It has been said that a picture (or a map) is worth a thousand words. Visual statements can play a critical role in turning data into insights, and then shaping opinion, guiding planning, and influencing policy and decision-making in cities. Contemporary cities have grown extraordinarily complex and can be described and analysed through an increasing variety of social, economic and environmental data. New tools have been created to cope with the large availability of urban data, make sense of it and report it to varied audiences in a meaningful and appealing way. Innovative interactive and digital maps are changing city planning, and therefore building capacity on how to critique and design them is an asset for anybody working in the field of urban planning and management. Data visualisation is an essential communication tool for representing data, models and simulations of the built environment and this course will arm students with the skills and technique to harness the power of data visualisation.