Understanding the spatial structure of cities: some results and challenges

The recent availability of large amounts of data about cities allowed us to better understand the spatial organization of cities and how they evolve in time. In this talk I will present a small selection of results and also discuss some challenges. I will first present some tools for the characterization of infrastructure networks (such as roads and subways) and their temporal evolution. I will then discuss mobility patterns obtained from mobile phone data and the polycentric structure of cities. If time allows, I will end this talk by discussing theoretical and empirical challenges about urban sprawl.