The availability of open data and new trends in data visualisation will transform how we understand our cities.

Due to the increasing availability of large urban datasets, it is now becoming easier to produce online visualisations that capture and help interpret the complex spatial dynamics of cities. Duncan A. Smith argues that as further open datasets are made available, a much wider range of interests and user groups are set to be represented and explored. These urban cartography projects allow users to ask questions about how city areas have changed and are likely to change in the future.