Exploring Urban Stories with Data Visualization. The public accessibility of data has increased considerably due to computational improvements and governmental-driven data transparency. In an urban context, the increased accessibility results in open data initiatives for urban areas, "urban data". Cities like New York, San Francisco and London have already developed a more common practice in publicizing urban data by making them available through an online database : "NYC DataMine", "DataSF" and "London Datastore". The trend of data transparency is also noticeable in Belgium, albeit in a less elaborated manner. With the launch of the online database "Stad Antwerpen in Cijfers" ["City of Antwerp in Numbers"] for example, Antwerp has taken a clear step into the direction of expansive data transparency. The advantage of open data is the opportunity to link different topics. The aspect of data visualization as the use of computer-supported, interactive, visual representations of abstract data to amplify cognition cannot be underestimated in this regard, since data visualization is not merely the representation of these data, but rather a process of sensemaking, story-telling and a way to discover additional linkages . Furthermore, data visualization can be seen as a way to open up the abstract data to a broader audience.
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