The main objectives of this book are to expose key aspects that have a relevance when dealing with open data viewed from different perspectives and to provide appealing examples of how open data is implemented worldwide. The concept of open data as we know it today is the result of many different initiatives, both of a legislative and non-legislative nature, and promoted by a wide range of actors. Numerous regulatory antecedents to foster the concept of open data and embed it in national and international policy agendas have been undertaken on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as at a supranational level. The book highlights a number of the efforts made to promote open data in Europe, Asia and the United States.  In addition to new insights, practical guidance and multiple disciplinary perspectives on open data, the book also addresses the transformation of current developments towards open data, which may be referred to as the democratisation of data.  This book will support open data practitioners as well as open data scholars in their endeavours to promote open data implementation and research. Bastiaan van Loenen is associate professor and director of the Knowledge Centre Open Data at the Faculty of Architecture and The Built Environment of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, as is Glenn Vancauwenberghe, who is a post-doctoral researcher, and Joep Crompvoets is a professor at the Public Governance Institute of the KU Leuven in Belgium.