Welcome to SA&CP and NOVAYA Labs’ five-part blog series on data, spatial planning, and public and private sector investment for sustainable urban development, focusing on the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. The series explores how data has been used to drive strategic spatial planning, integrated development planning and investment from within the Metro. We also track developments in open data in Johannesburg and South Africa, and how urban data has been leveraged by the private sector and civil society in South Africa.