answers an anonymous GET.
servers:
- url: https://lg4tooqkr1.execute-api.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/prod
  description: Production API Gateway stage, read from the platform's own app bundle.
- url: https://5l498ma30i.execute-api.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/dev
  description: Development stage, also named in the app bundle. Present for completeness; not probed and not intended for consumers.
  x-status: non-production
security: []
tags:
- name: Datasets
  description: The public dataset catalog of the Urban Data Platform.
paths:
  /datasets:
    get:
      operationId: listDatasets
      tags:
      - Datasets
      summary: List every publicly visible dataset in the catalog
      description: Returns the full catalog as a single unpaginated JSON array. 431 dataset summaries (354,891 bytes) were returned on 2026-09-01. There is no observed pagination, filtering or query parameter — the client filters in the browser.
      security: []
      responses:
        '200':
          description: The complete catalog.
          headers:
            access-control-allow-origin:
              schema:
                type: string
                const: '*'
              description: Observed as `*`; the catalog is readable cross-origin by any page.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: array
                items:
                  $ref: '#/components/schemas/DatasetSummary'
              examples:
                firstRecord:
                  externalValue: ../examples/rice-kinder-udp-datasets-example.json
  /datasets/{datasetId}:
    get:
      operationId: getDataset
      tags:
      - Datasets
      summary: Retrieve the full catalog record for one dataset
      security: []
      parameters:
      - name: datasetId
        in: path
        required: true
        description: The opaque 12-character catalog identifier, e.g. `g79ekp1m5xyq`.
        schema:
          type: string
          pattern: ^[a-z0-9]{12}$
          examples:
          - g79ekp1m5xyq
      responses:
        '200':
          description: The dataset record. NOTE — an unknown datasetId ALSO returns HTTP 200, with a raw AWS Lambda runtime error body instead of a record. See errors/rice-errors.yml. A client must inspect the body, not the status.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                oneOf:
                - $ref: '#/components/schemas/DatasetDetail'
                - $ref: '#/components/schemas/LambdaRuntimeError'
              examples:
                dataset:
                  externalValue: ../examples/rice-kinder-udp-dataset-detail-example.json
  /datasets/{datasetId}/vrde:
    get:
      operationId: getDatasetVrde
      tags:
      - Datasets
      summary: Retrieve the dataset record with its Virtual Research Data Environment location
      description: Same record as /datasets/{datasetId} plus `folderPathMulti`, the path at which the dataset is mounted inside the Kinder Institute's Virtual Research Data Environment (VRDE) for approved researchers.
      security: []
      parameters:
      - name: datasetId
        in: path
        required: true
        schema:
          type: string
          pattern: ^[a-z0-9]{12}$
      responses:
        '200':
          description: The dataset record with a VRDE folder path.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                allOf:
                - $ref: '#/components/schemas/DatasetDetail'
                - type: object
                  properties:
                    folderPathMulti:
                      type: string
                      description: VRDE mount path, of the form 'Inside VRDE- K:\Library\Harris\Environment\...'.
  /user/catalog:
    get:
      operationId: getUserCatalog
      tags:
      - Datasets
      summary: The signed-in member's view of the catalog
      description: Requires an authenticated platform member. Anonymous requests return 401 `{"message":"Unauthorized"}`. The authentication scheme is not publicly documented; the app registers members at https://www.kinderudp.org/#/register. NOT PROBED beyond the anonymous 401 — no credentials were used.
      responses:
        '401':
          description: '`{"message":"Unauthorized"}` — observed for an anonymous request.'
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/AuthorizerError'
components:
  schemas:
    AuthorizerError:
      type: object
      properties:
        message:
          type: string
          examples:
          - Unauthorized
          - Missing Authentication Token
    DatasetDetail:
      allOf:
      - $ref: '#/components/schemas/DatasetSummary'
      - type: object
        properties:
          fullDescription:
            type:
            - string
            - 'null'
            description: HTML-bearing prose (contains <br> markup).
          doi:
            type:
            - string
            - 'null'
            description: DataCite DOI. Observed values sit under prefix 10.25612, registered to DataCite client RICE.KINDER.
            examples:
            - 10.25612/837.16MO4PKRWM20
          dataciteName:
            type:
            - string
            - 'null'
          geoResolution:
            type:
            - string
            - 'null'
          tabularResolution:
            type:
            - string
            - 'null'
          updateFreq:
            type:
            - string
            - 'null'
          versionNo:
            type:
            - string
            - 'null'
          released:
            type:
            - string
            - 'null'
          isInGdb:
            type:
            - boolean
            - 'null'
          isHiddenFromPublic:
            type:
            - boolean
            - 'null'
          originalDataCitation:
            type:
            - string
            - 'null'
          paperCitation:
            type:
            - string
            - 'null'
          suggestedCitation:
            type:
            - string
            - 'null'
            description: 'Citation string naming the publisher. Observed values name "Rice University-Kinder Institute: UDP" — the API''s own attestation of its operator.'
          relatedDatasets:
            type: array
            items:
              type: object
              properties:
                relationType:
                  type: string
                  description: A DataCite RelationType term; see the `dataciteRelationType` lookup.
                id:
                  type: string
    LambdaRuntimeError:
      type: object
      description: A raw AWS Lambda runtime failure, returned with HTTP 200. This is a defect, recorded as observed. It is what an unknown datasetId produces.
      properties:
        errorMessage:
          type: string
        errorType:
          type: string
        requestId:
          type: string
        stackTrace:
          type: array
          items:
            type: string
    DatasetSummary:
      type: object
      description: One row of the public catalog listing.
      required:
      - id
      - udpName
      - category
      - accessRestriction
      - status
      - isInUdp
      properties:
        id:
          type: string
          description: Opaque catalog identifier.
          examples:
          - g79ekp1m5xyq
        udpName:
          type: string
          description: Dataset title as curated by the UDP.
        shortDescription:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        accessRestriction:
          type: string
          enum:
          - Available to all members
          - Available to Affiliated Users Only
          - Authorization required
        status:
          type: string
          description: Curation state; see the `status` lookup for the full 8-term enumeration.
        source:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
          description: Originating data provider
          e.g. TCEQ: null
          Census Bureau.: null
        category:
          type: string
          enum:
          - Census/ACS
          - Crime
          - Economy
          - Education
          - Environment
          - Health
          - Housing
          - Infrastructure
          - Surveys
          - Land Use
          - Other
          - Reference
          - Resources
          - Tax Assessor
        isGeocoded:
          type: boolean
        geoExtent:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
          description: Geographic coverage; see the `geoExtent` lookup (27 terms).
        isInUdp:
          type: boolean
          description: Whether the data itself is loaded into the platform.
        isDownloadable:
          type: boolean
        keywords:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
          description: Semicolon-delimited keyword string
          not an array.: null
        earliestDate:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
          format: date
        latestDate:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
          format: date
        specificYears:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
        releaseDate:
          type:
          - string
          - 'null'
          format: date
        lastModifiedDatetime:
          type:
          - integer
          - 'null'
          description: Epoch milliseconds.
  securitySchemes:
    memberSession:
      type: http
      scheme: bearer
      description: Undocumented. Inferred only from the API Gateway authorizer's 401 envelope on /user/catalog. Not verified — no credentials were obtained or used.