Data has long been generated about cities to make sense of them, manage services and infrastructure, solve urban problems, and produce urban policy and plans. Indeed, managing data across the data life cycle (generating, handling, storing, analyzing, archiving, sharing and destroying) is a key activity of city administrations and other public agencies. Traditionally, data are generated as a by-product of core administrative functions (such as routine bureaucracy), as a core function of infrastructure or service (such as traffic management), or through routine and commissioned surveys (such as household surveys or a census). These data provide key inputs for strategic development planning (such as creating local area plans), assessing proposed planning applications, and operational governance (such as the delivery of services).